From Shakespeare to George Bernard Shaw to Erica Kane, the question persists: what to wear, what to wear? Such conundrums are resolved daily by costume designers who outfit the stars of daytime.

   In some ways, the easiest job for a soap designer is dressing the fashion
plate. Every daytime show has at least one, as producers understand the
importance of pumping a dose of glamor daily into the living rooms of viewers.  Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, for example, can salvage an otherwise undistinguished episode of "All My Children" by sporting a gorgeous, off-the-shoulder cocktail dress of champagne organza.

   But designers also work with writers and producers to find the threads that pull together a character.

   "Before I dress characters, I want to know their socioeconomic class.
Whether they dress for themselves or for others; will they sink all their money into one great outfit or do they hide their status," explains Carol Luiken, costume designer for "All My Children."

   David Loveless, designer for "Guiding Light," says that for him "the first,
most important thing to consider is the dramatic intention of clothes. They
should indicate what, emotionally, characters are going through."

   Loveless recently tackled a personal upheaval for Jenna, the willowy,
filthy-rich young woman (played by Fiona Hutchison) married to Springfield's tycoon of darkness, Roger Thorpe.

   "When Jenna discovered she was pregnant, she had an emotional breakdown in front of the fireplace," Loveless says. "I wanted to break down the elegance, the financial stature of the character, so I dressed her in a large, simple, gold satin Donna Karan coat that just draped over her shoulders.

   "She was to fall out of it slowly. It was very Medea-like. It had a Greek
tragedy feeling to it."

   Then there's Nadine, who's supposed to be all out of proportion. Actress Jean Carol, who plays the waitress on "Guiding Light," says: "Nadine is kind of out there. A lot of people are. Look around. Go to any airport-they're there.

   "Nadine wears too many pearls, lots of bracelets, her purses are weird, her coats are too colorful. She fights her depression by getting even flashier.

   "For example, when she heard (ex-husband) Buzz had another child (by another woman), she wore a leopard drawstring top with her (breasts) falling out. It was her statement."

   But by all appearances, actors and actresses may not be the best judges of character costuming.

   Like many costume designers, Greg York, the 1993 Emmy Award winner for design on "The Young and the Restless," has had to wrest actors away from their preconceptions of what looks good on them.

   "Sometimes actresses think they know what's best. They had their color charts done, they want to dress like they do, they want to shop where they shop. That's not going to happen," he insists.  "Actors should have less input. They're paid to act. I'm paid to be correct."

   In 1991, Diedre Hall rejoined the cast of "Days of Our Lives" as psychiatrist Marlena. Not only did the actress, a former beauty queen, negotiate a big salary with the show, but she also demanded artistic control over her "closet," the rack of clothes tagged and reserved for each character.

   Hall chose most of her ensembles from a friend's Southern California
boutique. Ranging from hand-painted sweatsuit-style pantsuits to formless
chiffon dresses, Marlena's matronly new look did not jibe with the image
expected from a modern professional woman. Fans didn't hesitate to vent their displeasure.

   Richard Bloore, costume designer on "Days," remembers: "I said to her, 'This looks coastal, which really isn't Marlena. She's a psychiatrist.' The fans were writing in, and Diedre does listen to them. She's still very outfit oriented, so since then we have brought in things like Donna Karan for her to wear."

   Male actors in the 30-ish anti-hero mold often resist costuming suggestions, especially if the outfit strays outside of basic macho chic: leather jacket, T-shirt or plaid shirt, and jeans.

   Consider "Days" characters Abe (James Reynolds), Roman (Wayne Northrop), John (Drake Hogestyn) and Bo (Robert Kelker-Kelly) in a Salem interrogation room together: The sight of so many leather jackets is enough to rankle animal lovers everywhere.

   Bloore acknowledges that the guys on "Days" have an antipathy to high-fashion duds:

   "I go through a certain amount of fighting with male actors. They all want to be cock of the walk. It's their testosterone on overdrive or something.

(Former executive producer) Shelley Curtis tried very hard to put John in
designer suits when he inherited a fortune, but Drake fought that dressing up.  He still thinks of himself as being the cop."

   For the well-dressed tycoons-Eric Braeden as Victor on "The Young and the Restless," or Michael Nader as Dimitri on "All My Children"-the most costumers can hope for is to change the suit color and pick out interesting ties to provide variety. Luiken shops for Nader at little-known Italian boutiques "to create a suave, elusive feel. Dimitri looks good in Jean-Charles de Castelbajac and Ermenegildo Zegna."
 
 

   With Buzz (Justin Deas), a cook in a T-shirt with an apron tied around his waist, "Guiding Light's" Loveless tries to keep the visual stakes high.

   "The character has so much raw energy. The more unkempt you keep him the more sexy he is. You don't want clothes to get in his way."

   Is this working-class stiff dressed in clothes from Sears? Guess again: Buzz is done up entirely in Armani.

   Loveless explains that Buzz wears the Italian designer's T-shirts, jeans and muted jackets "because it has texture like the character himself and it reads (on TV) as 'worn, soft.' "

   Apparently there is some TV chemistry that transforms a $300 shirt into what looks like a $12 Wal-Mart special.

   "The presentation is entirely different," Loveless explains. "It's not going
to look like someone on a runway who is 6 feet tall."

   Viewers who want to emulate their heroes shouldn't have that difficult a
time, if they have the money. Anyone can get the Nadine look at Saks Fifth Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, says actress Carol.

   "People say, 'I can't find this stuff,' but you can," she insists. "I think a
lot of people have taste to begin with, but they need to see clothes in a public forum to get them started."

   Other popular stops for costume designers include the upscale departments of Nordstrom, Bullocks and Neiman Marcus, where designers pick out such labels as Jean Paul Gaultier, Claude Montana, Karl Lagerfeld, Ralph Lauren, Moschino, and Valentino.

   Luiken shoots the works when it comes to Lucci.

   "She's supposed to look fabulous. I ignore the fact that she's tiny. She has the presence of someone 6 foot 2, so I buy her anything and everything, then take it in," she says. "I think of her in European clothes, because the cut is better. It hits at the right places, and the shoulders are in proportion to the whole body."

   For smaller budgets, costumers also find what they need at the Gap, and from sales representatives for small labels (818, Freight, Dungarees) who visit the set.

   "The Young and the Restless" typically spends $8,000 to 10,000 a week for its 35 players, with a weekly dry-cleaning bill topping $800, but, designer York explains, "many things are just not affordable and we have to shop sales."

   Bloore has noticed a downsizing in the glamor department at "Days."

   "Due to the recesssion, we've gone back to a real down-home, Middle America look," he says. "There's no longer parties for the sake of parties. During the Depression people escaped in the glamor, but that's not as true these days."

   All the costume designers said characters' wardrobes are treated as if they belonged to real people-that is, items of clothing are worn more than once, to make the characters more believable.

   Although trendy accessories-a single earring, canvas sneakers, wristbands for males, crop tops, bell bottoms, oversize crosses, crochet vests for the females-sometimes slip into the mix, York has learned that he can't be wacky too often.

   "Believe me," he says, "I've tried things and they just don't get it. It's
too hip for the room."

   Then there's the problem of too much hip for the room.

   "The bane of the costumer," York exclaims, "is the weight gain."

   York won't name names, but he points out that "some actors have changed four or five sizes in a year, and we have to buy all new clothes. In the theater, they would get that taken out of their checks. I wish we had that clause!"

   Dressing for yourself

    York offers some solutions for costuming problems. Tips for oversize hips?  Try shoulder pads to counter it. No waist? York says a lacy bodice and Donna Reed-style full skirt can do the trick. Wrinkles on the neck? Put an actress in a scarf.

    "You have to know what's sexy," York advises. "The character Jill is a
former beautician, and she overdresses. She wears feathers to the office and is always selling sex. Melody Thomas Scott as Nikki is a babe. She's a size 4 but very voluptuous. She has a bust and a waist and hips, and I love that.  That's sexy. I hate this sickening fashion trend with females who look like refugees."

   But ultimately, what's fashionable gets back to Shakespeare: To thine own self be true.

   "This isn't reality," Loveless says. "It's heightened drama. Clothing doesn't have to cost a fortune. I just saw a JC Penney commercial, and the stuff looked terrific. It can cost $2.99, and you can look great if you're being honest to who you are."

Copyright 1993 Chicago Tribune Company