Fashion Accessories

FIRST came nail polish, then acrylic press-ons. Next? How about shrink-wrap color? Though it's still largely under the radar, Minx, a 2- to 4-millimeter-thick film that's cut to fit the nail and affixed with a heat-activated adhesive, has been winning converts -- and celebrity fans -- since it was introduced two years ago. Beyonce has worn Minx to award shows and red carpet events, and other high-profile fans include Blake Lively, Lisa Marie Presley and her daughter Riley Keough.

AFTER THE Dow's plunge this month, it's safe to say many people aren't rushing out to buy the season's latest "it" bags. Even for those who've got the cash, that $2,000 might do better in the bank than hanging from a shoulder. And yet, it's only natural to want a new fall carry-all after years of buying back-to-school backpacks and filling them with shiny school supplies. If you can afford to usher in the season with a leather satchel or oversized tote from Valentino or Prada, live it up.

Her fingers ran over the smooth red buttons with flecks of gold and the wavy sea-green buttons and the black buttons with ridges that made them look like miniature fans. Yoshini Kondo admired them all -- buttons sewn in lots of 12 on yellowing cards, buttons in every color and size, buttons in Bakelite, casein, ceramic, shell, wood, even silk thread. But did she need old buttons in her life?

BAMBOO knits, organic cotton hoodies, cork suit jackets, green issues from Elle and Vanity Fair. Going green has never been more fashionable. But now that it's hitting the "in today, out tomorrow" designer handbag market, well, that's really saying something. Last month, British designer Anya Hindmarch released a $15 navy-and-white canvas shopping bag that caused a sensation in the U.K.

THE Birkin, the Paddington, the Speedy and the Spy. Anyone who picks up a magazine or catalog these days knows it's all about the It bag. With the advent of high-low chic and today's more casual approach to dressing, accessories -- not clothes -- are driving retail sales.

Three hours. That's how long it took Anya Hindmarch's cult canvas "I'm Not a Plastic Bag" to sell out after hitting her Robertson Boulevard boutique Wednesday. Dozens of customers lined up, some camped out on lawn chairs since 4 a.m., waiting for the store to open. At the New York City location, they even stood out in the rain. The British handbag designer was on hand for the L.A. launch, signing the first 10 bags sold. "I'm no green goddess," she said. "But in fashion you do have a platform.

HERMeS is being all hush-hush about it, but there was Cameron Silver, owner of L.A.'s famed vintage emporium Decades, flashing the coolest of man bags around the Paris men's shows earlier this month. And it turns out he'd designed the bag himself. For Hermes. The "Cameron" is a structured flap style not unlike a Birkin in dark leather with Hermes orange lining, a shoulder strap and side pockets. When unfolded, it looks roomy enough to accommodate a handful of yellow legal pads.

IT was the rhinestone-studded strawberry that first caught our eye. A pink strawberry pendant with rhinestone seeds that gave Kenneth Jay Lane's $112 strawberry -- and Chanel's similar $500 apple -- a serious run for the money. It was $6.80 at Forever 21, hanging amid the plastic beads and bangles best left for 13-year-olds to throw on with their Hollister ensembles. We were intrigued. Could mall-babe central be the source for the kind of jewelry a Melrose babe would crave? We kept shopping.

THIS being the summer of the dress -- the girlier, the better -- inevitably an accessory more charming than a bucket hat would start popping up: the flirty parasol. The model most likely to be seen is the Chinese kind, with its slim bamboo shank and decorative canopy, though there have been sightings of Victorian lace confections, and even an Indian standout patched of colorful cotton elephants, swatches and stars.