Some fashion advice: Hey, Anna, lighten up

Anna Nicole Smith wants the public to think she's a sexpot, but the U.S. Supreme Court to think she's a classy, grieving widow.

Smith, a former Playboy model, hasn't actually said that's what she's trying to accomplish, but her clothes say as much.

On Tuesday, Smith appeared outside the Supreme Court, prepared for a battle over her late husband's fortune. She dressed like a Hollywood starlet headed to a funeral: black overcoat, black dress, black hose, big black sunglasses.

It was in stark contrast to her normal Kewpie-doll-does-

Dallas attire. The voluptuous bottle-blonde usually is poured into something hot pink or siren red. Her skirts are generally micro-mini and her tops appear to be Frederick's finest.

So it was smart of Smith to realize that "blond bimbo" is not a good look when one is about to stand before Supreme Court justices.

Still, she didn't get the new look entirely right.

"She is trying to look respectable, but black is not a color of respect. It's the color of austerity, like she's in mourning. And it's really too late for her to project that image," said consultant Sandy Dumont, who calls herself "the Image Architect." "It makes her look like a femme fatale."

Smith would have done better in a Chanel-esque tweed number, or a simple St. John knit suit, Dumont said. And she should have chosen lighter shades, such as pale blue or soft pink, which suggest innocence.

"She should have gone for 'sweet and nice' ... as opposed to 'going to seduce another rich, old guy,'." Dumont said.

"She's really working hard to overcome this image that she has as a trashy gold digger," said David Lat, co-editor of Wonkette.com, a dishy political blog.

Did it work?

Said Lat: "Methinks the widow doth protest too much."