Dressed to Harass

The Movie: “Disclosure.”

The Setup: In a movie based on Michael Crichton’s bestseller, Seattle computer company executive Tom Sanders (Michael Douglas) launches a sexual harassment battle against his boss, Meredith Johnson (Demi Moore, pictured), after she comes on strong.

The Costume Designer: Gloria Gresham, whose credits include “When Harry Met Sally,” “A Few Good Men,” “Diner,” “The Natural,” “Tin Men,” “Footloose” and “Avalon.”

Inspiration: A visit to a prominent (but unnamed) Seattle computer company, as well as photos from Forbes of employees of Microsoft, the software giant in the same region. “Then I closed the magazine and said, ‘Let’s do our own thing,’ ” Gresham says.

His Look: How to make just another promotion-hungry guy look lovable? Sanders’ rumpled khakis, beat-up barn jacket and especially his one pattern mix-up day do the trick. His non-traditional work uniform also telegraphs where his loyalties lie--he’s a lot closer to the adorable, brainy computer dweebs, who can barely button their shirts straight, than to the company’s ruthless navy- and black-suited power wielders.

Her Look: You have to laugh a little at Johnson’s ladder-climbing efforts. Let’s just say her tiny drop earrings are modest. There’s definitely something chic and vaguely Armani-Calvin-Donna-ish about her choice of unfussy suits. But otherwise, Johnson’s navy and gray ensembles with their tight, take-no-prisoners tailoring (though fairly demure just-above-the-knee hemlines) and no-hose statement hardly reek politic. As Gresham says, “I don’t know if what we do helps women in business--we’re making a movie.”

Quoted: “This is not earthshaking news--dark colors are power colors. You see it in men’s suiting all the time. The President of the United States doesn’t give his State of the Union message in a tan suit, does he?” Gresham says of her choice of dark suits for Johnson.

Trivia: Talk about versatile. For the key harassment scene, Johnson removes her suit jacket to reveal not a blouse, but a sexy, happy-hour vest with cut-in shoulders. “That was very carefully thought out,” Gresham says. “The script says she takes off her jacket and there’s her blouse, but I thought a blouse was too pedestrian.”

Sources: Johnson’s suits and blouses were custom-made. Her earrings are by Ted Muehling.