High Price, Low-Key

The Series: “Christine Cromwell,” an “ABC Saturday Mystery” movie airing monthly. Next installment, Jan. 27.

The Look: Rich-girl financial adviser Christine Cromwell (Jaclyn Smith, pictured here) attains her well-heeled image with demure white blouses, designer suits and classic leather pumps. But, in the midst of so much understated, expensive dressing there are a few zingers. The blouses in particular get top billing for the way they frame the face, enhance the complexion and do all the other flattering things designers always say white blouses do. The fresh-cut flowers Cromwell wears on her suit lapels are another nice touch, and just might start a run on gardenia and rosebud boutonnieres. In contrast to Cromwell’s understated approach, her Auntie Mame-ish mother (Celeste Holm) is an older-woman fashion plate, with a flamboyant wardrobe of boldly patterned outfits.

The Labels: No budget specials here. The sportswear Smith promotes for K mart stores doesn’t cut it on this show. Costume designer Marjorie Bowers explains that she built Cromwell’s wardrobe from a single point of view: “We tried to establish her as having money from way back.” Donna Karan and Gianni Versace, along with Chanel and Armani, help support the image. As for Cromwell’s flashy mother, a lot of her clothes carry the Escada label.

The Stores: Most of the clothes come from designer boutiques in Los Angeles. Some are from specialty stores including Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and I. Magnin. And a few items come from Smith’s own closet. One, a black sequined evening dress with a cut-out back, which made its first appearance on the show’s first episode in November, was a knockout. It and others are likely to turn up again on future episodes. “She’s a working woman, she doesn’t have an unlimited wardrobe,” Bowers says of the stylish sleuth.

The Costumer: A former ready-to-wear designer, Bowers plucked the fashion plum of the season when she signed onto this project. The lavish budget allowed for 16 designer outfits in the first episode, priced from about $1,500 up, establishing Cromwell as a clotheshorse before the show’s credits ever started to roll.

The Script: A pretty, younger partner at one of San Francisco’s high-powered investment management firms, our heroine gets entangled with the powerful clients her boss (Ralph Bellamy) has to untangle from white-collar crimes. She can handle it--she’s more than just another stylish dresser. She’s got an MBA, a law degree, and experience as a public defender.

The Conflict: Since Smith has had so many professional images, from “Charlie’s Angel” to miniseries leading lady to makeup-and-perfume spokeswoman, it was up to Bowers to create something new. More than that, “there had to be a hook that separates Cromwell from other professional women on TV,” Bowers explains. That led to the character’s pristine fashion approach, with skirts just above the knee, necklines high, backs low. Bowers says that the young executive dresses very similarly to the off-camera Smith. “We went through Jaclyn’s closet to see her life-style choices, then struck a balance between the role and the actress,” Bowers says.

The Payoff: Simplicity can be seductive. And it doesn’t always have to be expensive. Of all her swanky designer-label selections, Cromwell never looks better than when she drips out of the shower and pops on a plush white terry-cloth robe. She ought to put that one in her recycler bin.