1. What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word lingerie?
Eva Gabor from Green Acres. I would be getting ready for the afternoon kindergarten bus and was like "Wait, I have to see what Eva has on today!"

2. What's the first thing you think of when you hear the word underwear?
Marky Mark.

3. Boxers or Briefs?
I like a brief. No too-little tighty whitey's though because that's too much like little boy underwear which is totally creepy when you're not, you know, a little boy. And I've been going through my bag o' underwear from CILA, and in celebration of National Underwear Day I've been trying everything on. I'm wearing Baskit right now.

4. Speedo or Swim Trunks?
I'm a speedo kind of guy myself, but it's not for everybody.

5. What's your favorite underwear brand?
Well this is going to sound crazy but I actually like to buy my underwear at discount stores like T.J. Maxx - wherever I can get it cheap. But Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein and 2(x)ist are always great standby's, and of course I think Baskit is amazing.

6. If you launched your own brand of underwear, what would you call it?
If it were men's underwear I would call it Bulge.

7. After working with lingerie & intimates on your show, How to Look Good Naked, do you have any favorites you would recommend for women?
Well from working with Susan Nethero of Intimacy boutique, who I call the "Bra Whisperer," I've been introduced to a lot of brands, and I think the shapewear items from Spanx are great. From CILA I really liked Wacoal and Marlies Dekkers, and in the mass market I think Victoria's Secret has done a great job with bringing lingerie mainstream. They've instilled the French sensibility of wearing a matching bra & panty which I think effects how you feel during the entire day. I mean, I know when I wear a matching bra & panty I feel amazing!

8. What is the most common mistake you think women make with lingerie?
I think a lot of women view lingerie as an afterthought, getting dressed in the morning with a ratty old pair of granny panties and a four-year old bra, whereas lingerie should be viewed as an essential part of your wardrobe. It's the first thing you put on your body and you're wearing it all day long. I mean women wear bras for like, 18 hours or something ridiculous, and I think women oftentimes don't realize that lingerie effects everything else they're going to put on for the entire day.

9. How did you first develop your interest in fashion?
It's a great passion in my life and I think it's something that developed as a young kid. I grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania in the 70's, and even though that wasn't necessarily a hotbed of fashion, the 70's were a great time for clothes. It was the Halston era, and even out in the suburbs there was trickle down - there were pantsuits in maroon, burgundy, and kelly green, ruffled shirts, amazing maxi dresses.it was the Bob Mackie era, so I would watch my mom get dressed up for things like meetings and cocktail parties, which definitely sparked some interest.

10. Was there a turning point or event in your life when you thought to yourself, "I definitely want to be in fashion?"
Basically what happened was I kind of just stumbled into it. Fashion has always been a great interest of mine, and I knew I wanted to live in New York City after getting out of school, but I didn't know what I wanted to do or where I wanted to work.I ended up getting a job at Ralph Lauren - it was totally like The Devil Wears Prada except everyone was really nice, and I started out being Ralph's brother's assistant. Even though I didn't go to fashion school it was a great education because I really got to meet a lot of people and got great exposure. You learn so much at a big company like that because they do everything - advertising, design, marketing.I was so inspired by Ralph and by the success of that company, and I thought, "I want to have my own empire too!"

11. How did you transition from Ralph Lauren to television?
What happened was I worked at Ralph Lauren as a Creative Director in their Advertising Department, and one of our ad shoot producers said, "Did you hear about this show called Queer Eye on Bravo? They're casting in New York right now." So I called and found out they had one more day of casting.I went to the tryout and decided I would go and give it a shot. They showed us a tape of a guy who needed a makeover and we had to comment on it in front of the executives. Finally they got to me and I was just like, "What's the problem? Let's just dress him up and cut his hair and he'll be fine!" And then there was silence in the room so I thought they're either going to hate me or love me, and then there was a lot of laughter. So I thought, "Okay I think I may have it." So it was just a strange twist of fate.

12. And from there things just took off?
Yeah - we did 100 episodes of Queer Eye, I won an Emmy, just crazy things that I would never, ever have imagined, and now this CILA award!

13. How To Look Good Naked is the only makeover show out there right now that doesn't promote going under the knife, extreme dieting or extreme working out as seen in Extreme Makeover, The Swan, etc. Do you think this message of "changing your inner attitude" as opposed to changing outward appearances will stick or do you think people will revert back to the old messages?
I think this show is kind of a pioneer, because every other makeover show is about changing people physically.and what we're saying is that we don't want to change the way you look, rather we want to change the way you see yourself. I think it's pioneering in the same way Queer Eye was - with gay guys telling straight guys what to do - and I think shows like this that break the mold really have an impact.

14. How do you handle the "coming out" process, so to speak, of the women on your show when they're speaking out about their insecurities?
It is like a coming out process, because ultimately what this show is about is shame and not accepting yourself for who you are - which is very similar to being gay and having to come out and say, "hey look this is who I am, love me or leave me." It's the same for these women who literally break down into tears talking about how much they can't stand looking at their body, and it is really, really difficult. I handle this process with heart and with humor and know that we're going to get through it and most importantly focus on the positive. AND I always tell them we're going to do some major shopping right after that part so that helps.

15. What is one of the most common offenses you see with women on your show regarding to fashion & style?
I think the number one thing is when women try to camouflage their bodies and overdo it. It doesn't matter what size you are but if you where the right size the clothes are always going to look better. Sometimes women will layer on tons and tons of clothes to cover up when they're actually just creating more volume.

16. Who do you think is easier to advise, men or women?
I think men are so much easier. They're just like puppies - you give them a little treat and they're all set. Women are much more savvy when it comes to clothes and fashion as they're affected more by advertising, the fashion industry and the beauty industry saying "this is what's beautiful." In reality beauty comes in a lot of different shapes and sizes and that's what we're trying to say on the show, to be a little more realistic.

17. How do you think your style has evolved over the years?
Well it's actually deteriorated. I'm just kidding - I think as you get older and you become more confident with the person you are, that's reflected in your style and you're able to develop your own wardrobe. I personally have always been inherently preppy, but I can't say no to Cavalli, so I like to mix it up a little bit.

18. Do you ever look back and question some of your own fashion choices?
Oh my god I do it every day. Check out IMDB it's a whole array of fashion tragedies. And hairdo's! I've had the Hilary Clinton.almost had a Melissa Etheridge-style rocker mullet.but now I have the Suze Orman, so at least my checkbooks are balanced.

19. Who have been some of your biggest inspirations in fashion and in life?
In fashion I would have to say Ralph Lauren. The whole team there actually - everyone is so great at their job and making a beautiful product that's always in perfect taste. Personally and in life my family has always been an inspiration to me. My grandfather started his own business and was able to live the "American dream," and that's super inspiring to me.

20. Any hidden talents?
A lot of people don't know that I used to ride horses. [Carson is a nationally ranked equestrian.]

21. Are you happy with where you are and how things are going?
Yeah, I think I'm completely lucky - I mean I look around my apartment even and think, "Oh my gosh I live here?" and get to do fun things like do this interview, do TV, and with How to Look Good Naked I get to help people. I know that even if 10 million people aren't watching every week I still know that each week we help somebody get through something that's really holding them back or making them miserable, and even if we only did that for one person it would be incredibly gratifying. The truth is anyone can have an issue with their body - whether they think they're overweight or they think their arms are jiggly or they had a mastectomy or they had heart surgery and have some scars - we try to erase the negative on the show and accentuate the positive. Beauty isn't everything you see in the magazines and in the advertisements.

22. What's next on the plate for you?
I'm developing a daytime talk show through Lifetime and we'll be shooting the pilot in September. Besides that I really just go with the flow.I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up!