"I wore a lot of vintage clothing. I dressed like a reporter, with a little card in my hat. I had these fantasies of who I wanted to be, so I'd dress like an explorer, a cowboy. I dressed up like Elton John a lot too. That was another period"
About this Quote
The subtext is a quiet confession about ambition and permission. Dressing like a reporter is a fantasy of being allowed to ask questions and be taken seriously. Explorer and cowboy are classic American myths of movement and mastery, roles traditionally coded male; wearing them is a kid’s workaround for the limits the world places on who gets to be bold. Then Elton John blows the doors off: not just a “period,” but a phase where identity becomes performance on purpose, flamboyance as armor, queerness-adjacent theatricality as an option even for someone who may not have the language for it yet.
As an actress, Douglas is also telegraphing how the job starts long before the set. Acting is structured make-believe; vintage clothing is time travel with seams. The line “I had these fantasies of who I wanted to be” lands like a thesis for a creative life: becoming yourself by impersonating others, until the impersonations leave a residue that’s real.
Quote Details
| Topic | Reinvention |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Douglas, Illeana. (2026, January 17). I wore a lot of vintage clothing. I dressed like a reporter, with a little card in my hat. I had these fantasies of who I wanted to be, so I'd dress like an explorer, a cowboy. I dressed up like Elton John a lot too. That was another period. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wore-a-lot-of-vintage-clothing-i-dressed-like-a-68339/
Chicago Style
Douglas, Illeana. "I wore a lot of vintage clothing. I dressed like a reporter, with a little card in my hat. I had these fantasies of who I wanted to be, so I'd dress like an explorer, a cowboy. I dressed up like Elton John a lot too. That was another period." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wore-a-lot-of-vintage-clothing-i-dressed-like-a-68339/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I wore a lot of vintage clothing. I dressed like a reporter, with a little card in my hat. I had these fantasies of who I wanted to be, so I'd dress like an explorer, a cowboy. I dressed up like Elton John a lot too. That was another period." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-wore-a-lot-of-vintage-clothing-i-dressed-like-a-68339/. Accessed 10 Feb. 2026.
