THE EDGE OF NIGHT, L.A. STYLE.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Daily News Fashion Editor

``She wore a steel gray business suit and under the jacket a dark blue shirt and a man's tie of lighter shade. The edges of the folded handkerchief in the breast pocket looked sharp enough to slice bread. She wore a linked bracelet and no other jewelry. Her dark hair was parted and fell in loose but not unstudied waves.''

- Raymond Chandler, ``The Lady in the Lake''

L.A. style has a certain flair and attitude that you can't find outside of the city limits.

Always has. Always will. And this fall everybody's looking to the looks that made the city famous.

It's that film noir style immortalized by Raymond Chandler in his mysteries set in the City of Angels during and shortly after World War II. He described the fashion stance of the time and place with such eloquence and brutal truthfulness that jet bugle beads, feather boas, fur collars, stiletto heels, gleaming compacts and long, pointed finger nails have become synonymous with Chandler's stories about corrupt cops, dames who killed their husbands and torch singers who constantly fell for the wrong guy.

Oh sure, L.A. has done the beach party scene and tried to dress like they do in New York ... and even prepped up like they do in Boston. But the city of angels, movie stars and orange groves always goes back to its roots, thanks to a growing list of local designers who keep their finger on the pulse of the city.

BCBG's Max Azria, a nominee for the CaliforniaMart's annual California Designer of the Year Award, calls the city the world center for casually chic and costumy clothes such as jeans and leopard print not only because of the heat and movies but because of its cultural diversity.

Said Azria, ``TV and movie stars wear it every day, and the rest of the world wants it. Even European designers invest in L.A. style. That's why Gucci (he's big on stilettos this year) spends so much time here.''

But Azria is savvy enough to know that you've got to modernize any retro look, so he's mixed his '40s sequins with '80s black leather.

West Coast style

Tom Mark, whose MarkWongNark evening gown collection also has been nominated for Designer of the Year, says this is the ideal place to design elegant clothing for confident women.

``For me, the collection is a projection of my West Coast aesthetic - decisive lines, luxurious lightweight fabrications and a fit that looks good from every angle. Anything less and I lose sleep worrying,'' said Mark.

Poleci designer Janice Levin-Krok has the same mindset.

``When I think of L.A. style, it's glamorous, sexy clothes with sleek silhouettes. Sure, the movies play an important role in inspiring the look, and I'm influenced by past eras such as the '40s, which was very feminine, but as a designer I'm most inspired by the city's abundance of shapely bodies.''

Levin-Krok's designs are frequently worn on TV's ``Melrose Place,'' which is filmed in the quiet suburb of Valencia, where we spent a day shooting the best of L.A. style for fall.

For those who've never been to a TV or movie set, it's all about shadows and light and over-the-top clothes. And also learning to sit for hours, hardly breathing (much less talking) until the whistle blows and the director yells ``cut.''

In between takes, new ``Melrose Place'' cast members Linden Ashby of Sherman Oaks and Kelly Rutherford of Beverly Hills slipped out of their doctor-and-patient costumes and into the season's latest looks. Trying on slip dresses, sheer peignoirs meant to be worn as daywear and gray flannel stripes, all by Los Angeles designers, Rutherford told us, ``L.A. style is definitely more outrageous. Here, anything goes.''

Fashion gamut

Suiting up in an iridescent blue suit by Richard Tyler and black leather jeans by BCBG with an open-collared sweater by Mossimo, Ashby commented, ``They reflect my sense of style; so I guess they're very L.A. What I mean is, this is a town in which people dress in costumes all day, and when they go out at night they don't want to bother with all those traditional details. Instead, you'll see everything from very edgy to grubby.''

And boy, does that tick off Mr. Blackwell, the city's most infamous fashion arbiter of good taste.

Los Angeles is his city now - as it was back in the '40s - and he wishes young people would pay more attention to how they looked in public by studying '40s films.

``In those days, a woman was polished from her makeup to her shoes. She'd take her dress to the hairdresser to make sure the style complemented it, and she'd practice walking in those high heels and boas so she didn't look trashy. The way some young women are tossing them over their shoulders and wobbling in their shoes it looks campy - not chic,'' Blackwell snapped. ``And ditto on those tight Lycra dresses that cup the fanny. And those above-the-ankle, cut-on-the-bias dresses make a woman look like a gorilla in drag.''

To carry off the season's vintage mood with panache, Blackwell suggests learning to walk in high heels on a hard floor with your shoulders straight (the new-again shoulder pads really help), your chin level and your hips gently swaying instead of swinging. And while you're at it, learn to cross your legs so they lean together to one side with the toes pointed down, like Lauren Bacall in ``The Big Sleep.''

About those ankles. You can cover a lot of fashion mistakes with a pair of knee-high boots, which also, by the way, are back in town.

Tip sheet

Leopard print

Black leather

Burn-out velvet

Stiletto heels

Fur collars, feather boas

Smoky eyes, heavy liner

Bugle-beaded gowns

Gray pantsuits

Chinoiserie themes

Peignoirs for day and night

Mary Janes and fishnet hose

Long nails (oval not square)

Rounder brows, pinker cheeks

Vintage looks in modern fabrics

Tiaras and cocktail rings

Red as an accent

CAPTION(S):

6 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) Looking like a character out of the '40s mystery ``The Lady in the Lake,'' actress Kelly Rutherford suits up in gray pinstripes by Guess? and a man's tie, all from Bloomingdale's.

(2--Color) Fall fashion is steeped in the retro glamour of Los Angeles described by Raymond Chandler in his mysteries and interpreted here by some of the city's best designers. To ensure the perfect L.A. attitude, we went on the set of TV's ``Melrose Place,'' where stars Kelly Rutherford and Linden Ashby modeled the latest looks on the Jazz Club stage.

Above, Rutherford strikes a pose out of the pages ``The Big Sleep'' in a chinoiserie-inspired dress by Benjamin A. from Macy's. To avoid harassment by the fashion police, she's updated her ensemble with fishnet hose and a red feather boa. Styling by Barbara De Witt.

(3--Color) ``Melrose Place'' star Linden Ashby saunters into the '90s jazz scene in a pair of black leather jeans by BCBG, paired with a blazer and shirt by Richard Tyler with shoes by Kenneth Cole, courtesy of Neiman Marcus, Beverly Hills.

(4--Color) Kelly Rutherford slips into the season's lingerie mood with this brown slip dress by Lola topped with a sheer leopard print wrapper by XOXO from Macy's. Her stiletto-heeled boots are by Gucci from Neiman Marcus.

(5--Color) Playing the torch singer, Rutherford snuggles up to Ashby in a sultry green number made of burn-out velvet by David Dart, available at his Santa Monica boutique and numerous department stores.

(6--Color) Doing the club scene are Rutherford in a paisley slipdress by Poleci from Nordstrom and Ashby in a Mossimo open-collared sweater from Macy's and leather pants from BCBG.

John McCoy/Daily News

Box: Tip sheet (See Text)