Washington ? Neither fashion mecca nor fashion wasteland, Washington has its own idea of how to dress.

A uniform of sorts emerges from this city of political leaders, civil servants, policy-watchers and lawyers. Think red, gray and blue.

For men, especially on Capitol Hill, the safe bet for those wanting to blend in is a dark blue suit, starched dress shirt, plain tie and polished shoes. Aides often wear a blue blazer and khaki pants.

Women don’t have to adhere to the dress code that forces men into a jacket and tie on the floor of the House and Senate. But almost any gathering of political women features at least someone in the red power suit.

That’s the ultimate in attempting “to stand out in a sea of drab gray,” according to Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., a sometimes-adventurous exception to the rule.

As social secretary to former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Letitia Baldrige knows fashion and diplomacy. But when it comes to Washington’s taste in clothes, she’s not a bit diplomatic. “Washington is famous for having absolutely no fashion taste,” she says.

Not everyone is so hard on Washington’s way with clothes, but people with a keen eye for style say the city’s politically driven events — all those meetings, all those fund-raisers — result in a certain conformity.

Bono came to Washington as the wife of a congressman, Sonny Bono, and won his seat after he died in a 1998 skiing accident.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is known for his humorous neckties, which often break the conservative dress code in Washington, D.C.

She remembers her orientation as a member’s wife in 1995, when a veteran political spouse was trying to be helpful by telling newcomers how to dress here.

They were told each article of clothing and accessory had a numeric value and what a woman wore should add up exactly to 14 points — the ideal.

“It was a little strange to tell us how to dress,” she said with a laugh. She recalled being told, “you never, ever want to be seen in jeans on the Hill.”

She often wore jeans. These days, as a lawmaker, she’s more likely to blend in.

“Coming from Southern California, here is definitely not the place to try out new things,” said Bono.

Still, Washington’s sometimes- unspoken, stiff, conservative manner of dressing hasn’t deterred some from putting aside the uniform and being more daring.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is known for sporting loud neckties that may or may not match his shirts. Republican Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado juggles fashions — sometimes wearing a suit, but preferring a black leather vest, jeans and silver jewelry when riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

What it boils down to for many, Baldrige says, is dressing according to “what can be hung in the closet and put on in five minutes. It’s rushed and frenzied because the schedules are tough.”

Maria O’Leary, whose women’s clothing shop in Alexandria, Va., has catered to a Washington clientele for 36 years, says women here have been “stepping out a bit” in the past 10 to 15 years.

“For the reason that women are no longer supplicants, they are in positions of power and don’t have to ask the boss for permission” about what they wear, she says.

Women who are not dressing for their husband’s political constituency are more likely to dress in an individualistic way, O’Leary says.

The main thing that Washingtonians and people anywhere else need to keep in mind is that any attire that takes away from the business at hand is incorrect, O’Leary says.