Mary-Kate Olsen has come a long way, looking confident and sultry on the July cover of Elle. In the article, after admitting that she enjoys reading the fine print — she's a pro by now — she talks a little about what it was like growing up a star, her infamous style, and that twin of hers. Plus, we get to hear some style icons gush about her for a change. It's no secret that I've always been a fan of MK, but there's still something so great about seeing her really come into her own. Here are highlights: [1]

[1]

• On Ashley: “We don’t agree all the time. The way we go about business or designing or making a decision is that we come at it from two completely different angles that at the end of the day, even when we don’t think we’re agreeing with each other, we are agreeing. We’re just getting there in different ways. Unless you’re a twin, you honestly can’t know how close twins can be. There’s such a strength, but that also makes it…” Her voice trails off. “When there’s that much love there’s…Well, there’s the opposite of everything, but it stems from love, and it stems from passion. We’re driven people. I do know I can’t work in an office. Ashley, on the other hand, loves going to an office.”
• On being sexy: “I feel like I can be sexy when I want to be,” she says. “I think all women are sexy. Some may feel it more than others. I personally think the women who are the most sexy are the women who are truly themselves, whatever that may be.”
• On her fashion: “I don’t know—you’re either on the worst-dressed list or you’ve started a fashion trend. I think there’s a real disconnect between the media’s perception of fashion and the fashion world’s idea of fashion. I don’t know why I wear some of the things I wear. I like wearing crazy things sometimes. I like being playful. Sometimes I feel like I’m playing dress-up and becoming a character. It’s sort of like an art. It can change your mood or the way that people are attracted to you.”

To see what Karl Lagerfeld, Diane von Furstenberg and Lauren Hutton have to say about MK just

• Lauren Hutton on MK: “I feel like M.K. is a kindred spirit. She lives an experimental life. When you’re young, you should be trying on lots of things, not just clothes. She understands that. You’re not born with taste. That’s a bunch of hooey. Like everything else, taste is a process of discovery. I like that about her. She’s always discovering her tastes.”
• Karl Lagerfeld on MK: “I love a tiny woman in Chanel. Coco herself was tiny, so you don’t need to be a giant to look good in these. I like the way M.K. is mixing Chanel with other things. Life is not a fashion show, and I find a total designer look boring.”
• DvF on MK: “Mary-Kate is fragile yet strong...She’s an old soul in a very young girl. Hers is a story that has just begun.”

Say what you will about how she dresses, from starstruck tweens to the biggest names in fashion, I'm not sure anyone has a fan base like Mary-Kate Olsen. Now while I wait to see what she and Ashley come out with next, I'll go back to coveting all pretty much the entire Elizabeth and James [2] line.