Wearable Tech: Nine Can't-Miss Geek Chic Standouts

Technology has increasingly become a part of mainstream daily life. It was only a matter of time before it infiltrated your closet.

By Ashley Laurel Wilson

Life seems unimaginable without a BlackBerry or an iPhone. Lonely without our Facebook and LinkedIn connections. Less colorful without our favorite bloggers. Impossible to navigate without Slashdot, Digg and Google. In other words, technology has become an integral part of our work and social lives.

Now researchers and designers are increasingly looking to make technology crucial to another area of our lives—our closets. From the practical—shirts that monitor posture—to the attention-getters—clothes that light up—wearable technology is giving us new alternatives to standard geekwear.

Check out these nine standouts. (And when you're done with the slideshow, be sure to read more on wearable technology and its implications.)

iPod Holder Meets Swanky Suit

The Celio Club Suit—an iPod holder disguised as a tailored suit—lets you hear your favorite music and look hot. The jacket has specially designed pockets to hold an iPod flatly in place. It also has a special fabric touchpad that runs vertically along the breast label inside, which allows you to turn the iPod on, control the volume, skip forward or back, and auto-lock the device. Friends won't guess that your newfound je ne sais quoi is stylishly hidden access to your own personal soundtrack.
Image credit: QIO Systems, Inc.