Bad Style: Hook-Up Hang-Up?

For those in the market to find a significant other, you might want to edit your list of selling points. Good sense of humor, generosity and thoughtfulness still deserve a mention, but maybe fashion-minded, style savvy and self-sufficient shopper should get a nod, too.

That's a list Misty Miller could appreciate. The 30-year-old executive assistant has spent a good chunk of change polishing five ex-boyfriends' wardrobes. Chains, baggy pants, tank tops and exposed boxer shorts are deal-breakers for her, but any other fashion offenses can be made over into the JCrew look she prefers. At least that's what she tells herself when a potential suitor outcharms his age-inappropriate Abercrombie & Fitch shirt long enough to get her number.

"Normally I don't even have a conversation about (changing their clothes). I just buy them something," she says. "I turn it into a good gesture instead of 'I hate how you dress.' ''

She doesn't waste much time, either. The makeover/good gesture starts after only two weeks of dating and also works as a trust meter. If Miller's new friend isn't quick to don her gifts she'll ask him why and then listen closely to his reply. This is where she separates the honest from the dishonest. "If you can't tell me 'I don't like it' and just don't want to talk about it, then I probably won't trust you," she says.

Miller's new-age lie-detector test aside, many women can relate with the desire to treat their significant others like paper dolls. They recognize that issues such as religion, politics and children are on a take them or leave them level, but clothes? Clothes can be changed.

And Shari Mizrahi could change them like a pro. When the 53-year-old met her husband of two years, Mitch Graham, she knew she had a major renovation on her hands. His sandals were "dorky," his belt had its heyday in 1975 and the rest came courtesy of Costco clearance racks. As the owner of Ice Jewelry at The Shoppes at The Palazzo, Mizrahi decorates people for a living. That could explain why she used subtle nudges to get Graham onboard with her image-conscious lifestyle. The ol' "Look what I picked up for you while I was out" trick worked well, but she knew it didn't begin and end there.

"You have to compliment them on what they do good," she says. For instance, Graham had a couple cargo shorts that didn't take the fashion terror threats to a red or even orange level. Those got enthusiastic thumbs up from Mizrahi as a means of encouragement for her then boyfriend. That, coupled with the slew of birthday and holiday presents that came in Tommy Bahama's boxes, eventually turned Graham's look from Costco cool to what Mizrahi calls "ruggedly handsome."

She credits it both to her tenacity and realistic expectations. "You can't take someone who looks rugged and put him in femininelike clothes," she says. "You have to start with Tommy Bahama, not a Robert Graham shirt." Plus, the way Mizrahi sees it, if they start out looking impeccable, you could have trouble on your hands. "If they were straight and looked like that, they'd be players, right?" she asks.

Perhaps Jimmy Foster can help her with that question. The 35-year-old describes himself as a John Varvatos man through and through. He owns boutique marketing firm Whispering Giants and probably won't be the recipient of a makeover anytime soon. Foster takes great pride in his physical appearance and looks for women who do the same.

He can't stand ill-fitting clothes. Or jeans with unintentional wear and tear. Or predictable style in general.

Friends recently set him up on a blind date and he knew their efforts were in vain the minute he saw his date for the evening. "The girl was wearing really unattractive jeans and a loose top," he says. "I got quickly turned off."

Is it shallow to close the dating door based on the person's clothes and not the actual person? "It just lets me know if I'll pay attention to some women," Foster says of his fashion preferences. "I like to think I'm not super shallow."

Elizabeth Muto has a different outlook. The 30-year-old former Miss Nevada used to practice what she refers to as "the rewind" with boyfriends. "He'd come downstairs all ready to go and I'd say 'OK, rewind. Try it again.' ''

She describes her style as "very Charlotte," as in the character from "Sex and the City." Exes of her past clashed with that classic look, ranging from poor excuses for Euro fashion to so comfortable it made her uncomfortable. Muto, director of development for the Epicurean Charitable Foundation, spent a significant amount of time trying to fix their exteriors when, really, other things needed fixing. But she didn't realize that until meeting her boyfriend of 10 months, Nate Hunterton.

Fashion-forward is probably the last term she'd use to describe him, but other qualities made her forget to even notice. His humor, strength and confidence superceded any fashion faux pas. Muto says Hunterton taught her the difference between real and fake love.

He could rip a sleeve off a workout shirt and use the scraps as a headband, something he's made a habit of, and she wouldn't care.

"The reason I don't care is because he looks good in anything," she says. "Substance prevailed over superficiality in the end."