Heidi Klum is on a lot of worst dressed lists and she surely knows it, but she also prioritizes looking “hot” which she seems to equate with showing a lot of skin. It turns out that Heidi knows her own preferences, she likes to turn heads, and that she also has style rules, like show legs or cleavage, not both. I’m not sure how often she follows those but sure. Heidi also told People magazine that her boyfriend of two years, 30 year-old Vito Schnabel, likes to see legs and that’s why she wears so many mini skirts.

“My boyfriend likes legs, so I like wearing minidresses and fishnet stockings,” the model, 43, tells PEOPLE during an interview about her new swim line for our latest issue, on newsstands today. The TV host has been in a relationship with art dealer Vito Schnabel for over two years.

And a mini isn’t the only thing she likes to wear for him, either. “I love a beautiful pump,” she says. “I’ve been walking in heels for 25 years so they don’t really bother me. They just make me feel sexier when I walk into a restaurant or down the street hand-in-hand.”

This reflects her overall fashion approach right now. “I’m not someone who wants to blend in,” she says. “Some people don’t feel comfortable in something bold. I do. I love making an effort, even when I go to dinner with my boyfriend or with my friends. I like to step it up.”

She says people most often see her sexy side when she’s on TV, either judging America’s Got Talent or hosting Project Runway. “As the host, I always have to push the envelope,” she says, noting she does so by wearing “more color, crazier silhouettes and big, bold statement jewelry pieces.” Adds Klum: “I don’t want to come in something snoozy!”

The key to her look, she says, is balance. “Anything goes,” she says. “But don’t be sexy everywhere. If I have a supershort mini on, I’m not gonna put my boobs on display. But I feel great in my skin so I feel like I wear whatever I want to wear whenever I want to wear it.”

[From People]

She’s right that she should be able to wear whatever she wants, and we should be able to point out when she looks like Big Bird. At least Heidi is self aware and candid about it, but as I mentioned in another recent story about her bikini venture she comes off as so deliberate about her sexy image. It’s more like a persona she puts on. Young boyfriend, fug revealing designer clothes chosen to get the most attention, bikini and lingerie brands. It’s all so predictable. Most celebrities are deliberate about their images, I guess Heidi is just one of the more obvious ones.

Also, if you google Vito Schnabel this is the first photo which comes up.

photos credit: WENN and Getty