Q: I am 20 years old and I work security for a major department store. I have this dinner banquet coming up and I have no idea what to wear. It's going to be held at an Italian restaurant in the beginning of April. Last year I showed in a business suit and found most of the women wearing gowns!! I felt so out of place, please help!

A: You work in a department store? You must be surrounded by possibilities. Open your eyes, girl!

OK, I know it isn't that easy. Stroll through a typical mainstream department store and you see a million evening dresses clearly meant for somebody else -- the 16-year-old going to her prom, the grandma attending her granddaughter's wedding, the mom going to her son's bar mitzvah, the mother of the bride in search of a classic beige lace pup tent, the perennial hot ticket who loves fuss and feathers and sequins and décolletage.

At 20, you've already been to your prom, but you're not anybody's grandmother, and you're not Cher either, so what do you wear to dress up that doesn't make you feel like a whole other person? The classic answer, of course, is a "little black dress." It's little not because it's a size 2, but because it isn't a big, important, flashy sort of dress. It doesn't scream for attention. It keeps its mouth shut and lets you do the talking. Find one that's physically comfortable, and wear a jacket over it if you like the look, but take it off when you get there and, presto, you're as dressed up as you need to be.

There are other possibilities. The trouble with a regular suit is it has "work" written all over it. Paradoxically, something more relaxed -- like pants and a silky top -- can actually fit into an evening event more comfortably because it doesn't look like work clothes. Or, instead of pants, try capris, maybe in a red and pink gingham check, and high heels.

Color is another marker of festivity. A short, covered-up dress in hot pink silk with high-heeled sandals makes it clear you're not dressed for the office. Or consider one of the major hits of this spring's French couture: A truly beautiful white blouse and a long, bias-cut black skirt. (I have my eye on one in the J. Jill catalog.)

Here's the test: Look at yourself in the mirror and ask: Have you ever seen anybody dressed like that running a Xerox machine? If not, you're ready to party.

Patricia McLaughlin is a nationally syndicated fashion columnist.
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