fashion

I will wear this tie because it'll open my beers

I know many of you think we bloggers are pimple-faced, bloated nerds who live in our mother's basement and survive on Fritos and Mountain Dew. While that is certainly true for some of us (Hi, Devin!), it's not the case for all of us. In fact, many tech bloggers, myself included, are socially well-behaved people. Who drink beer. A lot of beer.

And sometimes we have occasion to swap our T-shirts for button-downs and ties. But as geeks, we prefer that everything, including clothing, has a utilitarian angle. Thus, the After Office Tie by Argentinian design house Sinapsis.

It's a regular black tie for wearing to conventions, meetings, interviews, parole hearings, and other things bloggers need to attend. But unbutton your jacket and you see the magic: a bottle opener integrated into the tip of the tie. Imagine, no more church keys taking up precious room on your key ring where an eighth USB drive could be clipped!

Sadly, the After Office Tie--an entrant to a Designboom competition whose winner will be announced October 4--is just a concept at this point. Until then, we can wear the ThinkGeek Power Tie. Also, more photos of this handsome be-mulleted man after the jump.… Read more

Here comes the cybernetic bride

Welcome to Far-flung Tech, an exploration of far-out and faraway technology!

All eyes were on the stunning solar eclipse this week, but the Japanese were mesmerized by a new star on the catwalk.

Fashion designer Yumi Katsura showed her latest wedding dresses in Osaka including a gown sported by the government's newly developed "cybernetic human," the HRP-4C, which Crave first told you about in March.

4C slowly shimmied down the 10-meter catwalk to the beat of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean." She turned to look at attendees and said, "I've put on a wedding dress for the first time. I'm very happy today to wear this dress by Yumi Katsura."

At a photo op later on, the blushing bride stood next to Katsura and blinked at photographers snapping her picture. Check it out in the video below.

Organizers were billing the event as the first of its kind in the world, and I can't recall another example of a humanoid robot showing off wedding apparel in a fashion show.

It also demonstrated how the Japanese continue to nurture a playful spirit in their approach to robotics. While other countries are building Terminator-style killing machines, Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) created 4C to work in the "entertainment industry." Perhaps a dubious use of funds by a deeply indebted state, the project was announced with the admission that "(1) robots walking on two feet only have little commercial value, (2) the unit price is very high, and (3) if it falls, it may be seriously damaged." … Read more

Hat detects Wi-Fi, repels chance of getting any action

The headline on this Dvice post about Think Geek's Wi-Fi-detecting hat says the cap will make you "king of the geeks." And maybe it will. But you can have that title, my liege; I'd rather get dates.

Not to say your crown isn't cool, technically it is. I mean, it has a fully functional Wi-Fi detector built in. So while you may never know if you've found decent coverage (unless you're staring into a mirror), at least all the girls around you will know. But since they won't be talking to you, … Read more

Roxy Reference 250 earphones offer style on a budget

Extreme sports and music go hand in hand, so it's not surprising companies such as Skullcandy and Nixon take advantage of this relationship to market headphones to teens and young adults with an interest in such activities.

Now you can add Roxy to the list. The female-centric surfwear maker has teamed up with JBL to offer a line of stylish earphones aimed at young women. The middle-of-the-road model is a canalphone called the Reference 250 earphone that sells for $40. This reasonably priced set offers the best value of any of the headphones in the Roxy line, and sound … Read more

Fashion planner

SmartLook Dress offers users a chance to preview how clothes will look on their body before purchasing them. While this program has its strengths, its description is slightly misleading.

The program's interface was simple to maneuver and work with, even though it unnecessarily broke into two separate screens. Operation moves intuitively, feeling almost like a shopping Web site rather than fashion software. Also, the Help file is a great source of information and guidance for those with questions. Picking clothes and trying them on the model was simply a matter of pointing and clicking, which made this program fast … Read more

Sonogram Photo Cufflinks for the dapper dad-to-be

Alas, we didn't spot the Sonogram Photo Cufflinks in time for Father's Day. But they'd still make a great little gift for proud pops-to-be, no matter the occasion.

As the name suggests, the cufflinks feature ready-to-wear images of your budding bundle. Sure, you could carry those early pictures in your wallet, but the cuffs make the shots readily viewable every time you shake someone's hand or gaze down at your wrists (which will likely be often).

The cuffs go for $65 a pair, and take about three weeks to arrive. You can send in a different … Read more

Roxy Reference 230 earphones are a colorful alternative

Extreme sports and music go hand in hand, so it's not surprising that companies such as Skullcandy and Nixon take advantage of this relationship to market headphones to teens and young adults with an interest in such activities. Now you can add Roxy to the list. The female-centric surf-wear maker has teamed up with JBL to offer a line of stylish earphones aimed at young women. At the bottom end of the spectrum are the superaffordable Reference 230 earphones, a standard earbud model that lists for $20. While they hit the Roxy style on the head, these earphones probably … Read more

Roxy Reference 430 headphones have 'California' written all over them

Extreme sports and music go hand-in-hand, so it's not surprising that companies such as Skullcandy and Nixon take advantage of this relationship to market headphones to teens and young adults with an interest in such activities. Now you can add Roxy to the list.

The female-centric surfwear maker has teamed up with JBL to offer a line of stylish earphones aimed at young women. At the top end of the spectrum are the still-affordable Reference 430 headphones, an on-ear set that lists for $70. They're not particularly comfortable, and the bass may not be thumping enough for many, … Read more

Twitter T-shirt says, 'You don't know me, man'

Twitter is great, but there usually comes a time when phenomena like it jump the proverbial shark. The fact that these T-shirts from ThinkGeek exist could mean Twitter is approaching that point, but I do kind of want one anyway.

The brown and blue shirt essentially turns you into the Twitter "anonymous" icon, or the default Twitter profile image for people who haven't uploaded their own pic (I use my CNET headshot, natch!).

The icon's pictured to the left, but for those who don't know it, it's o_O. Just like that. It's an … Read more

The shirt with the most incredible Amazon reviews

I am a little on the touchy-feely side. On the right side of touchy-feely, of course. But it's the Polish blood, you see. Feel first, think later. Like Chopin. But not so much like Roman Polanski.

This touchy-feelingness means I've never bought a T-shirt on Amazon. However, I am rather tempted to sacrifice this principle, and any feelings attached to it, in favor of a T-shirt that features three wolves howling at the moon.

Oh, it doesn't seem like all that wondrous a design. It's just that, well, the reviews it's received on Amazon suggest … Read more