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Screen Style / Sizzle, No Fizzle

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The Movie: “The Fabulous Baker Boys.”

The Look: Smoldering. No, we don’t mean the standard issue tuxedos worn by the boys (Jeff and Beau Bridges). We’re talking about Susie Diamond (Michelle Pfeiffer), a nightclub singer, whose wardrobe of tight dresses and big, drippy earrings are a primer in dressing with sex appeal.

The Labels: New York designer Ronaldus Shamask made the black cocktail dress Diamond wears for her first lounge appearance with the boys. Costumer Lisa Jensen took in the seams to make sure the fit was skin tight. But, she says, that’s the only label in Diamond’s wardrobe that she can recall.

The Stores: Jensen does remember where she shopped, exactly. The discount houses on Santee Street in downtown Los Angeles, thrift shops in The Valley, Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and Addictions on Sunset. Almost everything was priced under $100, since Jensen figured that would be about all Diamond could afford on her tight budget.

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The Plan: Presumably, the brash, confident Diamond doesn’t read Vogue for lessons in how to exude sensuality. She just follows the golden rule of sex appeal: Don’t show it all. Although she has an ideal body, she avoids wearing anything obviously sexy, like the predictable, slit-to-the-thigh. As Jensen puts it: “You don’t always have to go for massive amounts of flesh pushed together. You should play hide-and-seek with the body.”

The Program: To show off her lithe figure, Diamond’s clothes are contoured to the body (several are made of Spandex), but still cover enough of her to seem subtle, compared with more obvious approaches to sexy dressing. Long sleeves make the point, as do bolero jackets that allow just a suggestion of midriff to show. The only bits of torso on view are the shoulders, neck, cleavage or back. Nothing gaudy about the color schemes either. Diamond goes for rich jewel tones or basic black. Instead of slit, sliced and suggestive shoes, Diamond wears classy black pumps (OK, so they have stiletto heels), and sheer black hose. No rhinestones running up the leg and no patterns. Rings, bracelets, and dangling, shoulder-length earrings provide the glitter.

The Payoff: Diamond’s garnet-red velvet dress, worn in her slithery “Making Whoopee” number on New Year’s Eve, is the piece de resistance, a model in sex-appeal, and the only garment in the show that Jensen designed. It’s a ‘30s-like halter-top number that hugs every curve. And while it suggests quite a lot, it doesn’t expose much. The snowflake- shaped “diamond” earrings that complete the outfit all but beg to be twirled.

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