HOT TOP: Check out the cover. It`s the T-shirt, of course, but this season it`s got to be an off-the-shoulder T or almost-see-through sheer, two ways to bare it this summer for the sake of fashion. Off-shoulder T`s by Tapemeasure, $28, at Marshall Field`s, look great with full cotton skirts, especially knit ones. Sheer T`s, at Ultimo.
HOT SCOPE: What you get when you cross a telescope with a kaleidoscope
–a ”teleidoscope.” Jack Lazarowski (who has a BFA in industrial design)
and sculptor Timothy Grannis make these kaleidoscope-like gadgets for Prism Design. They offer kaleidoscopic views of anything. On a tripod (adjustable to 5 feet), $1,800; the mirror and brass teleidoscope, $295. Corki Weeks of Corki Weeks Designs makes the purple anodized aluminum scope for $45, and the brass one for $90. All available at Fabrile Gallery, 736 N. Michigan Ave., and 2945 N. Broadway.
HOT BAR: Hands down, it`s the Cotton Club, which co-owner Haynes Thompson (pictured with vocalist Rhonda Caprice) says could make South Michigan Avenue the city`s newest, hottest alternative entertainment strip. Ever since his nightclub, at 1710 S. Michigan, opened in early April, Thompson has been packing them into the club`s two rooms. In back: an ”electric”
dance room with deejay; in front: a bar that features the eight-piece Cotton Club Orchestra–a direct takeoff on the original Cotton Club in Harlem during Prohibition (except this one draws a predominantly buppie crowd). Guys gotta wear jackets. Valet parking available.
HOT DATE: Christie`s plans to auction off Liberace`s jewelry, cars and 20,000 other effects in three days, starting next April 10, in L.A. Mark your calendars now.
HOT COFFEE: Throw out the steamy stuff, and chill out with some iced java –cooled by coffee ice cubes, of course–at Color Me Coffee, 3000 N. Sheffield Ave. The coffee cubes keep your drink from getting watery. Varieties range from Kenya AA to Zimbabwe, with Jamaican Blue Mountain in between, at 90 cents to $1.85 a glass.
HOT NOTE: Ladysmith Black Mambazo. (It`s a vocal group, folks.)
HOT STEP: Throw away that health club locker key. The hottest thing in fitness is . . . walking. Just plain, old-fashioned walking. It`s edged out jogging as the nation`s most popular form of exercise, according to the President`s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Sure, you can racewalk, stroll or stride, but it`s still putting one foot in front of the other. (And comfortable shoes are all you need. Not much glamor, but no guilt.)
HOT FIT: Anything with s-t-r-e-t-c-h–the last word in fashion right now, and promising to be even more important for fall. See how they stretch:
Fashions by Jean-Paul Gaultier, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garcons, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Geoffrey Beene and more. Pictured: Giorgio Sant`Angelo`s two-piece knit ofurex, cotton and spandex, $1,200; Donna Karan hose, $7.50;
Maud Frizon pumps, $245; Diva earrings, $45; all at Ultimo. Hot lips here:
Elizabeth Arden`s Neoclassic Coral. Model: Patty McHugh; hair and makeup:
Marty Thompson; both of Susanne Johnson`s.
HOT BUBBLY: ”Anything with good flavor and a foreign flair,” says Ginna Shannon, general manager for restaurants at Neiman-Marcus on Michigan Avenue. ”We`re selling lots of flavored champagnes, or champagne with liqueur
–especially Framboise and cognac.” Royal Orange champagne/cognac/liqueur is $25 a bottle from Neiman`s Epicure Shop or its Zodiac restaurant.
HOT DOG: Nancy Reagan has her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Queen Elizabeth her corgis, but the hound-to-have is the Jack Russell terrier. This English import is small, feisty and elegantly brown-and-white. Watch for the Jack, already hot with the sporting set in the East and South, to start popping up soon in the Midwest`s ”best” families` snapshots. From about $250 a pup.
HOT TIPS: Just for the fun of it, we mixed and matched Fantasy Nails by Now Nails. They come in a variety of patterns, including ”Harlequin,”
”Mosaic” and ”Navaho.” Available in August at Walgreen Drug Stores and Revco Drug Centers for around $6 for a package of 24. Tips applied by Cathe Tocco, Hands Up & Face It, 1050 N. State Street.
HOT STUDS: Oh, grow up. These are stick-`em-where-you-want-`em rhinestones called Dew Dots. On whatever; wherever; whyever. They come in fake diamonds, or a ruby/emerald/sapphire combination; $12 for a set of 7. White T- shirt, $54. All at Theodora on Oak Street.
HOT PANTS: Sales of Jams-style shorts have died. Camp shorts never really caught on. The hottest bottoms for men are good old cotton twill shorts with pockets. These, in beige, from Peninsula S.F., are $28 at Carson Pirie Scott. Model: Christian, Elite Chicago.
HOT TOY: The fave among boys and girls 8 and older is the new Pogo Bal by Hasbro ($12.99). It`s a rubber ball surrounded by a hard-plastic, Saturn-like ring on which you stand and bounce and bounce and bounce. . . . The trick to staying on: Squeeze the ball between your feet–and always wear rubber-soled shoes. At Toys `R` Us stores, and Cut-Rate-Toys at 2424 W. Devon Ave.
HOT ROCKS: Think pink, whether tourmalines, sapphires or Kunzite. One reason: fashion`s current passion for the color. Another: the range of prices and colors; for example, the intense pink sapphire and diamond ring, $4,675, and ear clips of oval rubellites surrounded by diamonds, $5,150, both from Sidney Garber; bi-color tourmaline ring, $650, and rubellite ring, $650, and unset rubellite tourmalines from Shafer Studio, Chicago.
HOT TIME: New ways with watches include offbeat ways to wear them, plus new time-tellers at tiny prices. Wear an oversized watch over the cuff of a guy`s French-cuffed shirt, pushed up above the wrist. Put a big, stretchy watch way high on the arm with something strapless. Or tie a wrap watch on your arm, around your ankle; slip a Le Clip on your bikini and let your wrist get as tan as the rest of you. Newest is the Pop Swatch, which can be snapped onto any fabric (socks, jackets, sweaters), no matter how thick. The wrap, clip and pop watches are all $35, available at Marshall Field`s. Pictured here: Wrap watch in floral print; strapless Catalina bikini (stretch, of course), $37, Marshall Field`s. Model: Lynn Cady, Susanne Johnson`s.
HOT SKINS, I: Bare shoulders, midriffs, backs, legs–all part of the sizzling show of skin this summer. Most popular skin-showing tops: Off-the-shoulder T-shirts and tops for casual to dressy wear (like those on our cover and center); strapless everything, from bikinis to bustiers and fancy dance dresses; sheer T`s and other tops that tantalize but don`t reveal.
HOT SKINS, II: Newest leather (be it real or a pretender) is ostrich, the dotty texture of the season and the replacement for those old crocodile things you`ve been wearing. Here, from left: Women`s shoe, $210 (the pair); belt, $250; bag, $790; fake watchband, $45 (includes watch), all from Saks Fifth Avenue. Men`s tassled slip-ons, $550, at Neiman-Marcus. (Among the mock items available: camel envelope bags, $70, and belts, $36, at I. Magnin.)
HOT BLOOMS: They don`t even sound like flowers, and that`s what makes Lobster Claw and Sexy Pink heliconias a hot topic among those who love buds and blossoms. Then you get to their appearance. ”People either love them or hate them–nothing in between,” says florist Jerry Stevens. Special pets of those who favor Mies van der Rohe or Art Deco, the best heliconias, according to Stevens, come from Hawaii or Australia and their price, like fish and other fresh goods, depends on the market (currently, $10-ish a stem). Pictured: Sexy Pink hangs front and center, Lobster Claws left and right. From Floral Designs, 2353 N. Clark St. and 3021 N. Southport Ave. (528-9800).
HOT SHADES: Some call them Soho`s, one manufacturer`s label, while others just settle on the more generic title of LBJs (in the `60s they perched on the president`s proboscis). Today`s counterculture versions come in every shade of the rainbow, but perhaps the most popular are tortoise-accented frames with heavy-duty green sunscreen lenses. $8 at the 99th Floor, 3406 N. Halsted St.
HOT BIKE: You think your all-terrain bike is the hottest thing on two wheels? Ride over to Lincoln Park, where you`ll see that any kid worth his Reeboks has talked Mom and Dad into buying him an old-fashioned scooter with a new-fashioned price: up to $150. It still has a two-wheeled skateboard base with handlebars, but some, such as Schwinn`s Yo scooter, are equipped with handbrakes. Wouldn`t want any young hot rodders to take a plunge into the lagoon, now, would we? From Village Cycle Center, 1337 N. Wells St., about $145.
HOT FOOT: Fila may be the shoe of choice among serious runners, but girls (and boys) who just want to have fun are picking good-old canvas Converse All-Star high-tops, which come in bright orange, yellow, aqua, pink, and even black and white. They become even trendier when tied with funky-colored laces. At as little as $19.95 a pair, at Chernin`s stores. Laces from the Athlete`s Foot, 2140 N. Halsted St.
HOT WAVE: Surfing (on the coasts), windsurfing (in the Midwest), surfing bars (NYC) and surfing looks (everywhere). Get the wave? (And are you ready for ”wave” music? The West Coast radio new-age fave is just around the corner here, we hear.)
HOT LOOK: Legs, and lots of `em, whether under short skirts (female type) or ripplingly well-muscled (male).
HOT PURSUIT: Birdwatching. Just turn to our Travel in Style pages to see why. Also another kind of watching: any tryst at a sports bar, if you can stand it.
HOT COLORS: Pinks and oranges have been battling for first place as most popular color for lips and fingernails, bright red has been picking up steam as a summer sizzler (and a forecast of what`s to come for fall, too). Among summer`s favorite reds: Estee Lauder`s Parallel Red and Sheer Cherry lipsticks and Classic Red nail lacquer (see them on Style`s cover); Dior`s Indian Red. Among pinks: Lauder`s starlit pink lipstick and rose diamond nail lacquer.
(Pinks range from soft and pretty pastels, such as Clinique`s Sugar Glaze
–looks like cotton candy–and Prescriptives Shy to really pinks, such as Lauder`s Starlit Pink lipstick and Rose Diamond nail polish, to pulsating pinks, like Chanel`s unequivocal Pink Dawn or just Simply Pink by Dior. And if pink doesn`t pique you, try something like Sun Fire, Chanel`s intense coral, or Dior`s 36 (orange). They`re all at Field`s stores.
HOT GETAWAY: Mauritius Island on the Indian Ocean.
HOT STREET: Green, just north of the Eisenhower, ”behind” Greektown. Lofts by the jillion, plus new plans for a wine bar and a John Terczak restaurant.
HOT BOD: Bum ankle or no, it`s Ryne Sandberg. When you go to Wrigley Field, take your binoculars.
HOT SCENT: Bijan (the perfume named after that man who owns those shops on New York`s 5th Avenue and on Beverly Hills` Rodeo Drive where clothes are sold only by appointment) seems to be taking over where Giorgio used to reign. Bijan is now one of the top three best-selling fragrances at Marshall Field`s, where some customers are buying the perfume by the ounce–at $300–but many, many, many more are snatching the 2.5-ounce eau de parfum spray at $55. Bijan, however, does not smell like Giorgio. It`s–shall we say–more subtle.
HOT MOVIE: ”The Untouchables,” even though there were really nine of
`em, not four (who`s counting?), and Nitti`s swan dive takes a bit of dramatic license. Who gives a hoot when the good guys win? Best bet for the second half of summer: ”Snow White,” as the old girl turns 50.
HOT ANSWER: Saying no to everything except A.A., which is hot.
HOT CHOCOLATE: You can`t beat Mexican hot chocolate–or rather you do beat it to get the right consistency. Mi Casa Su Casa Restaurant (2524 N. Southport Ave.) uses an eggbeater sometimes instead of the traditional molinillo, the special hot chocolate stirrer that resembles a honey-dipper. Of course, it`s also the use of the right ingredients that give Mexican hot chocolate its distinctive rich, full taste: ”We use pure milk and Mexican chocolate,” says restaurant owner Miguelina Gomez. ”The chocolate brand names are El Popular and Ibarra. They come in big bars divided in squares. We use one square per cup. We bring the milk to a boil with the chocolate–slowly –and then mix it all up with an eggbeater.” Delicious.
HOT VIDEO: Anything from those wonderful little key-operated ”Keyosks”
in neighborhood groceries. Imagine: Everything from ”Top Gun” to ”Armed and Dangerous” (both hot renters), all charged automatically to your MasterCard. HOT PLATE: Illinois dealer license DL 1228, last seen on a stolen red-over-black `85 Ferrari coupe. The car belongs to a Downstate Bloomington car dealer who had brought it to Chicago to have it painted at a Near Northwest Side body shop. It was stolen about 6 p.m. June 16 from the body shop lot.
HOT SOUP: ”Eggplant soup with banana and apple, and a little curry, has really gone nuts here,” says hot chef Michael Foley at his restaurant on East Ohio Street. ”It`s served in a little charlotte mold, garnished with the banana and apple, and it`s $3.25.” Worth every penny. His hot cold soup:
”Cucumber soup garnished with salmon and tuna, with some chopped dill and chive in there.”
HOT TOPIC: Real-estate prices? The high cost of living? To yawn. Wag the tongue about American education and what to do about it, thanks to ”The Closing of the American Mind” (Simon & Schuster, $18.95) by Allan Bloom. The U. of C. professor`s book is proving to be the biggest non-fiction hit in years. Its controversial contention: Supposedly well-educated Americans are really ignorant–and they love it.
HOT BIJOUX: If you bought some tortoise jewelry a couple of months back
(when we told you to), you`re ahead of the crowd. But tortoise is still in there, stronger than ever, and will keep on trucking into fall. Other big baubles this summer: Silver earrings with a handcrafted flair (like those on Style`s cover), or silver anything sparked with glittery rhinestones or silver a la Western, studded with turquoise (check these out at Neiman-Marcus). Oxidized jewelry (especially earrings and pins in a cool, almost-minty green) called ”patina” is big with fashion-firsters who shop at Elements and Ultimo.
HOT LINES: After a steady stream of ugly boxes on wheels, the new aero cars rolling off Detroit`s assembly lines promise to restore some of the sex appeal missing from American cars since the `50s. Credit the sleek-looking styling of Ford`s Jack Telnack for the much-needed infusion of flair. Sales of his aerodynamically slick Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable blew by G.M. and Chrysler. Now they seem to have caught on to Telnack`s better idea and are racing to catch up.
HOT PEPPER: Hatch Valley green chili from New Mexico. ”It`s No. 1,”
says Jeanne Croft of International Connoisseurs of the Red and Green Chili, based in Las Cruces, a nonprofit group that celebrates you-know-what. The
”first green,” as chiliphiles call it–the first of the season`s fresh Hatch crop–should start coming in within days. (It`s available in 10-pound boxes by mail-order for the first time this year; write or call Lytle Farms, P.O. Box 310, Salem, N.M. 87941, 505-267-4168. Ask for the Sandia variety, though they`ll also ship jalapenos and the mild New Mexico No. 6.)
HOT PET: Purr-fect for the working person with a hectic schedule, the cute, cuddly, domestic kitten. According to the National Humane Society of the United States, there are 53 million cats in American homes, compared with 50 million dogs. (Sorry, Spot!)
HOT POTATO: Take a tip from the French; indulge yourself with fries. We`re not talking skinny shoestrings or too-fat steak fries. These are the kind that are long and short, greasy and crispy–and coated with salt. Head on over to the Doggie Diner at Armitage and Burling to discover what the kids at Lincoln Park High School have known for years: It serves ”The Best Fries in Chicago” (or so its sign proclaims). A Hulk Hogan-sized fistful sells for 88 cents. Pass the ketchup.
HOT SHOT: The Quick Snap, a 24-exposure roll of color print film from Fuji that doubles as its own 35-mm. camera. Priced between $6 and $10, all you do with this true no-brainer is rip open the foil package, point the ”film with lens” at your target and press the button to shoot. After completing the roll, you send the whole kit and caboodle in for processing. It ain`t a Nikon, but it`s fun. Available at K mart stores and Okabe Photo, 204 N. Michigan Ave. HOT TEAM: Any Chicago club whose season hasn`t started yet.
HOT SAUCE: ”Chutney,” says restaurateur/caterer George Jewell. ”Plus conserves and relishes–the home-cooked-preserve sort of thing. Plum relish goes particularly well with poultry. Mango chutneys are great with meats like lamb–and they`re less messy in the summertime than hot sauces. Hot dressings on salads are fun, too–great things like traditional dressings with pulverized fruit added. For example, you can add apricot nectar to a balsam vinaigrette; it`s wonderful.” —
