Generally, there's nothing more cringe-worthy than a "celebrity advice book." But somehow Molly Ringwald has managed to transcend the genre with "Getting the Pretty Back: Friendship, Family, and Finding the Perfect Lipstick."

The book is sort of like your coolest, most fashionable friend, serving up smart snippets on sex, beauty, motherhood, and personal style. Though she's forever etched in our brains as "princess" Claire from "The Breakfast Club" and the awkward, endearing Andie from "Pretty in Pink," Ringwald is now a 42-year-old mother of three.

And whether she's talking about age ("There's nothing I would give up. Well, okay, maybe I'd pass on the Dorothy Hamill haircut I got in the fourth grade") or quoting from the likes of Jane Austen and J.D Salinger, it's clear that she hasn't lost her quirky-girl spunk.

StyleList: What does it mean to "get the pretty back"?
Molly Ringwald: I'm not talking about anything physical, so much as a feeling you have when you're younger -- a sort of lightness and spontaneity. Life takes over and you lose that feeling, so I wanted to write a book about getting that back. Some of that has to do with style, but most of it has to do with an attitude and the importance of taking time for yourself.

SL: You talk about turning 40. What is it about that age that makes women so crazy?
MR: Society imposes that upon us. When we think about 40, it seems like that's the moment you can no longer call yourself a young woman. My forties thus far have been fantastic. It kicked me into high gear and it's a very creative time for me.

SL: Is getting older in Hollywood especially hard?
MR: Hollywood is difficult for any age. You're told you're not what they want all the time. I encountered that as a teenager, and I encounter that as a 42-year-old. But there are women who have phenomenal careers after 40, and in their 50s and 60s. Look at Meryl Streep -- she's a beautiful woman and she only gets better.

SL: You draw the line at plastic surgery. In your book you write, "Be bold, as long as you are under the care of a board-certified cosmetic dermatologist (not a plastic surgeon, since we don't want you to look plastic)".
MR: I don't judge. I understand the pull, but as an actress I depend on my expressions to get my emotions across. To do something to my face that would inhibit that ability would be a mistake. Otherwise, yeah, you start to look plastic.

SL: So you wouldn't even do Botox?
MR: It's not the route I want to go. But you could talk to me a year from now and if there's a line that shows up on my face that really bums me out, I might change my mind.

SL: You're beloved for John Hughes's '80s movies. How are the '80s faring in fashion history?
MR: Judging from the huge resurgence, I think they've fared really well. I'm surprised. But the '80s have been reinterpreted in a really interesting way. You have to bring back the best parts of an era and leave the other parts back where they belong. I find myself revisiting a lot of elements of the '80s.

SL: Like what?
MR: Layering, though definitely not with the same enthusiasm as when I was younger. I'm a bit more streamlined. I'm really into Wayfarers. And lately I'm into bright red and yellow, and primary colors. I still wear leggings, and I wear jeans that are tight and have little zippers on the bottom, and Vans and Converse.

SL: Are there any '80s trends you pray will never return?
MR: Definitely the hair. The big, poufy, mulletlike hair. I never had a mullet, I'm proud to say, but that is definitely part of the '80s I think should stay there. And also the intense shoulder pads.

SL: You were always a trendsetter. Were you born with a great fashion sense?
MR: I believe it was connected to acting, wanting to feel like a character. I was into books, particularly F. Scott Fitzgerald, so I got really into the '20s. I was interpreting the '20s in my own way. I would wear beaded gowns, which were easy to find in those days -- all the vintage stores were completely untapped -- with Converse. I never felt the pull to look obviously sexy, like it seems so many kids do today. It's more interesting to not show everything. That's something I definitely want to instill in my children.

SL: You have a six-year-old, Matilda. Do you struggle with her about what she wears?
MR: We have struggled since she was pre-verbal! She decided she wanted to wear skirts or dresses -- no pants. There were times I would buy the cutest patent leather boots, and I would give them to her and she would nix them. She's told me very calmly, "Mommy, that's your style, that's not my style."

SL: You write that you were never influenced by the looks you saw in magazines. How did you escape that?
MR: I didn't feel like I was "the ideal." Growing up in California in the '70s and '80s, my sister was blonde-haired and blue-eyed -- the stereotypical California-girl beauty -- and I was pale, thin, freckly, and had a big mouth. So I thought, No matter how hard I try I can't be that; the only thing I can be is myself.

Speaking of teen stars, read about Miley Cyrus's latest style scandal.

On Bravo's "The Real Housewives of New York City," Jill Zarin is never timid when it comes to offering up her opinions. This month, she follows suit with "Secrets of a Jewish Mother: Real Advice, Real Stories, Real Love," a book in which she spews on everything from fashion to family.

Co-authored by her sister, Lisa Wexler, and mom, Gloria Kamen, the book is filled with nuggets like, "If you want to be at your most attractive, you must be more thin than fat," and "Never marry a stingy person. It will ruin your life."

Here, Zarin tells StyleList about everything from fashion inspirations (Cher, "Dynasty") to breast reductions and how her on-air spats with Ramona Singer are of the wink-wink variety.

StyleList: Did you inherit your style from your mom?
Jill Zarin: My mother was definitely the original. She was just beyond when she was younger. She always wore these fantastic mod outfits; short, but not inappropriately short. She starts thinking about what she's going to wear for the Jewish holidays in September now. I think about what I'm going to wear tomorrow, like, tomorrow.

SL: Do you and your daughter, Ally, have the same taste in clothing?
JZ: She's funky. She's not into like, the tattoos and the nose rings and that kind of look. I did something right. But if she wears something I disapprove of, I will say it not once, I will say it until she hears me -- and that could be fifty times. And of course she will tell me I'm wrong, wrong, wrong, and that I don't know anything. But then she'll change because she knows I'm really right!

SL: Who are some of your style icons?
JZ: Nicole Kidman. I just love the way she dresses. And I loved Cher in her day. I never wanted to dress like Cher -- well, I might have wanted her body -- but I always loved her fashion. My favorite of all time was "Dynasty." I could not wait to see what designer Nolan Miller came up with for the show.

SL: Did you rock the big shoulder pads back then?
JZ: I'm embarrassed to say I have actually worn them. I wore Alexander McQueen for a Saks Fifth Avenue party. I looked like an alien.

SL: Since you admire Cher, who really pushed the boundaries, what do you think of Lady Gaga?
JZ: I admire her for taking chances. I have no idea where she comes up with these crazy outfits. It's so artistic. It's like she should be in the Museum of Natural History.

SL: What was your most awkward fashion phase?
JZ: There was a company called IB Diffusion back in the '80s, and they were known for all this, I call it, "schmutz", on their shirts: the glitter and the sparkle and all that stuff -- the more, the better. I used to wear Escada's double-breasted suits. I had one in pumpkin orange cashmere with the big shoulder pads.

SL: Do you have a favorite trend right now?
JZ: One of the trends I like is the one-shouldered look. That's because I had a breast reduction and now I can wear it. I always had to wear a harness, some gigantic contraption. It limited me. Caroline from "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" was at my book party and she's, like, a size 6, but she has these gigantic G boobies, like I did. I said, "Caroline, you should reduce them." Her husband loves them, so she ain't touching them. But if she did get a reduction, she would look so much tinier.

SL: Of the New York Housewives, whose style do you like?
JZ: I love the way the Countess [LuAnn de Lesseps] dresses. Well, she has an amazing body so nothing could look bad on that girl. And she wears the big jewelry, like a big ring, a statement piece. Bethenny [Frankel] is the eBay queen. I'm not into eBay, but she's definitely got great style. Alex [McCord]? No comment. My father taught me that if you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything.

SL: What about Kelly [Bensimon]?
JZ: Kelly dresses much younger and shorter. That makes me uncomfortable. With that body, the Playboy body, she can get away with anything she wants. I wouldn't be comfortable in Kelly's closet. The clothes are too small. They're like, for my Barbie doll, not for me.

SL: Who are some of your favorite designers?
JZ: You know who I like? Teri Jon. It's very reasonable. Nicole Miller fits me unbelievably this season. I'm wearing Michael Kors right now. Zac Posen is back again for me; sometimes he used to make his boobies too small and I couldn't get in there.

SL: What's a good date-night outfit?
JZ: In the book, we say don't wear black, ever, for anything. I would say to someone who's a little insecure and doesn't know what she's doing, burn all your black clothes. I know every New Yorker will hate me for saying it, but you don't stick out in black. I'm wearing a purple dress from Michael Kors. I look like an Easter egg, but I stand out. Love it, hate it, I don't care.

SL: Do you think the models are too skinny now?
JZ: I guess it's my ignorance, but when I go to a runway show, I want to see clothes I can buy, and often they are not wearable. I'd like to see clothes come out the way I'm buying them.

SL: Do you buy most of your clothes or borrow them?
JZ: I would say 60 percent buy, 40 percent borrow. But I don't buy and return, in spite of what Ramona said on the show. I think she said I was banned from Saks. But I had a party there that must have cost about fifty grand. Well, gee, no one sent Saks or me that memo.

SL: What motivated Ramona to say that?
JZ: She was jealous. Ramona and I are constantly saying smack about each other because we're both in on the joke. First of all, we're not really talking behind each other's back. I'm sitting in a chair doing an interview, talking to the viewer. It's a TV show! If we didn't act out and do the things that we do, what would you be watching? We have to give you drama, and they rotate who's getting thrown under the bus. It comes with the territory of being a reality star. You take your lumps.

SL: It's prom season now. What did you wear to yours?
JZ: I didn't go. No one invited me. Feel bad for me, I know! I wasn't the popular kid in school. I had no friends. Ally's prom is mid May. I asked her who she's going with and she won't tell me. I asked her what she's wearing and she won't tell me. And I begged her to get dressed at home and she's not guaranteeing it.

To see photos of celebs who did make it to their prom, click here.

You're officially on notice. As of next week, spring is here. And you know what that means - summer is just around the corner. So if you spent the past few months sitting on your butt watching "Top Chef" on DVR and packing on the pounds, you're about to be in for a rude awakening.

Luckily shapewear has gotten so smart (Top-secret firming technologies! Patented slimming microfibers! Scientifically tested construction!) that you don't have to look like the "before" shot in a "Big Babes Gone Wild" issue of Star magazine.

Whether you're five pounds or 25 pounds from your goal weight, or are just battling those persistent problem areas-grrrr, bat wings!-there's an option out there for you. Check out our top picks: