"I thought it was quite vain to say, I want to be a model"
About this Quote
That move matters because modeling is a job built on being looked at, then pretending you’re above the looking. To say "I want to be a model" sounds like craving approval; to say "it just happened" sounds like you’re simply the natural outcome of taste, culture, and genetics. The subtext is savvy: aspiration is uncool, neediness is uncooler, and nothing sells like the illusion that you don’t need the thing you’re selling.
Coming from Moss, the line also brushes up against the ’90s shift she helped define. The era prized a cooler, more indifferent beauty - less pageant polish, more cigarette-smoke nonchalance. Her comment reinforces that aesthetic as a personality stance: effortlessness not just in style, but in origin story.
It’s also quietly defensive. Modeling is often dismissed as frivolous, and ambition in women is policed differently. Labeling the goal as "vain" nods to the stereotype while sidestepping it. The result is a compact bit of brand management that reads like modesty, but functions like control.
Quote Details
| Topic | Career |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Moss, Kate. (2026, January 16). I thought it was quite vain to say, I want to be a model. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-it-was-quite-vain-to-say-i-want-to-be-a-95834/
Chicago Style
Moss, Kate. "I thought it was quite vain to say, I want to be a model." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-it-was-quite-vain-to-say-i-want-to-be-a-95834/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I thought it was quite vain to say, I want to be a model." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-thought-it-was-quite-vain-to-say-i-want-to-be-a-95834/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.









