SHADES OF STYLE; VIBRANT HUES, `MATRIX' SHAPES PUMP SALES OF EDGY SUNGLASSES.

Byline: Binh Ha Hong

If you still have those neon plastic sunglasses from the 1980s, throw them out immediately. Ditto for the oval lenses that characterized the 1990s.

At the end of the millennium, metallics and colored lenses are what's dominating the sunglasses fashion scene. That means you can still keep the yellow-colored lenses you bought last summer, but it's better to trade them in for a new pair in blue or purple.

``Blue is the color du jour,'' said Matthew Coon, director of product development and merchandising for Foster Grant, the company that made the first pair of sunglasses back in 1929.

And the shade of blue? Cerulean, of course, Coon said. It's soothing and very progressive.

Indeed, even one woman in her 60s succumbed to the shady trend recently, buying a pair of square-shaped Guess? sunglasses with baby-blue lenses to keep up with all the stylish types in Santa Monica who are sporting the look, says Glizeth Garcia, a saleswoman at the Sunglass Hut in the Burbank Media City Center mall.

``She saw all the kids doing it, so she said she wanted to give them a try,'' Garcia said.

Blue, however, isn't the only game in town just yet.

Gwyneth Paltrow still prefers yellow rectangular shades. Julia Roberts likes purple cat's-eye ones. Charlize Theron likes rose-colored oval sunglasses.

At Sunklass and More on Maryland Avenue near Glendale's buzzing Brand Boulevard, manager Garo Garabedian says the most popular sunglasses they carry are the $250-plus Dolce & Gabbana square frames - with violet lenses.

``Blue was last year,'' Garabedian said without hesitation. ``This year's more violet, with black or chrome frames.''

Then there's the eyewear trend that isn't anyway near the color map. Garcia of Sunglass Hut said no one look has met with more customer anticipation than the one inspired by this spring's futuristic flick, ``The Matrix.''

``I get at least three customers a day asking about it,'' she said. ``All guys, all different - young, older men.''

They want the pitch-black, slightly slanted ovals wrapped around Keanu Reeves' eyes, and they're dying to try on the stemless spectacles Laurence Fishburne hid behind.

Just as clothing, accessories and handbags all have their moment in the sun, so, too, do sunglasses. Forget funky shapes and colors; cool and sleek are what's selling.

Coon, who just got back from Milan, scouted out what was popular on the runways and adjusted that vision to what would suit the average person.

Lens shapes are slicker and rectangular with softened edges, he said.

Sunglasses are either rimless or gray. More often than not, the gray is showing up in metallics.

``Gray and silver are the new black,'' Coon said. ``Metal has been coming down very, very strong in the last three years.''

But gray clashes with many people's skin tones. So Coon added yellow and brown flecks embedded in the frame. The specks are not visible to the naked eye, but they keep the wearer from having a ``washed out'' appearance. The sleek design is also incorporated into metal athletic frames such as Foster Grant's Ironman Triathlon sunglasses.

And the eyewear designers at Oakley have come out with a new line of sunglasses made of titanium. The collection includes a frame that harks back to the tiny goggles pilots used to wear, complete with brown leather stitched around the nosepiece. Expect to pay a pretty penny for this retro look, though. Garcia said these will cost you in the neighborhood of $315.

It's a far cry from the $5 you probably paid for those neon plastic sunglasses back in the 1980s, but consider it an investment in style.

Daily News Lifestyle Editor Betty Kwong contributed to this story.

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2 Photos

Photo: (1) Charity Capili, 19, tries out a pair of amber Foster Grants.

Marc Campos

(2) The shades worn by Laurence Fishburne, left, and Keanu Reeves in ``The Matrix'' are driving the sunglasses trend toward odd shapes. Also, note the lack of stems on Fishburne's pair.