BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — There are certainly plenty of TV shows that tell women how to dress, how to cut their hair, how to put on their makeup. But nobody does it as nicely at Tim Gunn.

Gunn, the chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne and former head of the department of design at Parsons the New School for Design, has become a bit of a television personality in the past few years through his many appearances on the "Today" show and "Project Runway."

Now he has his own show.

In "Tim Gunn's Guide to Style" (11 p.m., Bravo), the host doesn't pull any punches with the fashion-impaired, but he guides them so smoothly they're steamrolled almost without realizing it. And they come away from the experience loving him.

"Well, I'd like to believe that people respond to the fact that I am a truth-teller, but that I'm thoughtful and respectful of who they are," Gunn said. "I mean, I have a profound respect, frankly, for the human race. Am I disappointed by certain aspects of it? Of course. We all are.

"But I really believe in the right of people to choose, and I believe that we're not all the same by any means. And, I don't know, I think it's perhaps the thoughtfulness and respect that women respond to, and I find that men tend to respond to it also."

"I can also say Tim is exactly who he is on television in real life, and you get what you see," said executive producer Scott Stone. "It's really remarkable and refreshing."

In a lot of ways, "Guide to Style" is a more upscale version (rip-off?) of "What Not to Wear." Joined by model Veronica Webb, Gunn finds some poor woman who definitely needs his help, he goes through her closet, her tells her what to wear, and by the end she looks a whole heck of a lot better, and her friends and family are amazed.

The big difference is in tone. Whereas Stacy London and Clinton Kelly of "What Not to Wear" are snarky, tough and ultimately sweet, Gunn is smooth from start to finish.

"They know that he can be incredibly critical but never crushing," Webb said. "It's really sweet to see the faces light up as they fling open the door. It's like Obi-Wan Kenobi to the rescue."

FREE FASHION ADVICE: Here are Gunn's thoughts on the biggest mistake most people make when they're buying clothes for themselves:

"My mantra is that the biggest fashion foible committed by most people is that their clothes don't fit them properly — either too big or too small," Gunn said. "We would all benefit from having a good tailor.

"And when one is shopping, try everything on and be very discerning when you look in the mirror about how well it fits you. People tend to think that, if their clothes are a little bigger than they are, it can hide a lot of imperfections. In fact, it just tends to accentuate those imperfections. It is better to have things that are, really, for the most part, that are form-fitting."

THERE IS ONE celebrity Gunn would like to help — Meryl Streep.

"She's a woman of incredible talent and intelligence and experience, and her fashion sense must be by design," he said. "It's certainly not because she's misguided, and I think her message is, 'I'm too smart to care about this."'

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com