Betsey J. Leaves a Forwarding Address

DEAR HOT: I went to the Betsey Johnson store in Santa Monica and it was closed. Looked like a hot-pink ghost town. Please don’t tell me the liveliest shop on the planet is a victim of the recession.

DEAR HOT SHOPPER: Johnson’s spicy, fruit salad of a store didn’t skip town. It merely danced down the street. “The old store was not enough in the hot shopping area,” explains the New York-based designer. “It’s exciting. A/X, the (mostly under $100) Armani store will be opening right across the street from us. And Na Na, our favorite shoe and accessories people, are opening next to us.”

The new Betsey Johnson store, at 2929 Main St., looks a lot like the old one. Johnson’s outrageous cartoon-studded murals have been faithfully copied by artists, but she plans to add the final touches herself: “I have to go out and do the black lines.”

Her latest fashions, which include second-skin pants and daisy bra tops, are more inspired by lingerie than ever.

“All I want to do is underwire bras and bustiers,” she says. “The underwire stuff doesn’t fit everyone, but I’m trying to invent little push-up pads so they’ll fit 95% of the people instead of 65%. I’m just learning that I have (breasts) and I’m making a study of it.”

DEAR HOT SHOPPERS:

We now have no one to blame but ourselves if we can’t find just the right valentines--or any other cards. Hallmark has a new “Personalize it” machine in about 200 of its Gold Crown stores in California.

A computer allows you to add names, dates and original messages to a selection of 200 different cards, invitations and announcements. The cards are $3.50 each. To find a Hallmark location offering the customized cards, call (816) 274-4100.

A similar service is offered by Burbank-based Custom Expressions Inc., which has “CreataCard” machines in dozens of locations throughout L.A. Along with birthday, anniversary, valentine and other categories, CreataCard offers greetings for “Friends, Lovers and Jerks”--anti-Valentines as it were.

On the front of one of these cards, for instance, it says: “( fill-in-the-name-of-your-choice ), there’s one thing I like about having you as a ( fill-in-the-relationship-of-your-choice ). Inside, the card reads: “You’re such a sleaze, you make me look like Mother Teresa.” As with the Hallmark variety, you can substitute your own message on CreataCards, which are also $3.50 each. For locations, call (818) 972-1400.

Wondering where to find the sheer skirt Michael Jackson wears in his new “Remember the Time” video? Write to Beth Ann Krier, Hot to Shop, The Times, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053.