Editors Know a Teen or Two : Seventeen magazine’s experts will present a fashion show at Huntington Center.

Wendy Lanham and Mendy Brannon took one look at a possible outfit for their upcoming fashion show and knew it wouldn’t work for their teen-age audience.

They didn’t object to the black and white faux fur pony print jacket--they loved that--or the black stirrup pants. It was the shiny red rayon tank top. As merchandising editors for Seventeen magazine, the two make it their business to study the style tastes of their target audience of 15- to 18-year-olds, and experience tells them that the tank would never fly.

“A 17-year-old would not wear red rayon; it’s not young,” says Lanham, using the magazine’s operative word. “They’re into more casual, cotton clothes that are fresh-looking.”

Brannon promptly replaced the offending tank with a casual green sweater.

Lanham and Brannon are visiting Orange County from the magazine’s headquarters in New York City to present a “Party Looks” fashion show at Huntington Center Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

At the show, the two will find clothes from the mall for local winners of a model search to wear as a way to illustrate the magazine’s perspective on holiday styles.

“We know how to get that Seventeen look,” Lanham says.

The inspiration for the clothes seen in Seventeen is usually the runways of Paris and New York, but they are always given a youthful spin.

“We’re coming right from couture lines,” Lanham says. “We’re just interpreting them for young women.”

Thus, while the magazine might show a blazer, it’s not going to be paired with a silk blouse.

“We’d probably show it with a white T-shirt,” she says. “We find a Hanes white T-shirt goes under everything. It’s fresh.”

For the holidays, teen-age girls want party dresses that are either “long-long or short-short,” Lanham says. Conservative tea-length dresses are out.

Young women are also more willing than older women to show off their bodies, so strapless and streamlined dresses are in demand for the season’s special occasions and Christmas balls.

“The big party looks are dressy styles from the ‘40s and ‘50s--the Marilyn Monroe influence,” Lanham said. “It’s really glitzy.”

Halter and fit-n-flare or mermaid dresses in bright, knock-out colors or black and white, often studded with sequins, give the girls the star quality they want.

“If the dresses are long, they’re slinky,” Lanham says. “There’s nothing full.”

To demonstrate, they took Huntington Beach resident Marni Peterson, 15, winner of the mall’s model search for the show, and put her in a short purple satin off-the-shoulder dress with “scrunchy” fabric that molded to her slender figure.

Gloves are hot with teens, so they added elbow-length black satin gloves to Peterson’s outfit. Accessories, like clothes, have to be chosen with an eye toward youth and energy. “They’re making the outfits nowadays,” Lanham says.

Neutral pantyhose were flatly rejected for Peterson’s party outfit. Too boring. The editors prefer sheer or opaque hose “to give it that young look,” Lanham says. They had Peterson try a pair of sheer black hose, which kept her short dress from looking as if it chopped her off at the thighs.

For Peterson’s jewelry, they chose drop earrings with small rhinestones. They nixed any necklaces to avoid a cluttered look.

“We don’t use a lot of clunky stuff,” Lanham says. Big earrings are out for this age group. Small silver hoops or simple pearl studs give a more youthful, clean look.

“We also keep the hair and makeup very natural,” Lanham says. “We encourage girls to go with the best that they have.”

Peterson’s blond hair was swept up into a French twist, the perfect balance between simplicity and sophistication. Overdone hair styles are a mistake for parties.

“The big, high hair isn’t in,” Brannon says.

They also stay away from the 3-inch spiked heels that more mature women love to wear to parties. Lower heels and flats offer a more youthful look, says Brannon. Gold ballet slippers are a perfect choice for evening.

Going to a party doesn’t have to mean wearing a dress. The editors recommend plenty of alternatives: black velvet leggings that can be paired with sheer shirts, sequined shorts (to be worn with opaque hose), velvet-collared poet blouses and iridescent trenches, or even a motorcycle jacket thrown over a short skirt or leggings.

In addition to party clothes, the editors will show rugged cold-weather clothing such as sweaters, Navajo blanket coats, parkas and flannel shirts for a “Northern Exposure” segment. Little black dresses in all fabrics and styles--shown with the season’s popular oversized pearls--and brightly colored evening wear and sportswear will be shown as well.

Lanham and Brannon travel the country producing high-energy fashion shows for Seventeen.

“We let the pages of the magazine come to life through the shows,” Lanham says.