PARIS, April 30, 2003/ FWD/ --- Fall 2003 is shaping up to be a promising season for those looking for a special accessory to spice up their look or help them stand out in the crowd.

Fendi, picking up on the notion of accessories as "edible" and "delicious," has tapped into a food vibe for fall with what's bound to be the Italian company's next bestseller, the Chef bag.

In gilded python, glossy mink, or the softest, supplest, most butter-soft (there we go again) crocodile imaginable, the bag, which comes in three sizes, looks like a puffy, inverted chef hat.

Elsewhere in the LVMH kitchen, Marc Jacobs' collaboration with Takashi Murakami shows no sign of cooling. The Japanese artist's motifs have been developed for next season on cute brocade-effect bags, shoes, in a capsule range of precious and kooky pendants, and a childishly fun new watch. The latter though, at 6,000 euros each, is probably more suited for grown-ups.

Adults will also love showing off the very desirable and shiny Louis Vuitton alligator bags with large circular zip tab and off-center lock -- that signature LV trunk lock also fastens shut at the sides of the updated Speedy bag. The strong metal mood shouts from shoe and boot heels inserted with a matte metal wedge, and whispers from goatskin bags shaded a delicate gold.

For those lazy, hazy summer days, the Hermes woman can lay out on her to-die-for hammock admiring her jewelry. The baubles might be a bracelet or a necklace designed by Pierre Hardy and composed of an airy froth of connected rings, or maybe the diving watch she purloined from her husband with a suitably fluid strap made up of tiny rubber H's.

And if she's not up to slipping into a pair of red crocodile strappy sandals, she might pull on her cream ribbed cashmere socks with leather soles to wander into the house to look for the dog. Rover, in case you were wondering, also finds himself well provided for: his paw print zip bag contains his coat, whistle and collar-and-leash with smart metal adjusters.

As a furrier -- he also produces furs for Louis Vuitton and Celine -- Robert Beaulieu's creative muscles are best exercised in preparation for the colder months. So what does a furrier do for summer? Beaulieu shaves white fur ultra-short and uses it for a light sarong whose plain side is hand-painted in marine hues. He also lines a pair of thong sandals with it and uses the fluffier, snowy fur as straps -- a decadent boudoir look for lounging poolside on the Riviera this August.

Devotees of Paris-based designer Mina Poe have recently become footwear fetishists.

Her fairylike hand-painted ballerina slippers, after making a brief advance appearance in her jewel of a store, attracted so much attention that she was compelled to start producing them right away.

With her reputation and fan base growing fast, and London's Harvey Nichols stocking her latest goods, Mina Poe's precious cache of accessories is continuing to evolve. Picking up a thread from scarves that can be worn as shrugs, Mina has moved on to sublime painted rabbit and Mongolian lamb coats and jackets. With a constant evolution of styles and moods, summer sees simple long shifts made from antique linens or a giant silk butterfly motif fluttering across a brief lace tunic.

In a similar bohemian mood, Coco's (Certa, not Chanel) striking rings call for the simplest of outfits to set them off. Sleek black jersey would be the perfect backdrop for enormous rings composed of chunks of amethyst, quartz and agate that look like they've been pulled fresh from the ground.

From rocks to knuckle-dusters, Yohji Yamamoto certainly capped off a well-received men's show in January with some choice, and dangerous, accessories. With a gangster mood came ghetto fabulous accessories like diamante belt buckles saying Heart, Sweet or Hell. Aside from squishy zip bags in clotted cream and leather flat caps with the legend "East Hell," the big story here is on the hand. Yamamoto's weighty, detailed metal finger ornaments took the forms of castles, pointing hands and, in one extreme case, a soaring Gothic tower, which measured a rather generous three-and-a-half inches in length.

If Yamamoto's inventive accessories and the up-for-it models who wore them provoked bursts of applause at his show, then Hedi Slimane's accessories for Dior Homme needed to be seen up close to be believed. As pubescent models passed in a blur, who could appreciate the silver jewelry dripping off them? At closer quarters, those apparent chains turn out to be some of the most creative and humorous male adornments ever created.

And Slimane's tapped into everything from club culture and addiction to unabashed luxury for the modern age. For the former, read charm bracelets, key rings and necklaces resplendent with dangling silver pills and capsules. Or how about a narrow silver cylinder on a necklace designed to hold a single cigarette? Though probably of little use in New York these days, your cigarettes can also be treated to the pleasure of their own Dior Homme ring, replete with signature bee motif. And for chic Kodak moments, there's a silver film canister hanging around the neck.

But for the man who really has everything -- but in an effort to be egalitarian still uses public transport -- comes the etui Carte Orange. It's in slim, striated glazed black leather and features a pullout tab into which you can place your monthly Paris transport pass. With this sexy enticement to leave your car at home, FWD predicts an exhaust-free winter in the French capital.

Louis Vuitton Bags
(Photo courtesy of Louis Vuitton-FWD

Mina Poe
(Photo courtesy of Mina Poe-FWD

Mina Poe
(Photo courtesy of Mina Poe-FWD

Mina Poe
(Photo courtesy of Mina Poe-FWD

Dior Homme
(Photo courtesy of Dior Homme-FWD

Dior Homme
(Photo courtesy of Dior Homme-FWD