Sookie Stackhouse from 'True Blood'

Blood is an acquired taste (we're assuming). But if you stare long enough at Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) of True Blood, airing Sundays on HBO, you'll come to realize that no matter what her blood type is, it's your type. She's a quirky mixture of sexy and sass that series costume designer Audrey Fisher has made into a beautiful reflection of quiet sophistication balanced by country life.

"Sookie is a smart, emotionally connected young woman living in this tiny little town," says Fisher, who was an assistant designer on That '70s Show and We Are Marshall. "She is bigger than Bon Temps (the show's setting) but loves it. She has this country side to her, but there is a touch of sophistication. You know she was raised right, likes to put on a dress, likes to go on a date, likes to be put together, but she is a country girl at heart."

With that in mind, Fisher has developed Sookie's look based on a '50s silhouette: skirts, dresses, smart cardigans.

"I like to put her in things that are reminiscent of the '50s -- or give that vibe," Fisher says. "If you think of someone like Kim Novak or Audrey Hepburn with the defined waist -- A-line skirt, simple with an edge of sophistication -- I've gone that way because it suits Anna and the character. It doesn't look too unexpected. It's still a small-town look, and (it) works."

For Fisher, it's the current photos used for promos and print ads featuring Paquin that feel most like the true Sookie.

"I see her in a little white sundress," she says. "That is what she wore in the first episode when she was doused with blood."

No doubt that little incident helped cement the look in many viewers' minds. It is, after all, a real hazard of living in a town filled with vampires.

The little white sundress Fisher fancies features a crossover triangle bodice, pleats along the top, spaghetti straps, a fitted waistline, an A-line skirt, eyelets and a little bow in front. And while that particular dress was from Trixxi, virtually everything we see on Sookie is designed by Fisher.

"It's very hard to find this sort of '50s style that fits Anna's body perfectly," Fisher says. "I could shop forever. Honestly, she has the perfect body and could fit into a million off-the-rack dresses, but the details are so specific, and it is much more fun for me to build it.

"Oh, and cute little white pumps -- those are very Sookie," Fisher says, laughing. "And they're straight from the books. Charlaine (Harris, the author of the book on which "True Blood" is based) has such wonderful clues for the costumer in her books. And she wears a lot of little white flats and Keds in all colors."

Of course, part of Sookie's small-town life is her job as a waitress at Merlotte's, and so viewers tend to think of her in her waitress uniform of white Merlotte's T-shirt, black shorts, black apron and black Nike Cortez sneakers.

In fact, last Halloween, the Sookie look was very popular. We're already planning our Bill Compton costume.

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