Ever wonder how the fashion industry's most chic got to be where they are today? A lot of it, naturally, has to do with their mothers.

And in honor of fast-approaching Mother's Day, Tory Burch -- a mother of three sons and three stepdaughters who was named "Mother of the Year" by the American Cancer Society -- gathered the best motherly advice and childhood memories from designers, publicists, photographers, retailers and editors from Refinery29.com, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Vogue and InStyle, among others.

Some of our favorite sentimental stories came from Nina Garcia, Arianna Huffington, Teen Vogue's Amy Astley, Mario Batali and Vogue's Sally Singer.

"I used to love sitting in my mother's room and watching her get ready," recalls Garcia of her childhood. "She had an enormous closet filled with rows and rows of shoes, dresses, jewels -- it was like Ali Baba's cave of treasures!"

Astley, on the other hand, thinks of Christmas time as the fondest of the year and says the best advice she ever received from her mother was "Think for yourself," while Batali has certainly heeded his mother's advice of "Always finish what you start," and Arianna Huffington has been influenced by her mom's words: "Failure is not the opposite of success. It's the stepping-stone to success. Don't ever be afraid to fail."

Vogue's Fashion News and Features Director Sally Singer gives her mom credit for much of her style prowess.

"While teaching me how to sew, she trained me to make every garment as perfect on the inside as on the exterior. I think this holds true for everything one attempts in life," she says.

Want more mom nostalgia? Head over to ToryBurch.com to read more memories.

In the meantime, share your own favorite mom story in a comment below!