Same Show, Different Dave

The Show: “Late Show With David Letterman,” CBS, weekdays at 11:30 p.m.

The Setup: David (Dave) Letterman exits longtime NBC perch for similar talk show at an earlier hour. Musical director Paul Shaffer joins him as sidekick.

The Costume Designer: None.

The Look: The Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City has been remodeled for the new show and so has Letterman. The slimmed-down star, reportedly about 20 pounds lighter than when last seen on TV, appears to have padded out his wardrobe with recent shopping sprees at Paul Stuart and Ralph Lauren in New York.

The sport jackets, khakis and sneakers that were his staples have been replaced by extremely smooth yet conservative dark double-breasted suits, white shirts, perfectly dimpled ties and dress shoes. His guests may go for jeans (Bill Murray) or weird Hollywood tailoring (Robin Williams), but Letterman’s goofy grin and messy, short haircut give him all the edge he needs.

Hit: Johnny Carson would have worn a tux for his opening show, but Letterman stayed in character as the still-irreverent-even-at-11:30 guy by wearing a beautiful charcoal-gray suit.

Try This at Work: Quiet ties. Besides Charlie Rose on PBS, Letterman may be the only TV host (make that news anchor, too) who consistently favors ties with small, discreet patterns. These may not be considered as hip as abstract prints with giant images, but as Letterman proves, the man can have more personality than his tie.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t: In his promo pictures, Letterman wears round, clear glasses. In pre-taped skits, he wears gold wire-rim glasses. Behind the desk, he wears no glasses. So, do the glasses stay or do they go?

Miss: While Paul Shaffer tries to look, well, musical and free, in an array of loud jackets, shirts and vests (including one appliqued with a guitar and rainbow), his choices lean toward the variety of butt-of-jokes clothing that the old “Tonight Show’s” Doc Severinsen made famous. Maybe that’s the idea.