Britney Spears.

The celebrity who adds new meaning to the words "navel-gazing" and the diva who put the grrrr into grrrlpower is also a one-woman fashion statement.

Or fashion disaster, if you lend any credence to Hollywood's bitchiest critic, the ubiquitous Mr. Blackwell. In fact, Blackwell included the teen sensation on his list of the year's worst-dressed women.

Well, Ottawa's reigning king of fabulous fashion, Richard Robinson, thinks when it comes to dressing down Spears, Blackwell's taste is all in his mouth.

No stranger to dressing celebrity women -- including former star client Marlen Cowpland -- Robinson thinks Spears looks mahvelous, dahling, using her sexy good looks to the utmost.

"A woman who feels ugly can go to the best party and have a terrible time," he says in his Sussex St. headquarters. "But a woman who likes the way she looks can go to a funeral and have a marvellous time."

Spears is a natural model, says Robinson. Playing up her sexual aura, she is a powerful image of women for women and men. Her body is a work of soft sensual prowess, she's a show-off, a sexual icon for whom clothes take on a function beyond normal apparel.

OPINIONS

Good lines: "I like it, it has good lines, lots of energy, moves well. She looks simple, sexy and very approachable, the kind of girl boys dream of."

Rebellious: "This is her rebellious look, she is young. Nothing goes together, but it works. She looks like an ordinary girl that girls can relate to. Her fans wouldn't be able to relate to her if she wore couturier clothes. She looks ready to dance all night in that."

Sexy stomach: "This is young and fun to wear. She has a sexy stomach and likes to show it off. That's why she has a pierced navel. Lots of girls can relate to that."

More nude: "She looks older and more nude, like she's posing for Playboy. She's dressing for an older, more male crowd and her old fans, the young girls won't get this.

Floral: "It's a mess, but you don't notice so much because you only see Britney. It's too busy and doesn't follow the lines of her body. It makes her look older."

Sensual: "This is very sensual, playing hide and go seek with my eyes. She likes to show lots of skin but she also knows that it's more exciting to hide a little than to show everything."

Too busy: "It's too busy around the neckline with her jewelry, earrings, fun-fur collar and hair. She doesn't feel very sexy, not in this bathrobe."

Outer space: "She looks like she's come from outer space. The more clothes she wears, the less exciting she is."

Virginal: "I'm not sure this is a good idea. She's pretending to be a virgin with the long coat."

Not right: "Hat makes her look older. It's not right. It gives her too many focus points -- the colour, the crinkly fabric, the choker, the hat. This one says 'I really want to stand out.' "