I am not ashamed to admit that I’m a huge Kelly Cutrone fan. At Britt’s recommendation I read her book, which I loved, and Mondays are much harder to get through now that I don’t have Kell On Earth to look forward to. (Even though we still get to see her lay the smackdown on Roxy and Olivia every now and again on The City).

So when I heard that the PR maven herself would give a free lecture on Wednesday afternoon, I knew that I had to attend, since she never fails to provide me with an overwhelming surge of girl power.

Dozens of career women on their lunch breaks and teenage girls crowded around Ms. Cutrone in Bryant Park for a Q &; A, and in her typical fashion, she wasn’t holding back the sass.

One of the first questions came from a local design student without any “connections” who wanted advice on how to get her foot in the door. Without missing a beat, Kelly snapped, “Did you read my book? Huh? NO!” But instead of continuing to bust the poor girl’s chops, she handed her a free copy of If You Have To Cry, Go Outside.

For an hour and a half, Kelly shared her wisdom, frustrations, and generally hilarious sound bites with the captive audience. She blamed her decidedly unglamorous appearance on the stresses of her everyday life, saying, “this look slowly came to be. Like an outside table after a couple of winters.”

The thing I find most fascinating about Cutrone is her appeal to women of all ages and walks of life, many of whom are very far removed from the fashion industry. Take away the whole “fashion” aspect from her persona, and she’s still a successful entrepreneur, a TV star, and a pretty damn good role model.

Cutrone is extremely forthcoming and generous with her advice. She values ambition and hard work, and she seems to genuinely care about girls reaching their potential and living their dreams. A young fan in the audience revealed that Kelly invited her to walk around Virginia’s Busch Gardens after the fan responded to a tweet that Kelly would be there with her daughter, Ava.

Whether you love Kelly or hate her, it’s hard not to admire her honesty, and in this often-pretentious industry, her no-bullshit attitude is refreshing. Some of the truth she spills might be tough to hear, but judging by the length of the line to shake her hand at the end of the session–which I sadly didn’t make it to the front of–there are plenty of people out there listening.

And if you still haven’t read her book, we suggest you go pick it up. You’ll thank us later.