I’m such a fan of The Edit. It’s the best online-magazine launch in a long time. The Edit is net-a-porter.com’s in-house magazine, and they almost always do a beautiful editorial job. This week’s cover girl is Eva Mendes and while the editorial is very striking, it’s giving me a weird vibe. Like, this is Eva’s “Italian widow” pictorial. The vibe reminds me of The Godfather. Is it just me? And when you have a model like Eva, who is famous for having great hair, I don’t think you should give her this crazy bouffant thing. Anyway, you can read Eva’s full Edit profile here, and here are some highlights:

Her early days in Hollywood: “At the beginning it was tricky – I had to choose between paying the rent sometimes and having artistic integrity. [But] I’ve always worked with great people,” she adds diplomatically. “I like taking advantage of my range.”

The Place Beyond the Pines: “It was the first time I felt like I’d played a real person. When I saw the film, I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s a real woman with real struggles and torture behind her eyes’. That was big for me.”

She brought Ryan Gosling’s dog to the interview: A sign that their relationship may still be going strong can be found at the actress’ feet: two sleeping dogs she calls “my loves”, her regal Belgian Malinois, Hugo, and Gosling’s hulking mutt, George.

She wants to work with Almodovar: Working with Pedro Almodóvar is next on her wish list – she emailed the director to tell him so. “I’d love to work with Penélope Cruz on an Almodóvar film,” she says. “Penélope’s kind of the greatest.” The director has yet to bite, but Mendes says, “I believe in planting seeds. If you genuinely love somebody’s work, I think you should tell them.”

Her side-project with New York & Company: “I’m particular about who I lend my name to,” she says. Before agreeing to it, she consulted her mother and sisters: “Everybody was like, ‘This is amazing!’” It will appeal to fans of Mendes’ retro-chic style. “It’s directly inspired by my closet,” says the actress, who loves body-flattering, vintage-print dresses. But she often makes a beeline for Goodwill stores. “I think it comes back to not having the means to buy what you wanted. I’ve never grown out of being that girl.”

Fashion rules: “If you go short, no cleavage or anything super-fitted; if you’re covered from head to toe, you can go as fitted as you like.”

She doesn’t want to talk about Gosling: Mendes reveals that shooting has wrapped on How to Catch a Monster and that it was “an incredible experience”, but that’s all she’ll say. “I’m not trying to be cagey or protective,” she insists. “But when I go through something that has such an impact on me, it’s tough for me to articulate.” When I broach the Mendes/Gosling relationship, she winces. “I’m sorry. I’m shutting down,” she says, half apologetically. “I’m such a weirdo. I literally lose my ability to speak – and you were doing so well,” she adds.

Her protective bubble: I recount a recent report that she has told Gosling she wants to be married by the time she turns 40 and start a family. “Oh, is that what they’re saying?” she replies, arching one of her eyebrows before explaining that gossip, like red meat, is not part of her diet. “I live in a very protective kind of bubble that I’ve created for myself,” Mendes says. She shifts her gaze to Hugo, still sleeping at her feet. “You know, he’s an attack dog,” she adds with a smile.

[From The Edit]

So basically when a journalist asks about Ryan Gosling, Eva coyly hints that she’ll sic her attack dog on the reporter? Classy. Why not a simple “no comment”? It’s not that difficult. That’s my problem with so many of these ladies – they work so hard to not even get the personal questions and it’s like they don’t even realize how easily they could deflect the personal questions themselves. Besides that, it’s not like Eva hates that we’re talking about her relationship with Gosling. Dating Ryan Gosling is the best career move she’s made in a long time! She wanted us to see photos of the two of them together. But it’s all a game. Blah. As for the Almodovar stuff – she really reminded of Jessica Biel there. So much hustle and so little acting chops to back it up.

Photos courtesy of The Edit.