Carson Kressley can’t tell the difference between a straight guy and a gay guy anymore.
“It’s getting harder every day,” says the bitchy blond host of TV’s hottest new reality show, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.” Though it’s only been on the Bravo channel for two weeks, the makeover show – in which five gay men overhaul an unstylish straight man – has become such a breakout hit that NBC (which owns the basic-cable network) aired an episode in the prime slot after “Will & Grace” this past Thursday.
Relaxing and schmoozing at Chelsea Piers’ luxe fashion lounge The Deck, Kressley – who is wearing Ralph Lauren pajama pants and a vintage tuxedo shirt – can’t keep his eyes off the adorable male waitstaff.
He sips on a glass of pinot grigio as hysterical one-liners fly out of his mouth (his off-the-cuff wit is a hugely responsible for the show’s success).
A gorgeous female fan comes over to compliment Kressley on the show; he’s flattered and gracious.
“The show is bigger and better than we could have ever imagined,” he says. “Just the ability to be on [NBC] is unbelievable, and we’re so delighted. I still can’t believe it.”
Kressley hopes the show’s success will inspire more straight guys to start wearing pink, shop at Prada and get pedicures.
“We are waging a war against bad taste,” he says. “It’s not about gay or straight – it’s about guys helping guys. It’s about building bridges between our communities – one straight guy at a time.”
To build that bridge, Kressley tears apart straight men’s closets like a gay Simon Cowell.
“Is this a cape or a Christmas tree skirt?” he asked one hapless victim. To another: “Are your clothes ugly, uglier and uglier?” “We’re like their fairy godstylists,” says Kressley. “The makeover is about building the man’s confidence, so they can achieve what they really want and enjoy life.”
He admits he can get a little too touchy-feely for his straight subjects. “I get a little frisky,” admits Kressley, who worked at Ralph Lauren for seven years.
“I worked on photo shoots, so I’m used to zipping up pants and jamming my hands ‘down there’ – because you just have to take the picture. When I did underwear [styling], I never went ‘down there,’ but I was like, ‘point your baby at 6, and we’ll call it a day.'”
But none of the subjects has complained – because, Kressley says, “everyone loves a free couch.” (All furniture, food, music and clothes are paid for by Bravo or are product placements.)
“We’re really fortunate because all of us are real professionals in our particular trades,” says the 33-year-old fashion guru. “We’re not actors, so we all have a lot of connections. And now it’s time to call in the favors.”
Kressley, who grew up in Allentown, Pa., has always had a flair for fashion.
“I picked out my sister’s prom dress when I was 10 and she was 18,” he says. “It was 1979, and everyone was doing sherbet-colored bridesmaid dresses. I was like, ‘No. Let’s do something chic, like a white tunic, Grecian-inspired dress.'”
His sister was voted prom queen.
After attending Gettysburg College (which he calls “preppy heaven”) and moving to New York, Kressley got a job at Ralph Lauren.
“I was doing the schedule, getting sardine sandwiches, picking up shampoo at Frederic Fekkai,” he says. “I was the original ‘The Devil Wears Prada,'” he says, referencing the vicious tell-all in which a former assistant to Vogue editrix Anna Wintour cataloged the menial tasks she was forced to perform.
Kressley climbed his way up the ladder, eventually working on Ralp Lauren’s national advertising campaigns, which required him to travel – and shop – around the world.
(Most recently, Kressley worked as a freelance stylist and did all the still shots for the set of Jennifer Garner’s new movie, “13 Going on 30,” which has been shooting in New York.)
Yet for all the show’s success, there has been backlash from some members of the gay community, who say the show stereotypes gay males.
Kressley disagrees.
“If you really watch the show, you realize it’s a reality show,” he says, unaware of the irony in that assessment. “And the star of the show is the straight guy.”
“I haven’t had one person come up to me and say, ‘You’re really doing us a disservice.”
One fan agrees with Kressley – even though he was highly skeptical at first. “I felt that the show played into every gay [stereotype] that straight America was looking to pigeon hole us with,” says Devin Reddy, a 28-year-old human resources worker at Barneys New York. “Then I saw the show and got over it. Carson is fabulous.”
“People are genuinely liking [the show],” says Kressley, “and that’s really gratifying.”
A little too gratifying at times.
The Chelsea resident says that now, when he stops at local haunts like Splash, he finds it easier than ever to meet guys.
“I’ve been going on dates,” Kressley says. “But now, people already know my name. I go out to clubs and people are like, ‘Hey Carson.’ I’m like, ‘Do I know you? Have you seen the show? Did I meet you before?’ It’s very confusing, this celebrity business.”
Ironically, Kressley says he is not looking for someone who dresses well.
“It’s so not about the exterior,” he says. “Personality, personality, personality. It’s hard to keep up with me … I like someone who’s cute but more cute on the inside, and sweet and fun and enjoys life and laughing and having a good time, who understands my mantra: Live a little.”
Get in line, guys.
CARSON ON OUR MAIN MEN
James Gandolfini
“Stop it!”
Matthew Broderick
“Baby weight.”
Mayor Bloomberg
“Bring out the funk! “
Colin Farrell
“Like a cheap hotel.”