DEFINING Style

Cary Grant had it. So did Marlene Dietrich, Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire. While each of these Hollywood legends projected a vastly different image, they all had one thing in common. They all had style.

Style is something difficult to define, yet people know it when they see it. Some have style and some don’t. To get a better understanding of style, The Times asked three Orange County fashion experts to share their thoughts on this elusive yet recognizable quality. Here are their views on style--what it is, who’s got it and how to get it.

Mary Dell Barkouras

The Newport Beach fashion consultant who lists “Entertainment Tonight” host Mary Hart as a client is a veteran of best-dressed lists. She’s often the stand-out in a crowd at Orange County’s glitzy galas.

At a recent luncheon and fashion show, Barkouras was again turning heads. Her eye-catching ensemble: a bright yellow jacket with a black collar and scrollwork on the shoulders, a black lace top, black skirt and a black and yellow hat.

Attention to detail is one key to her put-together look. She had carefully ruled out one mock croc purse with an ornate gold clasp because she knew the scrollwork on the blazer offered enough decoration. Instead she chose a simple black clutch.

To Barkouras, style emanates from the person within. She defines style as the self-confidence to carry off any look one wants.

“People with style have an ability to present themselves however they want to--elegant, informal, comfortable, amiable,” she says. “They have flair. It doesn’t just mean they’re well-dressed or good-looking. It means they leave an impression. It causes others to take a long look.”

One need not be young or thin to have style, she says. Barkouras is a great admirer of an 80-year-old woman who still models at local fashion shows.

“Her perfectly white hair, her beautiful hats, her posture--all contribute to her style.”

One also doesn’t have to be rich, she says, and money doesn’t automatically buy style. There are plenty of people with expensive wardrobes who lack style. Choosing clothes with care, regardless of budget, is critical.

Barkouras is no impulse buyer. She picks the pieces in her wardrobe with an eye toward longevity. The purse she carried with her yellow and black outfit was 18 years old, the hat was four, and the jacket dated back a year or two. Her philosophy is to buy basic, high-quality clothes and update with accessories.

“I don’t buy real trendy things,” she says. “This season I will buy a long vest and pants, but I won’t invest heavily in that look.”

Barkouras never buys an outfit for a specific occasion. Over the years she has cultivated a wardrobe with enough “base items” to handle any event, from formal to casual. She also refuses to buy a garment if she doesn’t already have something with which to wear it.

“I don’t start over with a new color. I remember what I have in my closet. Most people don’t,” she says. Such tactics keep her from buying the wrong garments out of desperation.

Still, style is not just a matter of shopping wisely for clothes.

“Someone can have beautiful things in their closet and not have style,” she says.

To have style, she says, one needs to look at the whole picture.

“Fashion is pulling it all together to develop a style that’s all your own,” she says. “Everyone has a distinctive air. It’s developing the personality inside of you and allowing it to come out.”

Rick Lamitie

As one of three owners of David Rickey and Co., a men’s clothier in Costa Mesa, Rick Lamitie counsels leading sports and business figures about style. David Rickey’s client list includes the entire NFL Coaches Club, big-name athletes such as Magic Johnson as well as Arsenio Hall, Don Rickles, Quincy Jones and other celebrities.

Sitting behind his desk at David Rickey’s new Irvine headquarters, Lamitie is wearing an impeccable suit with a bold, colorful “statement” tie--a look that’s professional without being dull. Like Barkouras, Lamitie cites confidence as the first ingredient of style.

“Somebody with style knows who they are,” Lamitie says. “Like (Knicks’ coach) Pat Riley. He wears our shirts and Armani suits. You can put the same clothes on someone else, and it won’t be the same. He stands up straight and walks like he has a mission to accomplish.”

Some men, like Riley, have an inborn sense of style, while others must be taught.

For those who have to work at it, David Rickey has devised a “wardrobing system.” Shirts, ties, suits, sport coats--all items in the client’s wardrobe are numbered so he can refer back to them in his wardrobe book to see how the garments should go together and where they can be worn.

“We’re able to create a sense of fashion for them,” Lamitie says. “Over time they gain confidence in their own ability to match things up.”

By themselves, clothes don’t determine who has style.

Men with style “take care of themselves. They eat right and exercise,” Lamitie says. They practice good grooming.

“Small details tell a lot about who has style,” he says. A simple thing like a collar that doesn’t pucker or a jacket that doesn’t pull around the middle is enough to separate those who have style from the have-nots.

“Style has a lot to do with accessories. You can’t buy an expensive suit and think you’ve nailed it. All items need to be in proportion in quality,” Lamitie says. “If you have a $1,500 suit, it’s appropriate to have $300 to $500 shoes. Instead of a $25 tie, it’s appropriate to have a $175 tie.

“You don’t put a $50 frame on a $1,000 picture.”

While not all men can afford a $1,500 suit, they can get by on much less if they have self-confidence and an eye for what looks good on them.

“Money is definitely not the most important thing, although having money puts you in the position to afford quality, stylish garments,” Lamitie says. “Some people, no matter what you do, are never going to have style.”

Style has to come from within, he says. If a person doesn’t have integrity and character, even an Armani suit won’t help.

“Sooner or later, (who they are) shows through,” Lamitie says.

Sandi Clark

The co-owner of Image Works, an image consulting business and women’s clothing store in Irvine, Sandi Clark is a former teacher who says that style can be taught.

The lesson for her clients: Study your personality, find out which aspects of yourself you want to emphasize, then learn to convey those traits through clothing, hair, makeup and the other elements of style.

“You first have to be true to yourself,” Clark says.

To help clients develop style, they are given a quiz to identify their personality traits such as “creative,” “attention-getting,” “outgoing” and “sophisticated.”

“We teach them to bring out different aspects of themselves through clothing,” Clark says.

To help a professional woman who wants to look sophisticated and authoritative, for example, Clark suggests clothes with clean, angular lines instead of a softer, rounder silhouette. Instead of pastels, she advises strong colors such as black, white or burgundy. Accessories are kept to a minimum with this look, but the pieces that are chosen are bold to connote a feeling of power.

“If I try to wear that look, it doesn’t compute,” says Clark, whose outgoing personality works better with a softer style. On this day she had chosen a relaxed, sueded silk blouse and leggings in a celery green color, offset with a wide belt and large dangling earrings--the outfit of a creative, outgoing type.

Too often, Clark says people don’t dress according to their personalities.

“I have a friend who is a very strong woman and should have been dressing like Candice Bergen--in trousers with maybe a textured sweater. Instead she was wearing little blouses with puffed sleeves and Peter Pan collars in soft colors. I told her, ‘The message you’re giving is not as strong as who you are.’ ”

Bergen is a winner.

“She has a more relaxed style. She always looks comfortable and down-to-earth. The fabrics have texture, the colors are warm. It’s glamorous in an informal way.”

Clark praises Oprah Winfrey as someone with a style that matches a strong, vivacious personality.

“With her sense of color, her clothes light up her face. The styles accommodate a large bust. Plus she has great hair and makeup.”

Hillary Rodham Clinton, however, has a confused style that sends mixed messages. Clark recently caught Clinton wearing a suit with a rounded Peter Pan collar. Soft silhouettes and a new hairstyle that doesn’t move when she does fail to match her strong, vibrant personality, Clark says.

Anyone who wears a look because it’s trendy is bound to become a fashion victim if the look doesn’t jibe with her personality, Clark says. For this reason, supermodel Cindy Crawford could never do the waif look.

“With all that hair and those strong features?” Clark says. “Strength is a part of her look and her personality. Style always has to start inside.”