Don’t fret, just when you thought you’d seen all the old episodes of Queer Eye on Bravo — twice — the boys are back for a fourth season. It kicked off on June 6 with the first of three episodes that find the guys working their makeover magic in Las Vegas. I caught up with Carson Kressley on the phone to chat about the new season, Vegas, the show’s popularity and what he is up to, now that they’ve finished filming. “I’m actually at the Devon Horse Show,” in Devon, Pennsylvania, he told me, “getting ready to get on a big black stallion. I’ll probably ride some horses, too.”

As you know, Kressley is joined by Ted Allen, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia and Jai Rodriguez in the Emmy Award-winning reality show that is set to change stylistically challenged straight men into the metrosexuals of our dreams. It’s a fun, entertaining twist on the classic make over show, and the five know everything: Kressley is the “fashion savant,” Allen the “food and wine connoisseur,” Douglas the “grooming guru,” Felicia the “design doctor,” and Rodriguez the “culture vulture.” “I go shopping with other people’s credit cards. I have the best job in the world,” Kressley says. “My life is like one of those credit card fraud commercials, but I’m not actually breaking the law.”

For the Las Vegas episodes — new episodes air every Tuesday on Bravo at 10 p.m. with the June 13 show featuring a surprise elopement for the contestant — Kressley had a lot to dish about. “You know, what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas this time. We got it all on film,” he says, giving me a hint about the elopement episode. “I actually got to marry them. It’s the old story of those who can’t teach…. I can’t actually get married, but I can marry people. They make such a big deal about marriage and everything, but really anyone can get ordained on the Internet and marry people,” although Kressley isn’t too hip on the lingo. “Ordained seems like such a strong word,” he says. “I guess I was ‘credentialed’.”

“Thirty days is a long time to be living in a casino, I don’t know how Celine does it,” he says, laughing, “but I have new respect for her. I tried to avail myself of everything Vegas. I saw Barry Manilow, I saw Celine Dion, I went gambling, I went to the Forum Shops, [and] I went to the restaurants featured in Casino the movie. Oh, and the Liberace Museum, home of the world’s largest rhinestone,” he tells me, suddenly turning into the best travel agent, too. “You were remiss in not attending. [It was] probably the highlight of my trip. A little musty, but fun.”

This season also sees a return to "Queer Eye for the Queer Guy", which features a gay guy as the contestant. They tried this successfully in an episode during season one, and many gay viewers are happy for the return. This year’s episode features Jeff Berman, a “gay man living in a straight world” who needs a little style help, too. “We always said all along that bad taste does not discriminate. You know, no skin color, no sexual orientation, no nationality,” he says. “We certainly should be helping our own.”

As for the popularity of the show — Queer Eye is counted among Bravo’s most popular shows — Kressley says they were surprised by the initial reaction. “You know, none of us had any idea whether people would like it or not. When you make a TV show for the first time, you don’t really know how it’s going to look when it’s all finished.” Credit certainly goes to Kressley and the other four as they’ve brought the best of gay culture to a mainstream, straight audience, but he insisted on sharing the blame.

“There are so many people who are involved in this process from our producers and our directors and our camera crew,” he says. “That’s one of the best things about working on a show: you meet all these amazing people who work every day with you to make it all happen.” As for the initial fame, Kressley says he “didn’t know what to expect, because I was only doing a small part of it. We all thought we knew what we were doing and were all very pleasantly surprised that it was so well received.

“I think in this state of our country where everyone would have you believe that it is very conservative and, you know, all the Christian Coalition and the American Family, whatever, coalition,” he says, trailing off. “It’s a testament to the American people in saying that people aren’t as judgmental and as prejudice as you think. We weren’t saying ‘be gay’ or ‘being gay is great,’ we were just saying ‘be yourself and do what you do.’”

And what’s the king of fashion up to now? His own line, naturally. “You’re kind of getting the scoop,” he tells me. “It hasn’t been announced yet, [but] it will be launched with a major retailer this fall. I’m really looking forward to it, [and] it’s been great fun collaborating.” Kressley didn’t tell me who the retailer was, but did say he’s been working on it for several months. “It’s such a long process to design clothes because of samples, and seasons ahead, and colors, you know. By the time I get it all done it will probably be out of style. That’s why I’m starting with really out of style ideas. By the time [it’s ready], they’ll be back in style,” and we’ll most definitely be waiting.