EXCLUSIVE: Read it here first...

Sean Avery Comes Out of the Vogue Closet

Mon., Jun. 23, 2008 1:27 PM PDT by Marc Malkin

Hannah Thomson for mensvogue.com

Professional hockey player Sean Avery has no problem being in the closet—a fashion closet, that is.

And just because the hunky New York Rangers left wing may be able to tell the difference between a Jimmy Choo and a Manolo Blahnik, it doesn't mean he's gay. In fact, you best not even think of poking fun at him for his obession with fashion.

Avery explains it all in a piece he just posted on MensVogue.com about his recent internship at Vogue.

What?

Yes, Avery interned at Vogue!

So why on earth did a professional hockey player write a letter to Vogue editrix Anna Wintour asking for an internship?

"I like clothes," Avery writes. "Always have. What started innocently enough with my first tie-dyed Chip & Pepper shirt at age 12 has evolved over a decade and a half into a closet full of Dries Van Noten, YSL, Dior, and Costume National, to name just a few."

Avery, 28, goes on to say he prefers the Style section of the New York Times over the sports pages and that he thinks "women's clothes are especially interesting—there are so many options, and they can tell more of a story."

He waxes on about picking clothes for photo shoots. Of one he writes, "Try to spot the leopard-print Alexander McQueen vest that pulled the outfit together."

Avery admits some question whether he's straight, so he makes a point—well, a few points—to show how he's so not gay. He recalls being distracted by "some of the best-looking and best-dressed women in New York" when he had his first lunch in the company cafeteria.

The best, however, has to be his parting words. He dares anyone to tease him about his obsession with fashion.

"Go right ahead," he writes. "Just know that you may get your ass kicked by a very expensive pair of shoes—and that they'll probably match both my belt and my shirt."

In other words: Sean's here, he's not queer, so ya better get used to it.