Behati Prinsloo & her NYC Pad

From our vantage point, a model's life can often seem nothing short of otherworldly. They jet-set and have the ability to practically transform clothing into art. But really, when you get right down to it, they usually have super messy closets, eccentric book collections, and way too many pairs of ankle boots, just like us. Or at least, the ones we love do.

Twenty-year-old Behati Prinsloo is just such a lady. The Namibia-born beauty, who's graced campaigns for H&M to Marc by Marc Jacobs and has strutted for everyone from Chanel to Louis Vuitton, considers herself a "jeans and T-shirt" kind of girl, but there's more to this budding fashion star than meets the eye.

Her apartment, the local's East Village mixes up vintage wares, a hookah den, a giant Kid Robot sculpture, and various other curiosities reveals another side of this fashion plate... Here's a sneak-peek into Prinsloo's downtown crash-pad, where she shacks up with her pretty kitty Gollum. .

Jessica Stam NYC pied-à-terre

Stam was brought up on a farm in rural Ontario, Canada. She lived in a Victorian house, had a cow named Bessie and a collie named Lassie, and was the only girl amid six strapping brothers. That's before a modeling scout discovered her in 2002, when she was 15, sipping hot chocolate at a doughnut shop. Now, she mused Steven Meisel, and her face, with its huge eyes and small pointy chin, become the defining look of the aughts. She lives super stylishly and jet about life. But there's a hint of the country girl craving to be synthesized, other than a scrubbed, a fresh quality beneath her rock ’n’ roll cool...

So, she bought the bright, polished one-bed two-bath; drawn to its location, a few blocks from New York City’s Union Square, and the fact that it “wasn’t cookie-cutter.” In a converted factory building, it had prewar proportions (high ceilings, huge windows), but it also had the spa steam shower and designer kitchen!

She removed some of the wallpaper in favor of muted gray paint. She kept bits of the satin and Lucite, but added more tailored elements— a plump little ’40s chair was reupholstered in black-and-white tweed from the same factory that produced Chanel’s fabrics; the pink satin headboard in gray leather; chrome and crystal lamps replaced ornate white ceramic.

Although she says she’s not at all into “granny,” it’s hard not to notice that her favorite new sheets are edged in cotton embroidery and that there’s a shabby rustic wooden chair tucked in a corner; a thrift-store painting of a bird (that she asked not be photographed because it didn’t quite go) in the guest bathroom; and many, many photos of her family, who still live in Ontario. Well, when your past includes snowmobiles, a tree house built by Dad, and 500 acres, but you just walked nine runways in Paris, which is now your favorite city, it’s rare to find yourself at home.

# City Girl, Olivia Palermo

Now, we don't really know Olivia Palermo. Maybe she's annoying. Maybe she stole your boyfriend. Maybe she's a rare gem who's been clawed and scratched at by the queen bees of the giant high-school cafeteria that is the New York social scene. We don't care, really.

Because at the end of the day, she had the stones to show up at an event -- the Dressed to Kilt fashion show -- that was chock full of the e-mail's recipients and the people who no doubt gobbled up every written word about her supposed ignominy, and she didn't flinch.

Here's the secret dreamworld of Olivia Palermo:

Age: 21

Who's the daddy?

Olivia's mother is an interior decorator

and her father is a real-estate developer.

Where does the money come from?

Family money meant that Olivia was a shoo-in

to the mercenary world of Manhattan society.

Interesting fabulousness:

Short-lived reign as New York's new It-girl,

now gets the sympathy vote

for having been the subject of so much bitching.

Key look: Italian-American princess.

Although Olivia Palermo is one of NYC's most photographed and most talked-about citizens as of late, super style web site Style.com failed to add her on the "people that matters" list. Oops, bad news for her...

# Helena Christensen

Helena Christensen is mind-blowing. Take one look at this Danish supermodel and your eyes will flash green with envy: svelte, honey-skinned, breathtakingly beautiful, and 41 years old no less.

Helena is a fashion goddess, a style icon of almost 20 years standing. Beautiful pieces from Marc Jacobs, Thakoon, Stella McCartney and Comme Des Garcons inform what she describes as her ‘simple yet quirky' style. So who better to put on the "iconic" section than this master dresser?

# Nicole Richie's Closet

If ever you've wished to be a fly on the wall of someone truly fabulous, here's your chance. We know Nicole has amazing style, but we're about to get real personal with her collection of killer footwear, exquisite jewels, and delectable bags. Are you ready? Step inside her enviable closet.

Pictures via Nicole Richie Fashion

# Sofia Coppola, en scene

Making girlish icons like Kirsten Dunst and Scarlett Johansson famous for playing the leads in her films, Sofia Coppola is the embodiment of virginal purity. Muse to Marc Jacobs and even appearing as his campaign model, Sofia's girlish style is never cloying, always modern and womanly.

This the secret dreamworld of Sofia Coppola captured in pictures...