Is that a battery pack in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?

When technology and fashion collide, it can be a poetic statement on the human condition:



Alexander McQueen: robots spray paint Shalom Harlow's dress,
in one of the most spectacular & ingenious runway finales ever.

 It can also produce malformed little bastards, so horrific and needless that they call into question the validity of all human progress.  Witness:

Why display your emotions on your stupid old face when you can write them on....
The 'Update Me Tee' by Fashion Geek.  Includes a mini dry-erase board to update your status a la Facebook.

Tired of getting a sore back while you wait in an 8-hour line to have
George Takei sign your Limited Edition BluRay at ComicCon?
TRY: C.P. Company's inflatable armchair coat!

The "M Dress" is a concept garment (release date: 2011) that allows the wearer to
answer the phone by simply raising her arm to her ear.  It will fit any standard SIM card. 
Sadly, any men who aren't up for crossdressing will just have to carry their cell phones around like total schmucks.

Now, The Social Network can take over your soul... AND your soles!
Shoe concept by Gerry McKay, sure to be snapped up soon by Adidas.  *shudder*

Technology + Fashion = ?????

For me, it's a not-so-fine line.  The good children of this marriage result from synergy of design; the function of the garment is enhanced, not overshadowed, by the addition of technological elements.  The redheaded stepchild is the crazy-ass novelty item that is neither useful nor beautiful. 
In other words: the invention of Goretex = good, the invention of glow-in-the-dark underwear = grody.

So, buy with caution.  It's bad enough when your laptop's on the fritz or your iPod breaks.  You don't want to have to call IT support to come fix your pants.

Here are some of the cuter current offerings: (Most are from ThinkGeek, which is a great site for nerdy gift giving.)




$100 rhodium and silver 2GB USB cuff links.



Voltaic Systems $249 Solar Backpack charges all your gadgets on the go.

$30 guitar T-shirt (comes with mini amp-shaped battery pack)
Also comes in kids' sizing and in 'Drum Kit' version.

'Wired' hoody from Rusty (about $40).
Best Part: built-in earphones that still allow the garment to be machine washed.

BONUS: light up Christmas sweaters, totally acceptable if worn to win Ugly Sweater Contest.