By Nichola Groom

LOS ANGELES (Reuters Life!) - Tim Gunn, the endearing mentor to fledgling fashion designers on the popular TV reality show "Project Runway," has some advice for a certain female presidential candidate -- get some style, Hillary.

Best know for encouraging fashion design contestants to "make it work," Gunn has a new show on the Bravo network premiering Sept. 6, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," in which he helps "fashion-challenged" women remake their wardrobes.

Hillary Clinton, however, is not one of them.

Gunn, who is also chief creative director of Liz Claiborne Inc, spoke to reporters about fashion must-haves, his newfound fame, and how he'd like to make over Hillary Clinton:

Q: Who would you like to make over?

A: "Can I just tell you a presidential candidate who's disappointing me? Hillary Clinton. The fashion trajectory that I thought she was beginning as First Lady, I wish that that had continued. I just find her uniform to be, forgive me, kind of a crashing bore. I wish she would step it up a notch."

Q: If someone had $200 to kick-start their fall wardrobe, what pieces would you recommend they buy?

A: "If you don't have a basic black dress, you had better get one. And you can certainly get do that for $200 or under."

Q: What is the one fashion mistake that drives you crazy?

A: "For me it's the bare midriff. I just don't believe in showing skin that people don't need to see. I find it as unattractive on a 16-year-old girl as on a 60-year-old woman."

Q: Is your television persona a true reflection of you?

A: "I really am that person so I don't have to turn something on and off. It's just who I am, which is a relief."

Q: What celebrities are fashion inspirations?

A: "Angelina Jolie is pretty consistent, I think, in doing it well. But we use people like Raquel Welch, a woman who is not 20 and not a size 2, and she's absolutely fabulous. Oprah is another one."

Q: What fashion trend do you hate?

A: "Could you make a pair of Crocs beautiful? I think they are just appalling, to be honest."

Q: What do you say to people who say fashion is not important to them?

A: "Everybody needs to be concerned about the message that their clothes are sending."

Q: How have you adjusted to all the attention you get?

A: "I still pinch myself every day and I say I'm the luckiest guy in the world. When this happens to you after you've turned 50, you have a sincere appreciation for what a phenomenon it is. I still can't get over it."

Q: Is there an icon in the public eye both past and present who you think is the epitome of a well-dressed man?

A: " Well, Cary Grant in terms of an incredible fashion icon and... living? Probably George Clooney."

Q: When will we see a Tim Gunn fashion line?

A: "I don't think that's going to happen."

Q: What's your least fashionable item of clothing?

A: "Probably a pair of cargo shorts. I should throw them away. I don't wear them, either, so it's silly, but they are there."