‘Dynasty’ Without the Hats

The Series: “Central Park West” (CBS, Wednesdays at 9 p.m.)

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The Setup: Upscale professional urbanites and a few folks who came by their money the inherited way have two things in common--cool Manhattan addresses and enormous clothing budgets.

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The Costume Designers: Jeffrey Kurland (Episodes 1 through 4), who has previously worked on Woody Allen films, and John Glaser (starting with Episode 5), who has done costumes for television movies as well as the off-Broadway production “Vampire Lesbians of Sodom.”

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The Look: Like “Dynasty” all over again, but with younger demographics and no hats. “CPW” delivers in-your-face fashion as well as makeup--and even nail polish--that offers another level of interest for viewers, particularly when spoiled Carrie Fairchild (Madchen Amick) is on-screen. (Carrie’s character takes the biggest chunk of the clothing budget pie, says co-executive producer and director Allan Arkush.) Carrie dresses as if she has money to burn--from the slinkiest beaded slip dress to a spectacular black jacket lined in white linen with loosely laced seams--and definitely achieves a look with her black and blue lacquered nails, raccoon eyes and either pale or raisiny lips. For those with more classic taste, Carrie’s mother, Linda Fairchild Rush (Lauren Hutton), is almost totally decked out in Armani.

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You Should Know: If you’re thinking that Communique magazine editor Stephanie Wells (Mariel Hemingway) looks fab, keep it to yourself. A Seattle import, she’s meant to look like a bit of a hayseed in buttoned-up white blouses and sweet, ‘40s-inspired suits in fruity colors. Not until Episode 4 does she start to catch on to real power suits (say, black pin-stripe and cleavage).

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Miss: Nikki Sheridan (Michael Michele), who, in Nehru jackets, bare midriffs and bracelets circling her biceps, looks more like a Bond girl than a gallery owner.

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Trivia: Someone on staff has a shoe fetish--the female characters reportedly wear mostly the gorgeous handmade wares of Manolo Blahnik as well as some footwear by Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Laurent. Problem is, the camera rarely shows anyone’s feet. “So we’ve kind of calmed down on our shoe world,” Glaser says. Everyone now has a working wardrobe of 25 to 30 pairs--and that’s it for now.

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Hemline Watch: Off to a slow start on the trendy meter, hemlines are short until the fourth episode, when the new knee-length look finally makes an appearance. From then on it’s both short and mid-knee for just about everyone because “no one in real life commits to one length either,” Glaser says.

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Quoted: “The idea was to depict the style of New Yorkers but trying to dwell not so much on black. We wanted to give the impression of people wearing a lot of black without people actually wearing it,” says Arkush of the show’s darkish palette and black-clad extras.

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Sources: Carrie wears Jean Paul Gaultier (who designed the laced jacket), Kenzo, Isaac Mizrahi, Dolce & Gabbana, Issey Miyake and others. Stephanie’s pre-power wardrobe is mostly from Zelda, and then it transforms into Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren. Nikki wears Gaultier, Romeo Gigli, Plein Sud and others.