Aug 31, 2007  |  By: BRIAN MOYLAN  | COMMENTS     

THE GAY MAN who flits by to reinvigorate a room, a wardrobe or a wedding by sheer dint of good taste and flamboyance is such a cliché that it’s almost completely played out, but leave it to Bravo to bring this genre to the next level.

Given that the cable channel employed Tim Gunn — the universally loved mentor on the channel’s most popular show, “Project Runway” — it’s no surprise that its new show “Tim Gunn’s Guide to Style,” is smart, sophisticated, well-informed and totally enjoyable. The show kicks off Thursday at 10 p.m. and airs each Thursday.

“Guide to Style” is more in the vein of TLC’s “What Not to Wear” since it focuses on fixing the wardrobes of straight women in a style crisis. Each week Gunn, with co-host Veronica Webb, enters the home and closet of a woman who has volunteered to have her look updated. The first step is to go through all of her clothes and find what, if anything, can remain.

The next step is one that is a signature for the show. Gunn instructs the subject that Webb is going to go through her underwear drawer and the next day, the two will go shopping for proper “undergarments.” It’s so charming that Gunn is far too much of a delicate gentleman to discuss bras and panties, sending in a woman to do a woman’s job.

GUNN THEN USES a computer-generated image of the woman-in-need based on her measurements. He puts different outfits on the CG model to show what will flatter her figure and what will look horrible.

It’s here that this show really takes off. Through his knowledge of fashion, garment construction and years in the industry, Gunn has real expertise as to what will look good on different kinds of women. He’s not just a stylist picking out cute outfits off a rack, but a stylish architect helping them to build a firm foundation of sophisticated tastes.

Of course Gunn and Webb, a former supermodel whose understated persona is a good match for Gunn’s but maybe a little too sedate for television, have to take their new friend shopping, helping her craft a new wardrobe based on Gunn’s list of 10 basic items that every woman needs. He even takes the women to visit one of his famous designer friends so they can take a bit of couture for a spin.

Unlike the shrieking hosts of other makeover shows, Gunn is always the epitome of restraint and — something that is sadly lacking from the world these days — sincerity. When he tells you that you look “frumpy” or “matronly,” it’s much more effective and believable than a harpy teasing you ad nauseum about your fashion choices. Then, when he describes an outfit as “sublime,” the viewer will know it’s true, because he or she trusts that Gunn knows what he’s talking about and can see the woman clearly looks better.

Except for a silly bit where each client visits a “life stylist” in the middle of each hour to work on her psychology, this show hits every note just right. It’s an enjoyable hour with a charismatic gay man who knows an empire waist from a plunging neckline. He may not deliver the bon mots of some other gay makeover artists, but the show is brisk and fun and his system for redoing a wardrobe is probably the most accessible on television.