Tinsel Time : Shiny Sequins and Beading Will Be Out in Force at Next Week’s Inaugural Balls, Insiders Say

Here’s what’s in style for the first Democratic inauguration in 12 years: floor-length gowns, yards of black velvet, fireworks of beads, upswept coiffures and scintillating jewels.

Hillary Rodham Clinton will set the formal, glittery tone at the inaugural balls Wednesday night with a slender, long-sleeved violet lace gown embroidered with iridescent beads and topped with a shirred overskirt of blue-violet mousseline by Sarah Phillips, a 37-year-old New York designer.

Seems like old times, huh?

Never mind that the Clintons and Gores will roll into Washington by bus and that the festivities are being ballyhooed as a “people’s inaugural.” When it comes to the invitation-only swirl of receptions, cocktail parties, black-tie dinners, balls and galas, the Democratic fashion scene will have much the same glamour quotient as its Republican predecessor.

“It’s no cotton gingham group, that’s for sure,” said Robin Weir, the Washington, D.C., hairstylist who tended Nancy Reagan’s coiffure. “I thought it would be a sort of no-frills Carter style, but I was wrong. We’ve gotten more requests to do private hotel calls--which are pretty pricey, darling--and fancy up-dos than ever before.”

Added designer Bill Blass: “It’s going to be a very dressy group. It’s not a matter of whether it’s Republicans or Democrats. It’s a once-in-four-years celebration for which everyone pulls out all the stops.”

Blass, who was a favorite frock-maker of Nancy Reagan and Barbara Bush, now gets the nod from Pamela Harriman, Washington’s Democratic grande dame. He confided that he did “a couple of gowns, all long,” for her to wear for the festivities.

From Little Rock, Ark., to Beverly Hills, the buzz from the fashion front is that the Clinton inauguration will be a sophisticated, stylish gathering, more Kennedyesque than Carterish, and will mix Arkansas sparkle with Tinseltown flash. Among the stars expected to shine are Barbra Streisand, Annette Bening and Warren Beatty, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin, Diana Ross, Luther Vandross, Meryl Streep, Michael Bolton, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams.

Although the ’93 inaugural look is expected to measure up to previous Republican wingdings, there will be some marked differences.

The unabashed opulence ushered in by the Reagans and repeated, albeit in a more modest guise, at the Bush inauguration, will be demode at the Clinton festivities. Don’t expect to see sable shoulders rubbing elbows with mink, diamond necklaces at prayer breakfasts, and doorway-wide bouffant gowns waltzing to “Begin the Beguine.”

Furs will rarely be glimpsed among this environmentally correct crowd. (PETA--People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals--which demonstrated at the Reagan inauguration, is holding a gala fund-raiser during next week’s round of parties.)

More rhinestones than rubies will be on display, although a spark of jewels is perfectly acceptable. (Hillary Clinton has reportedly borrowed a 4-carat Canary yellow diamond from an Arkansas jeweler to wear to the inaugural ball.)

The emphasis will be on long, bare, slinky gowns that show off the aerobicized bodies of the baby-boom contingent, some of whom may wear Reeboks beneath their finery to kick up their heels to Fleetwood Mac.

Black--in velvet and silk--is the color of choice, but look for a blitz of sequins and beads to liven things up. There’ll be a lot of designer labels--Donna Karan, Badgley Mischka, Chanel and Blass are top choices--many of them one-night Cinderella numbers from rental shops.

“We’re working overtime to keep up with the demand,” Jeffrey Gates, owner of One Night Affair Gown Rentals on Westwood Boulevard, said, echoing his colleagues around the country.

“And they want the best of the best--Bob Mackie, Gianni Versace and Bill Blass gowns are blowing out of the store. Bill and Al may be arriving in town by bus, but the ladies want drop-dead glamour looks.”

Fred Hayman said that his Rodeo Drive boutique has sold more gowns than it did for the Bush inauguration. “I’d describe it as less glitzy and more elegant,” said Hayman, whose bestsellers were long, sinuous styles by Geoffrey Beene and Carolina Herrera.

Arlette Thebault, a Chanel spokeswoman, reported brisk sales in slender, elegant gowns. “There was more a ball gown feeling four years ago,” she said. “Today it’s more understated chic.”

Feinstein’s, a boutique in Little Rock, on the other hand, had a run on “very, very dressy gowns with lots and lots of beads.”

“We’re pretty much sold out,” said Helen Gaunt, the store’s manager. “The range has been from bouffant ball gowns to sequined slip dresses.”

At Barbara Jean Ltd., one of Hillary Clinton’s favorite haunts, the accent has been on long, slinky gowns by Donna Karan, Badgley Mischka and Escada. “Some clients have purchased entire inaugural wardrobes,” said Barbar Baber, the store’s owner. “And we’ve sold out all our DKNY jeans to wear to Sunday night’s ‘Bluejean Bash.’ ”

As for who’s wearing what, Linda Bloodworth-Thomason will reportedly wear something long and green; Earletha (Cookie) Johnson, Magic’s wife, has chosen a long black tuxedo gown by Richard Tyler, and Donna Karan, like many inaugural fashion plates, has yet to make up her mind.

In the capital, even jaded Washingtonians who regard inaugurations as organized pandemonium for out-of-towners, are excited by the impending festivities. “There weren’t any new faces before,” observed Weir, the VIP hairstylist. “But this is a fresh crowd with lots of energy and youth.”

Iris Krasnow, a TV reporter who has covered three inaugurations, added: “There’s a less uptight attitude about clothes. I’m going to a Georgetown party for Maya Angelou (the poet who will recite at the inauguration) and there’s not even a dress code on the invitation. Everybody’s expected to look good, but it’s not the last days of Versailles like it used to be.”