High-Tech Fashion: Have Gadgets, Will Travel
June 1, 2005
Scottevest
It used to be that when a man left the house, he needed only
his wallet and a keychain—items that could be easily carried in the pockets of
his trousers. But as mobile technology has evolved from a novel luxury to a
necessity, we have found ourselves toting cell phones, PDAs, iPods, and
more—without a purse in which to stow them. Lugging everything around can be
cumbersome, and accessing a particular item—say a ringing cell phone—can be
difficult when it is buried beneath loose change and receipts from the day’s
purchases.
While a jacket can provide extra
storage, Scott Jordan could not find ; function voidFunc() { } voidFunc();)
one that had the space he needed to contain
all his mobile electronic items—and that looked good. That is when he started to
design the Scottevest. (Click image to enlarge)
As he became immersed in the creative process, he
realized that he not only wanted room, he also wanted utility. “The difficult
part was finding a way to use the gadgets while on the go,” says Jordan, the CEO
and founder of Scottevest. “If you’ve ever tried to plug a hands-free headset
into a cell phone and your ear before the caller gets sent to voice mail—while
you’re driving—you know what I’m talking about.”
Jordan enlisted the aid of
a design team to devise a solution; the patented Technology Enabled Clothing
system was the result. It incorporates conduits throughout a garment’s interior
that enable you to connect electronic devices such as a cell phone to a PDA.
(Playing on acronyms familiar to users of office networks—LAN and WAN—Jordan
refers to a conduit system as a Personal Area Network, or PAN.) The earpiece of
a cell phone can be placed within easy reach of your ear—connected to a phone in
one of the jacket’s 12 to 42 pockets—or the phone itself can be fitted to a law
enforcement–style epaulet on the shoulder for speakerphone convenience.
Travelers will appreciate that the self-contained jacket may be removed and sent
through an airport’s X-ray machine. Plus there is even space for a laptop in the
back pocket. It seems that the only factor limiting what can be brought along is
weight. Other touches include an extendable keyholder, magnetic wind flaps, and
removable sleeves.
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