GALLERY Accessories 2000: Click through the trends

Spring 2000 Collections: Sonia Rykiel Balmain Badgley and Mischka ArmaniClements Ribiero Guinness purses Accessories 2000 Jewelry for 2000 Dries Van Noten Gucci Marc Jacobs Michael Kors Ralph Lauren Chanel Missoni Bill Blass   MESSAGE BOARD Spring/summer 2000 Post your comments on the new collections

December 28, 1999
Web posted at: 6:18 p.m. EST (2318 GMT)

(CNN) -- When it comes to accessories in 2000, the bigger and brighter, the better. That goes for hose, jewelry, shoes, handbags and hats.

At Dolce & Gabbana, the designers Stefano Gabbana and Dolce Domenico say they're trying to make every outfit look twice as sexy, with wild accessories including hosiery in animal patterns.

At Gucci, Tom Ford also is doing stockings, but pink is his color of choice. "We're showing stockings, which we haven't shown in years," he says. "They're pink, bright pink, but transparent, so they really give your leg a slight pink glow."

Some designers are also using jewelry to embellish their efforts to make strong statements. Oscar de la Renta is spotlighting large, dramatic pieces. "You use even some of the fabric of the dresses themselves to make them into necklaces," he says.

Anna Sui is introducing a mix of ethnic and antique jewelry styles to complement her outfits. "We've had some really beautiful jewelry created by Erickson Beaman that has this whole gypsy theme," she says. "But it's the rococo gypsy that has traveled through different continents, so there's a mixture of ethnic with antique. I think some of the pieces they've come up with are so beautiful."

Jean Paul Gaultier chucks out minimalism, creating long earrings, bracelets and necklaces. He tops off his outfits with what he calls "frivolous hats."

When it comes to shoes, the buzzword is color -- and lots of it. In Paris, Mondo Di Marco plays with color to engage different moods in her Ombeline collection. She says it doesn't matter whether it's shiny, opaque, sophisticated or lively.

For daytime, she uses beads on her turquoise high-wedge leather sandals. For evening, she uses python skin in three shades of sandals.

Tod's spring/summer 2000 collection is another example of eye-catching color. Yellows, greens and oranges along with colored sequins adorn designer Diego Della Valle's styles. "I believe when women wear neutral clothes," he says, "they will go for brighter colors in accessories."

Handbags can change the look of an outfit too, Lulu Guinness says. "I think handbags are definitely the thing of the moment."

Guinness does oversize bags to accentuate the look of the miniskirts in Dolce & Gabbana's collection. "In this collection," Dolce says, "it's all short, all very short or very big."

CNN Style Correspondent Elsa Klensch contributed to this report.

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