Buffy The Vampire Slayer

April 28, 2003 — VAMPIRES have never been known as style icons - what with those cumbersome cloaks and all - but for a vampire slayer, Buffy Summers had one serious wardrobe. Whether it was walking the school halls or patrolling the graveyards, Buffy (played by Sarah Michelle Gellar, left - and right, in the early days) was always dressed to impress.

"She’s a pop icon," says Candace Havens, author of "Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy."

"Young girls want to dress and look the way she does. Half the high school girls I’ve seen have copied the hip-hugger jeans and the leather jackets."

When the show’s seven-year run comes to an end next month, Buffy will be missed not only for her impressive fighting skills but also her style.

"There was a look that she cultivated - tight-fitting slacks, a black shirt and a leather jacket," says executive producer Marti Noxon. "That was super Buffy."

What made girls want to emulate her was Buffy’s stick-it-to-’em attitude. With every episode, she’d face increasing challenges and yet rise above them stronger than before - in a stunning new outfit, natch.

Suddenly the network had a surprise hit - and an Emmy-winning soap star became a household name.

The New York native was crowned the face of Maybelline, the No. 1 sexiest woman in the world (according to the mag FHM), and a $6 million woman for "Scooby-Doo 2."

"I don’t think the show would have been as successful without Gellar," says Havens.

"Not only is she a very talented actress, but she has a vulnerability about her in the way that she looks at the same time that she has strength. That’s an innate, natural thing that only few people are born with.

"She has that kick-butt, I-can do-anything side and that oh-my-god-my-heart-is-broken side - and she can switch it in a heartbeat."

Week after week, the millions who tuned in watched Buffy grow up, slim down and go through a style revolution.

In the first season, she was a popular cheerleader, clad in cute little sundresses and fluffy tops with bows and ribbons.

"We showed more cleavage when she was younger and more sexual," says Noxon.

But once she got to college - and the show started making more money - Buffy became more label-conscious, sparking trends like handkerchief tops, animal prints, embroidered shirts, pashminas and appliqué jeans.

Her sweaters got tighter, her clunky shoes were kicked off for high heels and pointy-toe boots, and her many silver rings gave way to one simple piece, like a delicate heart necklace.

Gellar also lost about 20 pounds, which flattened her chest and thinned out her face, while her hair got longer, blonder and straighter.

And now, in the very last season, she is a relentless warrior woman - wearing suit jackets and trousers by designers like Marc Jacobs, Alvin Valley, Prada, Catherine Malandrino and Chloe.

Two trends stood out over the years, says Noxon: dresses over pants and cargo pants with floral tops.

"They were perfect Buffy metaphors," said Noxon. "The combination of tough and feminine."

But this combination wasn’t always easy to pull off.

"We would have to figure out how we could keep her in a skirt for fight sequence," said Noxon.

"There’s one scene where Buffy is at the bank getting a loan, and she splits the seam of her skirt with a letter opener so she can keep kicking butt."

Throughout the show’s run, Gellar came to play an increasing influence in her character’s style - she’d often go shopping on her own, or bring in clothes from her own closet.

"She had a tremendous say," said Noxon. "There was a period where she was dating Spike [a character on the show] and she came to me and said she wanted to start wearing darker, punk-influenced clothes. So for a while she was wearing black chokers just on the hint of S&M."

Even the show’s creator admits to imitating the star’s look.

"I would get to the set," says Noxon, "and realize I had unintentionally dressed exactly like her."