Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since the Gondola.

In her 1980 book "Allure" (written with Christopher Hemphill), Vreeland describes being asked by antagonistic interviewers what she thinks of blue jeans. She says they expect her to condemn jeans for harming fashion, but she instead argues jeans have helped keep fashion alive, and she ends the exchange with the gondola comparison.

Vreeland is praising blue jeans as an unexpectedly elegant, enduring design—so successful in material, fit, and silhouette that she ranks them among the most beautiful creations she can think of, using the gondola as a vivid benchmark for beauty and style.

"So I always say the same thing. I say, 'They’re the most beautiful things since the gondola,' and leave it at that."

"Blue jeans are the most beautiful things since the gondola."

"[Blue jeans are] the most beautiful things since the gondola."

"They’re the most beautiful thing since the gondola."