Longer skirts, shawls in spotlight

PASADENA, Calif. - Demure Hollywood? Isn't that an oxymoron?

Yet, the community famous for letting it all hang out suddenly seems to have gone undercover.

Skirts were longer and fuller. Bare tops and dresses appeared less daring beneath jackets, cardigans and filmy shirts.

The hottest accessory around seemed to be the pashmina, an oversized shawl. Stars couldn't get enough of these light, caressing wraps, though they tended to wince when speaking of what makes them even softer than cashmere: They're made from the hair off a goat's belly. "It sounds awful, doesn't it?" remarked former "Baywatch" star Yasmine Bleeth.

The setting was the annual TV critics' fall season preview. But wait, there was something missing.

Legs.

The gams that launched a thousand movies and television shows were extremely hard to find this trip. Hemlines had dropped dramatically - to the knee, the calf, even to the ankle.

It was an elegant, graceful, more flowing Tinseltown. Markie Post of the new ABC sitcom "Odd Man Out" wore a pearl-colored dress that could have stepped out of the 1940s or '50s; it was complemented by a delicate pearl necklace.

From "Two Guys and a Girl" - ABC decided to drop "and a Pizza Place" from the title - the girl, Traylor Howard, certainly wasn't dressed for pizza in a long, filmy, ivory-colored chemise and skirt. It was topped by a shirt of delicate lace.

Even Bleeth, who made a big splash in a "Baywatch" swimsuit and now co-stars with Don Johnson in "Nash Bridges," appeared quietly seductive at a CBS party. She also wore a dress she described as "vintage" - black with checkered bows. What was new was wrapped delicately around her arms: a pashmina shawl in the favored color of the moment, pink.

Soft blue was another popular shade. Catherine Bell of "Jag" wore a sky-colored pashmina over a low-cut Betsey Johnson peasant gown with matching bag.

And it wasn't just the young who were flocking to the flattering wraps. Susan Sullivan, previously of "Falcon Crest" and who now plays the elitist mother-in-law of wacky Dharma in "Dharma and Greg," loved showing off her apricot-colored wrap.

But it was pink that seemed to pop upon everything. Brooke Shields of NBC's "Suddenly Susan" chose a hotter hue of the popular color. At a press gathering, she wore a polished silk jacket atop a long black skirt that she said came from what seemed to be the department store of the stars, Barney's.

Roma Downey of CBS' "Touched by an Angel" didn't look exactly angelic in her hot pink, Orient-inspired frock, but the longer length and girl-next-door cardigan toned down its vamp potential.

TV men were decked out in their rosy best, too. David James Elliott of "Jag," who towers over most actors, cut a particularly striking figure in a vested checked suit with a bright pink shirt.

The second most popular color appeared to be red.

Every age seemed to embrace the passionate shade. Florence Henderson, formerly of "The Brady Bunch," who's now a co-host on the new offshoot of NBC's "Today" show, "Later Today," wore a Lourdes Chavez knee-length suit-dress with a rhinestone-buckled belt that made the most of her trim figure.

The mom on teen drama "Dawson's Creek," Mary Margaret Humes, said her aim was to outshine all these "younger bodies" clothed in black at the WBparty. So she donned a sexy red jersey.

The under-20 set also wasn't lost to the magic of scarlet. Linda Cardellini, who plays one of the smarter teens in NBC's lauded new high school show "Freaks and Geeks," wore a long, India-flavored red dress from BCBG. Making it even more elegant were the sheer netting that covered it and her matching '40s-style sandals.

Bucking the red and pink trend were the tall, willowy actresses from two NBC hits from last season: Debra Messing of "Will & Grace" and Wendie Malick, the catty Nina of "Just Shoot Me." Both opted for go-light green.

Messing, whose auburn tresses and coloring are enhanced by the grassy shade, went for a slithery leather pantsuit with a snakeskin pattern. Malick dressed in the classic little black dress but managed to make it different by slinging a lime tote over one shoulder.

Malick sported another must-have of the Tinseltown set: a multitiered beaded bracelet designed by Lisa Bialac-Jehle for Byzantia.

Other adorning pieces that were big this trip included wispy chokers, many of which had been picked up in thrift stores, eye-catching tinted spectacles, delicate thong sandals and Oriental tattoos.

What people here weren't wearing were stockings of any kind. Legs and feet went au naturel, which may be the best argument of all for the longer skirt lengths.