Gunn's "Style" could be shorter

"Project Runway's" Tim Gunn wouldn't, I suspect, be caught dead in blue shoes, but there's no question he knows about dressing to catch (and not offend) the eye.

But with the second season of his other Bravo show, "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style," under way Thursdays with a new co-host — stylist Gretta Monahan has replaced model Veronica Webb at Gunn's side — I'm thinking an hour more a week of the Gunn style might be a half-hour too many.

Not that it's really his fault. Blame the format, which calls for every makeover to be followed by an orgy of self-congratulation and product placement that makes "Runway's" name-dropping look subtle.

In the premiere, Gunn and Monahan did a fine job helping a Washington-to-New York transplant revamp a wardrobe that must have looked dowdy even in D.C., often maligned as "Hollywood for ugly people."

I'm as far from fashion-obsessed as one can be and still be allowed to leave the house, but even I know not to layer jackets over cable sweaters.

There might not be a whole lot of difference between Gunn's "Guide to Style" and BBC America's "What Not to Wear" (or TLC's, if you prefer your harsh advice in an American accent), but Tim himself is the attraction here, not the Panasonic screen where they project the subject's image, or the extra prizes subjects win for displaying good humor while being fitted for new bras on camera.

Once you get the girl dressed, guys, you've got to let her go.

But by the time Gunn's finished explaining why the show has flown in a childhood friend who's eight months' pregnant for what, let's face it, is just a makeover, I guarantee there won't be a wet eye in the house.