DRESSED TO IMPRESS ESQUIRE PICKS THOUSAND OAKS VICE PRINCIPAL AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY'S MOST STYLISH GENTS.

Byline: Brent Hopkins Staff Writer

NEWBURY PARK - Andrew Gutierrez drives a black Saturn, irons his own shirts and is quite possibly the most stylish man in America.

His tastes aren't overly flashy, hailing from mall stalwarts like Express and Banana Republic. He owns six pairs of fashion shoes, 40 ties and an eye-catching white belt. The 27-year-old Newbury Park resident teaches government and economics and works as a vice principal at Hillcrest Christian School in Thousand Oaks.

And he's one of the five sharpest men in the country, according to the men's magazine Esquire.

Picked from a pool of thousands, Gutierrez beat out an array of dandies, fops and dudes to earn the title of the Best Dressed in Los Angeles. In September, he'll compete against gents from New York, Boston and Chicago for a shot at the Best Dressed Real Men in America title.

This isn't an entirely new thing for the dapper administrator, whose father taught him how to knot a necktie when he was still in short pants.

``He told me I got the full Windsor right on the very first try,'' Gutierrez said Wednesday. ``And one of my cousins told me once that you can never be overdressed. For some reason, that really stuck with me.''

For someone with such a weighty sartorial reputation, Gutierrez's closet is surprisingly modest. He shares a bachelor pad in a quiet suburb, packing his duds into a compact room painted a lush avocado green that complements his light-color eyes.

Wooden hangers dangle a long row of brightly colored shirts from a rack by his bed, with a box of neatly folded ties atop them. Wool scarves hang on one side, a row of well-polished shoes sit beneath them. Inside the closet, he's got a few suits and blazers and a stack of folded cotton sweaters.

And then there's the Aldo white leather belt, the one that caught the eye of judges at the magazine tryout, the one they had him take all the way to New York for his fashion shoot. He even gave it a daring pairing with polished black leather Bass oxfords, which some would see as a minor breach of traditional fashion etiquette.

``If you break the rule, what's gonna happen? They're not going to arrest you,'' said Gutierrez, an Esquire reader who entered the audition as a lark. ``Maybe I wear it once a month - they made it seem like I wear it every day.''

But he made a wise choice when he showed up at the Beverly Hills tryout sporting it beneath a pinstriped wool suit jacket.

``There were a couple hundred guys who came, but he had his key accessories: his belt, his jeans, a well-tailored jacket and a nice shirt,'' said Nick Sullivan, Esquire's fashion editor, who personally judged the Los Angeles event.

``It was a no-thrills approach that shone for the jury. There was a simplicity in his clothes that matched who he was as a guy.''

That guy hails from the San Joaquin Valley town of Manteca and came to Southern California at age 20 to play volleyball for California State University, Northridge. He volunteers at his church, plays a little golf, cheers on Hillside Christian's teams as its athletic director.

Every two weeks or so, he goes shopping. Sunday nights, he sets up his ironing board in his room, flips on a little music and gets his wardrobe ready for the week. Even his T-shirts get ironed.

``The high school guys, when they're getting dressed for homecoming or the prom, they say Guti, what do you think? Vest or cummerbund?'' said Judi Menger, a parent volunteer at his school. ``Absolutely, they go to him, because they really respect him.''

When that question comes in, Gutierrez wastes no time in answering. This is not the 1980s, so do not wear a cummerbund - and match your pocket square to your tie, pal. He's clearly proud of this role as a fashion maven.

``People say not a lot of straight guys pay attention to what they wear, but I tell them, you just don't understand,'' he said. ``And, hey, girls like it, too.''

That's the somewhat embarrassing byproduct of all this stylish fuss, though. With his grinning face adorning two pages of Esquire's September issue and splashed across its Web site for readers to vote on who's tops in the fashion world, he's suddenly found more feminine interest than he anticipated.

``You get a lot of inquiries about it,'' he said, sheepishly. ``But I'm looking for a solid Christian girl, so I want to make sure that they're inquiring for the right reasons.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

WHO'S GOT THE LOOK?

This was an easy question for those of us in the Daily News office - staff artist Gregg Miller has long led the newsroom in fashion sense, so he's our pick for the best-dressed guy in the San Fernando Valley. But we want to see your picks: your husband, boyfriend, son or dad - any well-dressed guy you know.

Send us a full-length picture along with his name and yours and a daytime phone number to bestdressed(at)dailynews.com and we'll put some of the best nominations up for an online vote.

CAPTION(S):

5 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Andrew Gutierrez, 27, was picked from a pool of thousands for the issue of Esquire, below right, after his white belt from Aldo caught judges' attention.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(3 -- color) As a vice principal at Hillcrest Christian School in Thousand Oaks, Andrew Gutierrez is often called upon by male students for prom fashion consultations. In September, he'll compete against guys from New York, Boston and Chicago for the Best Dressed Real Men in America title.

Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer

(4 -- color) Andrew Gutierrez made the cut for Esquire Magazine's best- dressed men in the country.

(5 -- color) no caption (Gregg Miller)

Box:

WHO'S GOT THE LOOK (see text)