Joan Smalls Quotes

#1. My personal style is bipolar. Sometimes I feel like dressing in a boyish leather jacket; other times I want to dress more elegantly. Most of the time it's what I like to call 'comfortable chic': Giuseppe Zanotti flat sandals, Rag & Bone jeans, slouchy Isabel Marant shirts.

Joan Smalls

#2. People don't realize that when you're Latin, you're so diverse. I am black. I am Latin. I am Spanish. You know? It's a little bit of everything, and that's beautiful. So, everybody, claim me. I'm fine with that!

Joan Smalls

#3. I know I'm representing a group - black, Latin, whatever you want to put me with - and I want to show that they are beautiful the way they are. I think that's really important for our youth to see.

Joan Smalls

#4. I was always very, very insecure about my height. Even as a 15-year-old I was a foot and a half taller than everyone.

Joan Smalls

#5. When you look at the world, the world isn't just one palette. It's a beautiful rainbow, and why not have someone to represent that rainbow?

Joan Smalls

#6. I also work out because I have scoliosis. I have to maintain certain strength in my core.

Joan Smalls

#7. I would always hunch over, I was always taller than the boys. I had the extremely skinny legs ... I would double up my socks, those ones from Footlocker, to make my legs look thicker.

Joan Smalls

#8. I'm a little bit of everything. Sometimes people think I'm not Puerto Rican, because my name doesn't sound Spanish.

Joan Smalls

#9. When you want something so bad and when something great happens, I think it's instinct that you say, 'This is gonna be the moment that's gonna change everything. Everybody is gonna see me a different way.'

Joan Smalls

#10. I think it's nice to know that people in the industry are paying attention to all of the hard work you've done throughout the years and rewarding you for it. It reminds you to keep doing it, to keep pushing yourself, and to always remain that way.

Joan Smalls

#11. My bikini, a pair of black high heels and a pair of comfortable jeans.

Joan Smalls

#12. I try not to go to sleep with makeup, because I think it clogs your pores. I always wash my face with something that contains salicylic acid.

Joan Smalls

#13. I adore my two older sisters, Erika and Betsy.

Joan Smalls

#14. I've always been athletic. Growing up in Puerto Rico, and being in the countryside, I was always running around. I also played volleyball, basketball, and I ran track. I was always very conscious of my body.

Joan Smalls

#15. I would like to pick Rihanna's brain. I love her style and what she does.

Joan Smalls

#16. I became obsessed watching fashion TV shows when I was a teenager and recognized that I had the height and body frame. I especially became hooked when I saw on 'E! True Hollywood Story' how much a model can make and how I can achieve a better living for my family and me.

Joan Smalls

#17. I just want to continue to break barriers and to show the industry and the world that beauty is diverse, and you don't have to be a certain stereotype to be beautiful.

Joan Smalls

#18. Fashion is part of our culture, and it's about more than just a pretty dress.

Joan Smalls

#19. A career high was when I did a cover for 'W Magazine's July issue with Steven Meisel. So few girls shoot with Meisel in their career, and a lot of people had told me I would never achieve that, so it was a dream come true.

Joan Smalls