Bruce Willis added a little zip to...

Bruce Willis added a little zip to his wardrobe when he stopped at the Theodore Man boutique the other day. We hear from store manager Nicolas Leon-Dufour that Willis spent a quick 20 minutes scooping up denim jackets, jeans and casual shirts. Then he spotted the jewelry counter. There, Leon-Dufour tells Listen, “he saw one of those very cute little zipper earrings” designed by Arlene Altman. It’s part of her collection of 14-karat gold safety pins, screws and other hardware-inspired jewelry for men. Willis, who was wearing a small stone stud in his pierced ear at the time, added a gold zipper to his pile of purchases.

Who are the 10 best-dressed short men in America? One Cleveland retailer recently sent Listen its list of favorites. Short Sizes Inc. named entertainers Dudley Moore (5-foot-5), Sammy Davis Jr. (5-foot-5), Paul Shaffer (5-foot-6), Michael J. Fox (5-foot-4), Billy Crystal (5-foot-5) and George Burns (5-foot-6) to its non-towering celebrity list. Diplomat Henry Kissinger (5-foot-8), Atlanta Hawks player Spud Webb (5-foot-7) and jockey Willie Shoemaker (5-foot-3) also made the list, which included one diminutive fashion designer: Ralph Lauren, at 5-foot-4.

George Michael, formerly of the rock duo Wham! was en route recently to appear on “The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers” when he made a last-minute stop at the Torie Steele boutique in Beverly Hills. Store spokesman Tom Bruno tells Listen that the performer arrived in T-shirt, jeans and alligator shoes, setting out to find something to throw on top. His choice: an $895 burgundy, brown and navy plaid jacket by Jean Paul Gaultier. “The limo driver kept coming in and saying: ‘We’re running late,’ ” Bruno recalls. But Michael made it to the show--clad in the plaid jacket.

Never one to let the parade pass by, Giorgio, Beverly Hills, plans to enter a 65-foot float in the 98th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day in Pasadena. A Giorgio spokesman told Listen the float will have a three-tiered floral fountain, designed by Raul Rodriguez, which was inspired by the Fountain of Apollo at the Palace of Versailles. Ten models will appear on the float wearing gowns by international designers Zandra Rhodes, Thierry Mugler and others. This “salute to elegance,” as Giorgio chief Fred Hayman has dubbed it, is part of the store’s celebration of 25 years in business on Rodeo Drive. One Giorgio trademark will be absent, however: Listen hears there will be no smell of the familiar Giorgio perfume wafting from the float--although the perfume’s key flowers of roses, gardenias, jasmine and orange flowers will be part of the float’s decor.

Jane Russell figures it’s time to launch her own line of clothing and is opening a boutique in Santa Barbara. She’s calling the shop Jane’s Way. The first look at her new line of “casual, affordable clothes” is scheduled for Saturday in a fashion show at the Hope Ranch on Santa Barbara’s Klinger Estate, Listen hears from the show’s commentator, Beverly Latimer. It seems Russell has been designing her own wardrobe for years. “Enough people nagged her, and she finally decided to open a shop,” Latimer says.

We hear from designer Keiko Fukuzaki of Keiko Swimwear in New York that she got a call from Capitol Hill, asking where to buy her G-string bikini with the lace sarong cover-up, modeled in the Sports Illustrated calendar for 1987. “A senator called and said he wanted to buy the suit for his wife,” Keiko recalls. Listen asked: Which senator? But Keiko isn’t saying. She did tell Listen that the suit is currently available at the Diane swimwear boutique in Santa Monica.

What do Joan Rivers, Lucille Ball and Michele Lee have in common? Each sported a “Just Say No to Drugs” button from the recent May Co.-sponsored campaign on one of Rivers’ talk-talk-talk shows, and each autographed a T-shirt to be included in the chain’s anti-drug sweepstakes drawing. Next charitable move by May Co. is its third annual food drive, in conjunction with “Life” (Love Is Feeding Everyone). Dennis Weaver, Valerie Harper and more than 30 other Hollywood luminaries will appear in various stores on Nov. 23, from 1 to 2 p.m., asking Southern Californians to join in feeding the hungry during the holidays. A donation of canned food will be repaid by a Polaroid picture of you and a star, such as Beverly Garland, Macdonald Carey, Kevin Peter Hall, Pamela Roylance, Pat DeSilva or, if you prefer, Dr. George Fishbeck, who will appear in the Palm Desert store. “Life” food containers will remain in all May Co. stores until Dec. 22. Suggested canned items for donation: tomato sauce, tomatoes, vegetables, fruits, beans, tuna and soups. Packaged or dried suggestions include: beans, rice, oatmeal, flour, powdered milk and macaroni and cheese.

Those brisk-looking blondes on a new TV ad for Alcott & Andrews, a women’s career-dressing store, introduce themselves with “I’m Alcott.” And “I’m Andrews.” The owners, Listen thought. But not so. “They’re professional actresses,” a spokesman said in a recent phone call. And that commercial introducing the new store in Crystal Court at South Coast Plaza is appearing coast to coast, “in every market that we’re in,” she said. The real partners in the chain, which started two years ago in Washington, are named Michael Jeffries and Coleen Brady. So don’t expect to find those increasingly familiar TV faces at the Orange County store, which is the chain’s 10th. “It’s a very common marketing device,” said the spokesman, asking if Listen also believed those men who advertise wine coolers on TV are really named Bartles & Jaymes. Good point.