What to Wear That Says 'Buy This Porsche'

Former 'Car Babes' Are Gaining a More Active Sales Role—and New Professional Clothes; the Infiniti-Tahari Connection

By Christina Binkley, The Wall Street Journal

When the Los Angeles Auto Show opens to the public tomorrow, car makers will be revealing more than their latest vehicular models. Prominently displayed will be their fashion taste, as worn by their spokesmodels.

You say Porsche; they say black Alexander Wang dress.

Auto-show models are no longer the stereotypical "car babes" who once draped themselves across auto bodies. Wearing carefully calibrated clothes from brands such Theory, Max Mara and Hugo Boss, the women—and men as well—are dressed to embody the demographics of the buyers the car makers want to attract.

Throughout the auto-show season, a series of exhibitions that runs from autumn until Easter, Acura representatives will wear silver Akris Punto dresses or Burberry suits. The sophisticated look "matches the emotions that we want our brand to bring to the consumer," says David Heath, senior manager of auto shows and exhibits for Acura's parent, American Honda Motor Corp.

The new wardrobes reflect a shift in the job of the auto-show model. While old-time car models were often instructed to follow a script—or even to remain mute—today's "product specialists" are often actors, hired for their ability to speak in public and entertain. They know the cars, from paint jobs to exhaust systems.

"We can answer questions about the hydraulics of the four-wheel drive," says Joyce Brew, a 38-year-old Toyota product specialist. "Good luck getting me to drape myself across anything."

As their role has changed, their wardrobes have shifted from skimpy costumes to professional clothes. "We hear comments all the time: 'Wow, the Porsche girls look really classy,' " says Michelle Juzeszyn, Porsche's manager of event marketing and sponsorships. That's far better for the brand than hearing that they're just beautiful, she says.

One thing hasn't changed, however: The car companies define the wardrobes meticulously, down to the makeup. Female Toyota representatives must have "Toyota red" lips, says Shari Barnett, whose company provides the makeup.

Ms. Barnett works for Productions Plus, a Detroit-area talent agency which supplies both the product specialists and the clothes for many car makers, including Toyota, Honda, Porsche and Infiniti. A Parsons-educated fashion designer, Ms. Barnett susses out auto brands' priorities and creates wardrobes to match. Ms. Barnett, who shops in fashion showrooms and retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, has dressed Lexus talent in Gucci and this year put the Toyota team in the Italian label Max Mara. She helps find or design jewelry as well. One year, Lexus reps had jewelry made from pieces of tailpipe.

Ms. Barnett began the current season's wardrobing in April, when she presented the latest trends to auto executives. Lexus, with its established, often professional customers, this year chose black Akris Punto dresses paired with Stuart Weitzman boots, and, as a second outfit, an Akris Punto black suit with pumps. Infiniti went with Elie Tahari dresses, while the hipper Mitsubishi went with a black Bebe jacket and black jeans.

Scion seeks a younger, edgier image and has asked in the past for representatives with "tattoos, dreadlocks, multiple body piercings," says Ms. Barnett. This year, it chose a Theory black shirt dress, a custom glass belt buckle, leggings and boots with an urban look.

The product specialists are fitted for their clothes at the beginning of the season. In case their weight changes, they have an expense allowance for re-tailoring. Dry-cleaning is also covered by the companies. Porsche's Ms. Juzeszyn says the company's budget for one product specialist is just under $1,000 per year—including the cost of the wardrobes, which they can buy in bulk.

Ms. Brew, who will wear her Max Mara wardrobe for Toyota about 90 days this year, says she's particularly happy with the suit, which has "a very unique lapel." She adds, "This particular season's wardrobe fits great, feels good."

That's especially important in a job that keeps her on her feet as many as 12 hours a day. "We're constantly on parade," Ms. Brew says.

At times in the past, she says, auto executives have allowed style to trump practicality. "A few years ago, we had this red dress and if you would just lift your arm, the dress would rise three or four inches and you could see everything," she says. A Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress five years ago tended to come unwrapped when the product specialists climbed out of the cars.

In earlier years, the models were seen as ornamental. Joe Gallant, manager of shows and exhibitions for Nissan North America, says that in the 1980s, Nissan hired costume designer Bob Mackie—who dressed Cher and Madonna—to outfit the product specialists in glamorous clothes.

Margery Krevsky, the founder of Productions Plus, says she began pressing for change in that era after trying to speak with an auto-show model who wasn't allowed to talk with the public. "We took the girls out of ball gowns," she says, "and put them in clothes that represented the lifestyle of the car."

Over the years, car companies, too, began looking for college-educated people with improvisation skills and dressing them in everyday clothes. "We found that if we took the wardrobe more and more casual," says Mr. Gallant, "people will stop to chat."

Car companies have come to see the specialists as part of their sales teams. "There is an element of entertainment in auto shows," says Mr. Gallant, "but we know from tracking their behavior that a significant number of attendees will buy [cars] later."

Ms. Brew says she can envision herself wearing her Max Mara suit in her off-time after the circuit ends in New York next spring.

Still, she can't help eyeballing the wardrobes at other car companies. "Lexus had Jimmy Choo shoes one year," she adds. "Jealous!"