Check the pockets – all 42 of them
Is it geek fashion, spywear or a little of
both?
A new lightweight sport jacket from ScotteVest seems
equally suited for hi-tech nerds and James Bond wannabes, yet
even gadget-master Q would have a devil of a time filling up so
many secret compartments.
In addition to being stylish and
aesthetically-pleasing to the eye, the three-button navy blue
sportcoat also embodies the latest developments in Technology
Enabled Clothing (TEC). Its cleverly concealed interior pockets
are designed to discretely carry almost an entire Sharper Image
catalog’s worth of digital doohickeys.
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“Imagine what would happen if Giorgio Armani and Bill Gates were stranded on a desert island, and you’ll have a good idea of what the TEC Sport Jacket offers. It allows you to easily use your gadgets while leaving your hands free,” said Scott Jordan, president and CEO of ScotteVest, a firm that has engineered functional and fashionable clothing since 2001.
The garment’s patent-pending
Personal Area Network design stores electronic equipment in an
organized fashion — everything from cell phones, PDAs and
digital cameras to portable keyboards, two-way radios and MP3
players.
“Wearing devices on your belt is
inherently flawed – you can’t feel your device
vibrate, devices fall off when getting in and out of vehicles,
and not all clothes are intended to be worn with belts,”
Jordan noted. “The TEC Sport Jacket solves all these
issues and is stylish enough to wear in any professional office
or job site.”
The jacket’s unique layout allows
its wearer to avoid tangling the wires of hardware gear. In
fact, even when the garment is fully loaded with gizmos, no
bumps or bulges are visible from the outside.
ScotteVest markets the TEC Sport Jacket as
perfect for business, traveling or evenings on the town. The
innovative attire has also proved to be useful for FBI and CIA
officials and the Secret Service.
The basic model (Version 3.0) comes with
14 ergonomically designed hidden pockets and regularly costs
$299. It comes in a worsted wool blend with a silky gold
lining.
The jacket is also available in a variety
of other fabrics with up to 42 hidden pockets available. The
sleeves are removable, instantly transforming the coat into a
vest.
Other notable features include collar
hoops that hold earplugs and headphones into place, removable
key holders and a clear plastic pouch used for displaying ID
badges.
Of course, all of the jacket’s bells
and whistles could easily make it a drycleaner’s
nightmare. According to Jordan, however, that simply
isn’t the case.
“It’s basically — from a
fabric point of view — just like any other worsted wool
sports jacket,” he explained. “There are no wires
or anything in the jacket. It just makes an accommodation for
them. There are things like key rings and badge holders. We
tested them by sending it to a drycleaner here and they were
able to dryclean it without a problem.”
Even though the TEC Sport Jacket has a
“dryclean only” label, cleaners should be aware of
one potential hazard that could lead to upset customers: the
pockets may still contain expensive electronics that will not
survive the cleaning process. A thorough pre-inspection is
highly recommended.
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