Kate Hudson: Single and Loving It!

Kate Hudson and fashion designer Stella McCartney have been friends since they met backstage at the VH1 Fashion Awards eight years ago. In a candid chat with McCartney, Hudson shares a few secrets about style, dating, and the highs and lows of being a mom.

Stella: Who is your favorite designer? I mean, don't feel obliged ...
Kate: Well, I do. So I guess I'm gonna say you. [They burst into laughter.] But seriously, our friendship aside, you make clothes that are easy to wear. When I'm hurrying and want to just look nice, the clothes I put on are yours. Especially your suits! Your blazers are the best.

Stella: Hear that, In Style? I apparently do the best suits! [Kate claps.] Well, you come across as an effortless dresser, I have to say.
Kate: You know what? I think it's because I won't wear anything that's not comfortable.

Stella: I think you know your own style, don't you?
Kate: When I'm going somewhere, and I'm tired and not thinking about it at all, what I end up wearing is what I would say my style is. I like things that are comfortable and flowy -- and lots and lots of jewelry.

[ See Kate Hudson's In Style Pics ]

Stella: You are a real jewelry girl. What if you had to choose between clothes and jewelry?
Kate: I'd rather die! I'd probably pick jewelry. I still sneak into my mom's jewelry box. Mom and I share a lot, actually.

Stella: Does your mom still have her clothes from the sixties?
Kate: No! I got so upset when I learned she threw them out. I want them! She wore the most amazing clothes in the eighties too. She had so much Azzedine Alaia. And the shoes! I'd walk into her closet and she'd have every color of pumps imaginable. I remember my favorites were magenta and turquoise.

Stella: But your mom presumably kept the jewelry. Does she let you borrow that?
Kate: Oh, yeah. When I was a little girl, there was this necklace she had that was my favorite. I would wear it around the house. It was a Victorian choker with pearls and a diamond center. Two years ago for Christmas, I opened up a present and she had given it to me. I cried and cried. The thing I love about opening my jewelry box, although I'm like this about clothes, too, is that I know where everything came from and everything means something. Like this Loree Rodkin ring I'm wearing -- I bought it for Chris. He wore it for a really long time, and then he saw somebody else wearing the same one ... and he never put it on again! I just loved it so much, I kept it for myself.

Stella: So, what are some style tips you've picked up along the way?
Kate: I discovered these great undergarments I can't live without called Nearly Nude.

[ See How Kate Has Gone From Bouncing Baby to Bohemian Beauty ]

Stella: Yes, that's what we use on runway models.
Kate: They're so great. And you can wear them under any dress; they're really thin. Also, Wolford makes a kind of slip that holds you in. It's a little expensive, but women should invest in that!

Stella: Let's talk about your movie "Bride Wars," [which is] about [a] rivalry between two friends. Are you a girl's girl?
Kate: I am, but I'm also comfortable around boys because I grew up with three brothers.

Stella: I know I cherish your friendship as a girlfriend. Have you encountered the kind of rivalry that's portrayed in the film -- how girls can be mean to each other?
Kate: Most of us have been in a situation where women are very threatened by other women. I've been in situations where just being happy was a threat to others. But I'm not like that. I was raised to root for other people. And I think we need that.

Stella: You big hippie! I'm kidding you. I think you are absolutely right. Light radiates light.
Kate: My favorite part about the film was the importance of friendship -- that's really what the movie is about. With all of the pettiness that's involved, it's a nice reminder that no matter how far you take it with your friends, whether you're fighting with them or you hate them for two months, you just really need them, because they're the ones who teach you the most about yourself.

[ Find out Which Other Celebs Wear Stella McCartney ]

Stella: What's it like being a single mom working on a film?
Kate: Being a single parent can be difficult, but I don't feel I am one. Chris and I really are co-parenting, and the traveling is where it gets difficult. Chris is on the road, and I've had a busy last year, so I am going to take a break in 2009. I want to soak in every little part of who Ryder is right now.

Stella: Don't even get me started. I don't want to miss a second with my kids.
Kate: When he climbs into bed with me, wraps his arms around me and says, "Mommy, the sun's up! It's a beautiful morning!" I'm sorry, do I really want to go to work then? No! Making movies just in terms of the hours -- they're so long ... I feel blessed that our mothers struggled and worked hard to make it OK for us to be working mothers and that people now accept it more when we say, "I want to take my child to school today, or I can't come to work today till 9."

Stella: I had such respect for my parents, I didn't want to screw with that too much by rebelling. I was more interested in learning from them. Having working parents really affected me, but I always felt so loved and cared for.
Kate: Still, maintaining the balance can be exhausting.

Stella: It can be insane. Every second you have when you're not with the kids is spent filling in all the work stuff, and you never get to exercise or relax or sit down. I'm married, so I've got the responsibility of being a wife on top of that.
Kate: I'm actually enjoying being single right now because I really never have been.

[ Stars Share Their Favorite Holiday Traditions ]

Stella: You're a hot ticket! You've always been in demand.
Kate: I feel good in relationships ... but it's also the first time I've ever taken a step back and gotten a new perspective. So I've made a conscious decision to try to stay single as long as possible.

Stella: Yeah, babe, I know! What's it been -- all of two weeks? Congratulations!
Kate: Exactly. I'm just trying to be an adult on my own.

To read more with Kate, pick up the January 2009 issue of In Style, on newsstands December 19.