CHICAGO — After 10 months of bankruptcy protection, Spiegel Inc. is overhauling its struggling 99-year-old home and apparel catalogue.

The Big Book's rebirth will be backed by TV ads for the first time in a decade and aided by a dream team of advisers that includes gap-toothed model Lauren Hutton. Lower demand and falling circulation led to a 42 percent drop in catalogue and Internet sales in December compared to the same month in the previous year.

The revamped 400-page catalogue, which features spring 2004 merchandise, will be mailed to more than 3 million consumers starting this week. While that pales in comparison to the 10 million families who got the catalogue in 1926, it is up from the 2 million who received the fall 2003 catalogue.

"This whole repositioning is gearing us towards a turnaround for Spiegel catalogue," said Geralynn Madonna, appointed chief executive officer of the catalogue unit last March. Spiegel doesn't break out sales of its various catalogues but the company acknowledges that revenues generated by its flagship book have been dropping since 2000.

The Downers Grove, Ill., retailer, which also owns the Eddie Bauer stores and the Newport News catalogue, collapsed into bankruptcy in March after executives pumped up sales by giving shoppers easier access to credit. The fallout from that move included the loss of 180 jobs in Albany when Spiegel affiliate First Consumers National Bank closed its local call center.

In the 10 months since, Spiegel has cut jobs, changed management and auditors, and closed everything from 14 percent of its Eddie Bauer stores to a customer service center. Spiegel has nearly $1.5 billion in debts, owed mostly to large U.S. and German banks.

A plan of reorganization — a road map for where the company wants to go after bankruptcy and how it plans to pay creditors — is scheduled to be filed next month, though Spiegel is likely to request an extension.

Today, Spiegel has $350 million in financing available to run the business but hasn't needed to tap it yet. "We have strong liquidity," spokeswoman Debbie Koopman said.

Spending on the new catalogue didn't need bankruptcy court approval.

As part of the launch, the 135-year-old company will spend nearly $5 million on print, Internet, direct mail and television advertising. The 60-second spots, created by Badger & Kry in New York, have the tag "Get Smart, Get Spiegel" and will appear for four weeks on such cable channels as Lifetime, Oxygen, Court TV and the Game Show Network.

The magazine-like book goes beyond pretty pictures to include practical advice. Celebrity fashion expert Wayne Scot Lukas, of TV's "What not to Wear," for example, spells out how even the most harried schlumps can transform 10 classic pieces into different outfits.

The new-school catalogue blurs the line between catalogues and magazines, just as magazine insurgents Lucky and Home have succeeded in borrowing from catalogues.

"It's the ultimate idea resource for busy women," said Madonna, former president of Newport News.

But one catalogue expert believes that Spiegel's general merchandise catalogue still has its work cut out for it.

"The catalogues doing well now tend to be smaller specialty books, with merchandise you can't get anywhere else," said Melissa Dowling, executive editor of Catalogue Age, a trade publication. Much of "Spiegel's stuff can be found at the mall."

Also, the Internet makes it easier to comparison-shop. So when shipping is factored in, a trip to a store might be cheaper. "It's even that much harder for general merchandise catalogues," Dowling said.

Spiegel says its catalogue offers exclusive clothing lines, as well as accessories from boutiques. One of the two boutiques featured in the new catalogue is Lille in Chicago.

The Spiegel catalogue will also feature a catalogue-within-a-catalogue from fruit provider Harry & David and also has tie-ins, for the first time, with Lobster Gram, Sephora, Royal Caribbean, Servicemaster and Women & Co.

Spiegel's new dream team includes Hutton, who advises on classic style and dressing one's age. Other experts offer advice on recipes, cookware, wine, home products and decorating.

Also new in this catalogue is the Spiegel Color System. "The red for a skirt is the same red for a T-shirt," Madonna said.

As far as Spiegel's unsecured creditors are concerned, more black would be better.

"We're encouraged by the new book," said Howard Seife, a Chadbourne & Parke lawyer representing the unsecured creditors' committee, citing the use of some "hot New York designers."

"But we'll see what the response rate is."

In catalogue lingo, a response rate is the percentage of people who receive a catalogue who end up buying something.

Spiegel originally planned to emerge from bankruptcy in 12 to 18 months. "That remains our objective," spokeswoman Koopman said. "We've made solid progress toward that goal."

Spiegel had agreed to allow an independent examiner to review its books as part of a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which wanted a report on the company's failure. The SEC had charged Spiegel with securities fraud, alleging the company withheld information about its crumbling financial state by delaying regulatory filings.

Many of the people instrumental in the downfall are no longer part of the company, but they could still be vulnerable to lawsuits. Seife said the unsecured creditors group is considering whether to sue "based on facts contained in the report."