Imitating a famous celebrity or stealing a head-to-toe look from a store mannequin are among the worst fashion faux pas, says Carson Kressley, fashion guru from the television show Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. "The biggest mistake a person can make when it comes to fashion is not being yourself,'' said Kressley, his blond mane made wavier because of the humidity in Toronto.

While the New Yorker was brought to the city by Kellogg Canada to talk about how easy it is to maintain one's ideal weight, he was happy to dish about fashion, presidential style and how much he loves Canada. "Canadians are just nice people... I think they take out their aggression on their hockey rink,'' he said, sitting on the edge of his chair in a hotel room. "They don't go to war. They just play hockey which makes sense to me. Go ahead! Knock some teeth out.''

He pointed to same-sex marriage and more lenient laws about marijuana when he said he finds Canadians much more laid back than folks in the United States. And while he doesn't think U.S. President George W. Bush has much personal style ("Unlike his presidency, his fashion taste is pretty innocuous''), he does have kind words for another Republican president's look. "I certainly didn't like his politics, especially being a gay person, but Ronald Reagan was a snappy dresser.''

And it is personal style, not so much following trends, that makes a person look well put together, Kressley said. "When you find what looks good on you and disregard the trend ... you have a look that is all your own,'' he said, adding that there is a fine line between a "look'' and "fashion amnesia. If you are still rockin' in a mullet and Van Halen T-shirt from 1984 I just want to slap them real hard and wake 'em up,'' he said. "You do have to keep it updated and if you are truly classic it doesn't require as much updating.''

But if you are stuck in a fashion trend from another era, you definitely need a little reality check, he said. "Those are the people whose reality checks have bounced.'' For example, a pair of oversized retro sunglasses can make a look stylish but a complete head-to-toe '60s look will appear dated.

Kressley, wearing Dolce and Gabbana distressed jeans and prep-school blazer, said stylish accessories are an affordable way to inject style into a classic wardrobe. With designers now making affordable fashions available in department stores, he said everybody can look great. "Dressing is like anything else. Some people are naturally talented -- like me,'' he said. But for those who don't come by it easily, he said it's easy to study style in stores, on the street and in fashion magazines, of course.

His picks for almost anyone? For women, it's a black wrap dress in a light jersey fabric. Unlike the little black cocktail dress, a wrap dress can go casual with a pair of sandals or sexy with a strappy pair of shoes. For men, the hardest working item in the wardrobe is a well-fitted, short-sleeved polo shirt -- not to be confused with a golf shirt where the sleeves go down to the elbows.

But for Kressley, the biggest fashion faux pas is sandals with socks. "Sometimes you will actually see people in the summer wearing the two. And you inevitably look like a lost Yugoslavian tourist: Which way to the CN tower?''