Katy Perry's breakthrough 2008 album was called One of the Boys, but she's about as masculine as a daffodil. The singer—best known for her flirty hit "I Kissed a Girl"—likes to flaunt her femme side with inch-long eyelashes, maraschino-cherry lips, and playful retro outfits like polka-dotted hot pants and tube dresses. "It's so about individual style," says Katy, 24. "If you're presenting yourself with confidence, you can pull off pretty much anything."

But her slightly outlandish behavior (she once belly-flopped onto a giant pink cake onstage at the Latin American MTV Awards) is no post-teen rebellion. Raised in Santa Barbara, California, she got her musical start singing in church (her parents were both pastors). Her first album, released in 2001, was—wait for it—Christian gospel, and the rules for her early years sound as if they were cribbed from Footloose: no pop music, no snacks, no boys. "My parents were strict, but it was the world I lived in," she says. "I had no idea there was a world outside."

All that changed at 17, when she moved out and started experimenting with both her music and her personal style. In the past year alone, she's racked up a No. 1 song, a gold album, a Grammy nod, and an admirer in Madonna. The trick to keeping everyone guessing? "I'm competitive with myself, and that goes hand in hand with how I present myself," Katy says. "I'm not only trying to put one foot in front of the other, I'm trying to put my best foot forward."

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Thankfully, Katy's life prescription is pretty simple: Trust your instincts, take chances, and never, ever be a wallflower. She shares her personal pointers below.

Find a signature style. "I don't follow trends. I'm just not into what everyone else is wearing. I have my own look, which I call 'Lolita Meets Old Hollywood Glam.' But there are certain times when I want to mix it up and be edgier. For last New Year's Eve, for example, I looked S&M in this all-black corset dress from Dolce & Gabbana, lace tights, and five-inch heels."


Buy vintage, but... "When I'm on tour, I love taking advantage of vintage stores on the outskirts of a middle-of-nowhere town. You can buy a dress for $20 and have it tailored for another $20, and still come out ahead. But if it smells musty, it really belongs in a trashcan. I bought this one awesome vintage handbag in Australia, but then one night realized that everything I pulled out of it smelled like mothballs."

Study your icons. "I'm a big fan of [actress and burlesque performer] Dita Von Teese, because she does it all herself. That is her job: to look fabulous going to the grocery store. Cyndi Lauper is another favorite. She was just so out of her mind in the '80s. It takes someone who has no limitations in style to create stuff that epic. I also like some of the hard ['I Love Rock 'N' Roll'] Joan Jett looks with leather and that whole cherry bomb–ness."

Dare to be a fashion Don't. "I like experimenting, and I'm totally OK with ending up in the 'worst dressed.' It's happened many, many times, but I'm proud of those outfits. I'll think, 'It's OK; you'll get it in a couple more years.' That's the running joke I have with my sister. She never understood the clothes I brought home from vintage stores, and then two years later they were selling the same look at Urban Outfitters."

Go ahead--make the first move. "I'm a good flirt. I'll buy a person a drink, and then catch him off guard, before he can even open his mouth. I like to take the upper hand a little bit and then see if he can bring me down to size. That's because I really need someone who's as confident in his own shoes as I am in mine."

Get all aflutter. "Onstage, I'll wear false lashes from Shu Uemura and MAC. But for every day, I'll use the individual lashes that come on those pink strips. When it comes to lipstick, I like satiny reds-­instead of mattes--with a bit of gold shimmer."


Walk it off. "I got really bad acne this past summer because I was so stressed out. I was on tour and had 14 smelly guys in my face all the time! When I feel like my serotonin is falling, or I'm thinking too much about one thing and letting it affect me, I'll get a massage or take a hike. I just put on a Madonna song and go."

Be nice to your body. "On holiday, I eat whatever I feel like. But on this tour the catering will be a lot more grilled chicken—nothing fried. Everything is going to be organic, and I'm going to have soy milk. No chips in sight—if they're in front of you, you eat them. Drinking a lot of water and staying hydrated is important too. I don't understand how some people live off of diet soda. I have a couple of friends who I have never seen with a bottle of water in their hands. I don't know how they get recharged."

Squeeze in exercise. "My concerts are an hour long, so I usually jump rope for half an hour beforehand to get warmed up. It's intense. Thankfully, I have a fast metabolism—though I may not be saying that 10 years from now."

Play it by ear. "I like to do spontaneous stuff with my friends. The other day we went bowling and played air hockey. My girlfriends and I are always looking for activities we can introduce each other to. Right now I'm setting up this thing called 'Dining in the Dark,' where blind people serve you [dinner] in a pitch-black room. [Ed's note: Trust us—this is an actual trend.] I love stuff like that. For me, a good dinner party is always better than a night out drinking."