Messing with Style

Someone's been playing in Rachel Zoe's closet. Hint: She made up one half of "Will and Grace."

Zoe, the celebrity stylist who's more caught up with the "celebrity" part of her title lately, doesn't leave the house without a skinned critter flanking her shoulders, piles of chunky jewelry and heels high enough to change the weather. Notice any of those signature features on Debra Messing? Check, check and check.

We classify the practice of passing your own style off on your clients as serious a fashion crime among stylists as duplicating old duds. For that, Zoe deserves a long stay in fashion timeout.

While she serves her penance, we'd like to offer up an alternative outfit for Messing to don on the red carpet. The first order of business for the star of "The Starter Wife" is to stop trying so hard. A slinky dress and shoes appropriate for a stilt walker never have been her style before. There's no reason she should incorporate them now.

Instead of taking the same route a teenager suffering from low self-esteem would to get noticed, how about relying on pailettes instead? The shimmery feature always turns heads. In place of the stilts, slide into a pair of jeweled sandals. It's a subtle means to the same end -- attention.

As for the fur, we'd like to see Messing ditch it. Not because PETA would want it that way, but for the simple fact that it makes her look like Zoe's paper doll. Forget the fact that she is; Messing's paying top dollar and it's not to look like a clone. In place of the fur, throw on a black wrap. It's an elegant alternative to Zoe's hand-me-down.

Now she only needs to worry about that one, final touch. "One" being the key word here. All that's necessary is a single, standout cocktail ring. Now she's red carpet-ready with a look that doesn't already have someone's rubber stamp all over it.

For suggestions on how to emulate the improvement, consider these options. Each is available locally.