colour on your feet.

Open toes, sandals, mules or sling-backs -- to put your best foot forward this year means slipping into a pair of strappy, festive shoes.

"Shoes are no longer just your standard plain and simple shape in neutral colours,'' said Tori Powell of Trends on Reid Street.

"Bareness is in,'' added Sandra Adams of Voila on Front Street."You're definitely going to need a pedicure with these shoes.'' Mrs. Adams said slip-in shoes, either mules or thongs, were all the rage for the first summer of the new millennium.

"Slip-in shoes are easy to put on or off and are great for the summer when many people are really on the go,'' she said. "And we are back to high heels.

You're either very high or very flat, there's very little in between.'' For those who can't bear the thought of dancing the summer nights away teetering on high heels, rest easy. There are shoes that offer the best of both worlds -- the comfort of a flat shoe and the dazzle of glittery evening sandals.

"There's several flats that have an Indian influence to them,'' Mrs. Adams explained. "They have beading on them or feathers.'' And anyone who is looking for a simple brown shoe may be searching in vain, Ms Adams said that other than black, there was very little in the way of this neutral colour.

"There is still a lot of black, but there's very little brown,'' she said.

"There's very little beige in the clothing this year so there wasn't a need for shades of browns, bone and white.

"This year its all about colour -- fruit colours, like a fruit bowl. It ranges from watermelon colours to apricot to lime. It's quite pleasant really, very summery.

"You will probably find a lot shoes in either two pallets -- citrus or sorbet pallets.'' Shoppers eager to take a walk on the wild side, may want to flock to Trends where shoes in animal prints, with beads or embroidery and the bold colour red are flying off the shelves.

"Colours are popular and we're seeing a lot of animal prints,'' said Ms Powell. "Teens still like chunky, platform shoes, in fact, the nice weather we've been having has helped us sell a lot of them to teens.'' And both women agreed that textures like suede and pony hair was definitely a hallmark of shoes for Spring/Summer 2000.

"Crocodile and snake skin will continue to be popular into Fall 2000,'' hinted Mrs. Adams. "And of course pony hair is still making an appearance.'' Ms Powell added: "Little touches like embroidery, beads and straw make you want to touch them.'' Photos by Ras Mykkal Slip-in and sling back: Say goodbye to plain, simple shoes. Spring/Summer 2000 promises plenty of bright and festive footwear such as slip-in, sling backs and mules (top) or a suede sandal glittering with beads and colour (right).