TINSELTOWN TRENDS YOU'RE NOBODY TILL SOMEBODY WEARS YOU.

Byline: Barbara De Witt Fashion Editor

Trend spotting.

It's a game about what's in and out, determined by who wears what.

Take Tiffany's signature silver bracelet with a single heart charm. It's been around for years. But thanks to the box office hit ``Legally Blonde,'' it's in again. Not only does the film's star Reese Witherspoon wear the heart tag bracelet (priced at $135) but so do her sorority sisters and her dog.

According to Tiffany's spokeswoman Diane Reed, stylists for the film visited sorority houses to see what was popular, and that's how the charm bracelet (and pink accessories) were brought to the big screen. The necklace seen in the film is actually a knock-off of the original $260 Tiffany design, and is available at Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom.

Plaid in full

Another re-emerging trend is the pleated plaid skirt.

Leave it to Madonna to make it a fall must-have. The pop icon who made underwear as outerwear fashionable opened her Drowned World tour in Philadelphia wearing a plaid miniskirt and top (with a twist, of course).

And in the upcoming movie ``The Princess Diaries,'' you'll see plaid at its preppiest, more in line with the trend originally set in motion by Great Britain's Queen Victoria after a visit to the Highlands. Actress Anne Hathaway and her friends pair the skirts with crested blazers.

You'll find plaid pants and skirts, even ultrapreppy cotton oxford shirts, at most department stores by mid-August, including Sears and T.J. Maxx.

It's doubtful we'll see Christina Aguilera in prepster attire, but she has been spotted wearing the latest hippie chick accessory - a China Moon Rag.

Ok, so it's not mainstream (yet), but former Valley girl Tichina Arnold (soon to be seen on WB's ``Cedric the Coach'') has made those '60s triangle scarves hip again by adding rhinestones, crystals and brass studs. In addition to Aguilera, they've been spotted on the heads of Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Vivica A. Fox, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Regina King and even Justin Timberlake of 'N Sync, so you know it's going to catch on.

China Moon Rags are priced at $25 to $250 (depending on type of fabric and number of Swarovski crystals) at Shikiri in Beverly Hills and at www.chinamoonrags.com.

Hail to the feet

When it comes to menswear trends, an old-fashioned made-in-America shoe manufacturer named Allen-Edmonds has quietly tip-toed into the spotlight.

George W. Bush set the trend in motion when he wore a traditional cap-toe black dress style called Park Avenue for his presidential inauguration. HBO's ``The Sopranos'' star James Gandolfini, who plays Tony Soprano, also wears the retro-inspired lace-up but in brown leather.

Those shoes are not to be confused with the black-and-white spectators, also by Allen-Edmonds, worn by Craig T. Nelson on ``The District.'' Viewers may recall Nelson, in his role as Washington, D.C., police chief Jack Mannion, slamming the shoes on a tabletop and saying to the Navy's top brass, ``See these shoes? How many people do you think have the nerve to wear these?''

Apparently, a lotta guys.

You'll see that same flashy style (called Broadstreet) on the feet of George Clooney and his ``gangsta'' friends Brad Pitt, Carl Reiner, Elliot Gould and Andy Garcia in the Warner Bros. remake of ``Ocean's Eleven'' scheduled to debut in December, according to Allen-Edmonds spokeswoman Virginia Riddle. Both styles are $270 a pair and are available at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Bloomingdale's.

What big earrings you have

Luckily, some trends are easier to spot - at eye level.

This summer, big chandelier-style earrings that swing when you walk are all the rage, thanks to Catherine Zeta-Jones and Heather Locklear. Not only are they fans of the chandelier style, but the paparazzi snapped them wearing the same earrings at separate soirees.

The faux turquoise and coral earrings are by R.J. Graziano, whose label is available at Nordstrom stores for about $165. But you can find counterfeit styles at junior outposts such as Claire's Accessories at Westfield

Shoppingtown at Topanga in Canoga Park and at Rampage at Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks.

Want the same lipstick as your favorite star?

It's not so easy to spot in the movie mags, but luckily, girls do drop names. And it's the name game that's the big trend in the cosmetic business.

Philosophy, known for its clever names like ``footnotes'' (a tube of pumice) and ``take a hike'' (aromatic foot ointment to reduce summer friction), started the trend, but a little L.A.-based company called Too Faced has taken the lead.

Julia Roberts, Britney Spears, Madonna, Gwyneth Paltrow and Drew Barrymore are fans, and so are the entire casts of TV's ``Will & Grace'' and ``Felicity,'' says Too Faced co-founder Jerrod Blandino.

But it's the names he's given his products that keep the fans laughing. The name game includes ``Marcia, Marcia, Marcia'' lipstick and nail polish (worn by Spears, Barrymore and Aguilera), Tabloid Gossip gloss and new eye shadows called ``Boo-Boo Kitty'' and ``Leading Lady,'' available at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's and Sephora stores for about $13 each.

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9 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 5 -- color) Clockwise, from top left: Reese Witherspoon sports a heart pendant in ``Legally Blonde''; Madonna plays in plaid, a look also worn by Heather Matarazzo and Anne Hathaway in ``The Princess Diaries''; and actress LisaRaye unwinds with a rhinestone-covered bandanna from China Moon Rags.

(6 -- 7) Black and white spectator shoes, far left, saw favorable attention from Craig T. Nelson on ``The District,'' and retro-inspired lace-ups, near left, proved popular with both President Bush and Tony Soprano.

(8 -- 9) Too Faced cosmetics company offers ``Marcia, Marcia, Marcia'' lipstick and ``Boo-Boo Kitty'' eye shadow.