Sartorial Savvy--Like Good Taste--Must Be Learned

Debra’s problem was her appearance: thick, naturally wavy hair just past her shoulders, a body to die for, teeth flashing alabaster white against a perfect tan--just a hint of makeup.

Debra always dressed to accent her attributes, which in her case include just about everything. The skirts were above the knee, the belts wide and body-hugging, and her big, dangling earrings caught the light when they emerged from that mane of dark hair.

The look, on this 29-year-old single woman, was L.A. chic-eclectic, provocative. Sexy.

It was ALL WRONG.

Poor Debra was looking to make sales deals, but potential clients were hoping for a transaction of another kind.

“The issue is getting the man to sign on the bottom line, not having him ask you out to lunch,” says Dianna, who’s been called in to help.

We are in Debra’s bedroom, in her apartment within shouting distance of the ocean in Hermosa Beach, and Dianna Pfaff-Martin, founder of California Image Advisors in Newport Beach, is at work. The video camera, stationed on a tripod and aimed at the portable clothes rack Dianna has brought along, is rolling.

Debra has pulled out some outfits from her closet that she considers appropriate for work. Dianna will be the judge of that.

“Why did you buy this blouse?” Dianna asks, nice and neutral, holding up a short-sleeved silk number in a tiny black and white print.

“Uh, well, I liked it,” Debra says.

“Hmmm,” says Dianna.

This is the touchy part, see. You don’t want to come right out and say “OH MY GOD! What ever possesed you to buy this thing?” but then again, you do want to set the client straight, diplomatically, for her own good.

“Good taste is learned ,” Dianna is fond of saying.

She offers that while the tiny print blouse is nice, fine , it’s too employee, too working-girl. A strong working-woman look, in a color scientifically proven to elicit certain positive responses, would be much more appropriate.

Then comes the matter of the black belt. Dianna deems it a bit too wide (read passe) and inexpensive-looking (cheap). As to the clothes that had already been excised from Debra’s wardrobe before my visit, Dianna explains that they were too alluring. (Slinky? Maybe sexy? Or, perhaps, tawdry beyond belief? )

At any rate, none of that will do. What Debra wants is a power look, a sophisticated, moneyed look, and OK, as a bonus, she’s told Dianna on her “lifestyle questionnaire,” she’d like “to attract the man of my dreams.”

“What you want are things that look upscale,” Dianna says, “whether they are or not.” Why advertise the fact that, as Debra describes it, she’s in a “transition period” (i.e., unemployed with high hopes for the future)?

Debra couldn’t agree more. After all, being a take-charge kind of person herself--”Career goal No. 1: Make $100,000 by the end of March, 1991”--she has sought this expert help.

She’s already invested $170 for an initial two-hour consultation with Dianna and was so impressed with her advice that she’s bought into the $850 program (minimum of 10 hours).

(“Remember,” says Fernando, a.k.a. Billy Crystal, “looking good is much more important than feeling good.” )

“What I’m moving Debra to is a more classic look,” explains Dianna, a tall, striking brunette who seems to epitomize that very image herself.

Then she holds a silk fuchsia blouse under another blouse in a black and white houndstooth check, paired with a black skirt. This is a “do.” Later, the houndstooth goes under a black and white windowpane-check jacket.

“Not everybody can pull this off, but Debra can,” Dianna says. “Remember, the more complex you get, the higher the socioeconomic level that you project.”

(Dianna, meantime, seems to be able to pull off just about anything herself. She’s one of those women who instinctively know what to do with a scarf. On most everyone else, the same thing would look like a napkin they forgot to take off after lunch.)

Debra seems to be taking all the scrutiny pretty well. That is to say she is not in tears. She manages to smile, even while conceding that the scope of Dianna’s “strategic wardrobe planning with the psychology of color response” can be a bit intimidating.

“Like when I would go shopping,” Debra says, “I would just go for the labels first of all. Like Jones of New York. I thought, ‘If Jones of New York would put this together, it’s got to be pretty good.’ ”

Debra, Debra, Debra . . .

The client knows better now, of course. Keep in mind that this is Debra’s second session with Dianna. She glances at the merely serviceable Jones of New York suit, in solid navy blue, that hangs on her closet doorknob. It is one of several rejects to be offered to her sister or to charity.

Flipping through the core of Debra’s new power wardrobe, Dianna pronounces the black and white windowpane-check jacket the hands-down winner. It is the centerpiece of Debra’s new “interview outfit.”

“Hmmm,” Debra says. “When I bought that . . . I don’t know. I thought it’s really not my style. But come to think of it, I actually got a couple of sales from that jacket.”

Dianna smiles, knowingly. Debra is coming around.

Then, thinking about, you know, after her career goals are met, Debra asks, “Do guys like pink?”

“Ah,” Dianna allows. “Pink comes from red , doesn’t it? . . . Remember, men have an instinctual attraction to red. If your strategic plan is to attract a man, I would suggest you go with the yellow-based red, even if you don’t look good in it. Men don’t know. They just like it.”

The smile crossing Debra’s face widens. Her eyes take on a faraway cast.

So much to buy, so little time. . . .

Dianne Klein’s column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Klein by writing to her at The Times Orange County Edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626, or calling (714) 966-7406.