Karen Klopp of What2WearWhere takes N.Y. Fashion Week

NEW YORK - Sitting under the tents at New York Fashion Week, it's often hard to picture the glamorous ensembles on anything but a lithe, 5-foot- 10-inch adolescent frame.

But that's exactly what What2WearWhere.com founder Karen Klopp was doing as she watched models expertly swathed in flowing vibrant pastel frocks make their way down Tadashi Shoji's runway Wednesday.

Known for his celebrity red-carpet gowns, Shoji's floral prints that opened his Spring 2012 collection show are just lovely for garden parties, the botanical gardens, or spring formal, Klopp said, while jotting down notes in her mini-Moleskine notebook.

"But that one," she said, pointing to a slightly off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved dress draped on a model who looked to be in her late teens, " . . . is so mother-of-the bride."

It's no wonder the Philadelphia native's website is a hit with savvy and well-to-do fashionistas over 35. Klopp is an expert at seeing how what's hot in fashion now can be repurposed to fit more of an everywoman body type.

Featured looks are preppy and upscale, what Main Liners like to call "classic with a twist." (Think little black dress + statement jewelry + color-block bag.) Ralph Lauren, Nicole Miller, Michael Kors, and Douglas Hannant - all among the 75-plus designers showing their collections here at Lincoln Center - are faves.

"I don't consider myself a fashion expert," said Klopp, perfectly put together in a deep purple knit Red Valentino suit and 3-inch Jimmy Choo pumps. "I'm an online shopping expert."

Her site, which gets a respectable 2,500 clicks a day, is a how-to guide for busy women who don't have time to shop, but take dressing appropriately very seriously. Her picks have made her a hit with New York's television news world; she has appeared on the Today show and has an ongoing fashion segment on Good Day New York.

So why do people listen to her?

Because Klopp, whose husband, John, is a managing director at Morgan Stanley, has friends in high places. It doesn't matter that the 57-year-old mother of three and former documentary filmmaker doesn't have a fashion background; she knows what the well-to-do want.