Getting to the Sole of a Sneak Attack

UNDERNEATH IT ALL: Sneakers have been pumped up, rainbow-laced and decorated with everything from Cracker Jack charms to gangland graffiti. Cherokee, however, has turned things upside down, by providing an utterly plain tennis shoe with a surprise on the bottom.

Underneath the shoe’s sole of tough, see-through plastic is striped fabric reminiscent of a stylish Navajo rug. The canvas sneakers, $30 at the May Co., come in black, white, hot pink, purple, turquoise and orange.

Now, if Cherokee or some other innovative company could just get those soles to zip open, we could insert our own fabrics, year-old corsages, photographs or even money. The shoes would be perfect for shopping. You could wear your wallet on your feet.

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I’D RATHER BUNGEE JUMP FROM THE WATTS TOWERS THAN SHOP: Steve Bhaerman, the comedian who wears tie-dyed caftans when he appears as “Swami Beyondananda, the Yogi from Muskogee,” at conventions of every kind, hates to shop--in the usual, Earth-plane tradition.

But he and his wife Trudy Lite, a.k.a. Mrs. Beyondananda, like to do what Bhaerman calls sport shopping.

“It’s sort of like sportfishing, where you throw back what you catch,” he explains. “We don’t come home with anything except our money. We go to places and pretend we have the money to buy things. We went sport shopping at Harry Winston’s (the Rodeo Drive jeweler) on our third date.”

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SHOP AT YOUR OWN RISK: Watch out if you plan to shop with a child Friday at Santa Monica Place. Enticements such as free face painting (at Imaginarium), gifts to kids who donate used items for homeless children (at Karl’s Toys) and popcorn (at Supertoons) will be scattered throughout the mall.

Tweety Bird and Bugs Bunny will also be on hand for photographs with your favorite toddler or brother-in-law. It’s all a part of “KIDS PLUS SATURDAY,” which will benefit St. John’s Hospital and Health Center’s Homeless Outreach Project. For more info: (310) 394-5451.

Wondering when talk show host Larry Sanders will announce he’s hawking a line of suits and sport coats? Hot to Shop is based on conversations and reader mail. Write to Beth Ann Krier, The Times, Los Angeles, Calif. 90053. Letters may also be faxed to (213) 237-4712.