X Marks the Spike Spot
WEAR THE RIGHT THING: Spike Lee is moving into the clothing biz big time. The filmmaker is expected to show up at Macy’s in New York City today for the opening of the first Spike’s Joint boutique in a department store.
Spike saturation will continue in L.A. In mid-August, Spike’s Joint is scheduled to open on Melrose Avenue, next door to Nucleus Nuance. About the same time, Spike’s Joint departments are expected to appear in Macy’s California stores.
Like the original Spike’s Joint in Brooklyn, the shops carry products associated with Lee’s films: caps, T-shirts, jerseys, shorts, jackets, pins and medallions. At the moment, that means lots of stuff with the letter X on it.
According to spokesman Jeffrey Tweedy, the Melrose store is a complete African-American enterprise. Says Tweedy: “The contractors, the architect, the PR firm, the attorneys, the bankers involved are all black. It’s important for people in L.A. to know that.”
MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN’S ALERT: For those of you who still wear half-slips and like to buzz off to events without a purse, there’s a new place to stash cash, credit cards, condoms and other necessities of life. It’s in a half-slip equipped with three zippered pockets lurking behind a lace hem.
The product is aimed at a growing market: security-minded women who fear being ripped off, any time, any place. The manufacturer suggests wearers carry a decoy purse and pop their valuables in their slips.
They’re priced from $15 to $29. To order, write to Hidden Assets, Cherokee Station, Box 20056, New York, N.Y. 10028 or call (212) 439-0693.
If the whole idea strikes you as totally ridiculous, consider that coins are reportedly sewn into the hems of Princess Di’s skirts. Not to foil rip-off artists but to reduce the possibility of onlookers catching a glimpse of her royal panties.
WHEN YOU CARE ENOUGH TO SEND A CARD THAT COSTS AS MUCH AS A SMALL GIFT: Some of the newest greeting cards look good enough to be framed, especially those from a San Mateo company called Loose Petals. Paper, raffia, twigs and other natural elements are used in the cards, such as in the serene, Japanese-style still life pictured ($10).
The cards, by Karen Young, are at Following Sea, the elegant crafts store in the Beverly Center. While you’re there, check out Kirsten Adams’ nutty “Worry Doll Cards” ($8.50), with tiny yarn-wrapped figures lodged inside handmade paper frames.
