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Fashion

'Lord of the Rings' dwarven beard, helm forged from yarn

With "The Hobbit" going nuts at the box office, it's time to turn our eyes toward "Lord of the Rings" cosplay. The dwarf costumes are perhaps some of the most challenging. Not only are there a ton of dwarves to choose from, but you have both armor and excessive facial hair to deal with.

One clever crafter figured out how to handle the dwarf dilemma by harnessing the ancient and terrible power of crochet. Deviantartist SadDaysCrochet fashioned a dwarven helm and beard out of yarn.… Read more

'Woven' turns you into a Kinect

Who needs an Xbox when you can just put on a sweatshirt and thrash your arms about? That's the idea behind Woven, a wearable gaming platform by two Dutch designers.

Christiaan Ribbens and Patrick Kersten, recent graduates of the Utrecht School of the Arts, embedded a sweater and pair of jeans with a small Bluetooth module, speakers, motion sensors, shake motors, a three-color LED screen, and other gizmos to create their concept gaming platform. A trio of LilyPad Arduino microcontrollers process the data and operate the LEDs (and are, incidentally, washable). … Read more

Lacoste imagines some truly techy clothing

Regardless of my clothing brand preference, I can't help but get when excited major players in fashion tease a future filled with techy clothes that change color or size with a flick of the wrist.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Polo shirt in 2013, Lacoste collaborated with ad agency Mnstr on a video that envisions a future in which the high-end shirts contain some extraordinary technology. … Read more

Hagfish-slime clothes could be new fashion statement

Welcome to the library. Would you rather read the book "50 Shades of Grey" or the article "The production of fibers and films from solubilized hagfish slime thread proteins?" Good choice! Here's your hagfish reading.

For defensive purposes, hagfish produce a slime full of protein threads. Draw it out into a thread, and you have the potential for an incredibly strong fabric that isn't made from petroleum like popular existing synthetics. … Read more

Sneaker Speaker: Put on your dancing shoes

Despite the move to tiny portable music systems, some of us still long for the good old days of extremely noticeable boomboxes. You can indulge your nostalgia by dressing your iPhone up to look like one, or you could strap some wearable speakers to your feet.

The Sneaker Speaker from New York design group Ray Kingston Inc. wraps a set of speakers over the top of the shoe. Information about both the product and the designer is pretty sketchy so far.… Read more

Macy's fleece with video display turns you into a player

If you decide to wear this new Macy's fleece in public, fellas, don't be surprised when everyone stares at your left bicep. It's to be expected when you're displaying video on your sleeve (which is not to say your biceps don't warrant widespread public attention in their own right.)

Macy's teamed with designer Sean John (also known as Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Diddy, and so on) and Recom Group, maker of the Video Name Tag, to create the media-enabled sweater. … Read more

Boombox iPhone case styles up speakerphone situations

In the early days of '80s hip-hop, you were almost sure to see one item on the streets of any major city: the boombox.

More recently, city ordinances and personal music players have all but eliminated the chance of encountering a wild boombox blasting tunes, but you can resurrect the iconic look of the gaudiest piece of consumer electronics ever with the $17.50 Boombox Ghetto Blaster iPhone case by Caseorama on Etsy (available for iPhone 5 and 4/4S). … Read more

Train for chocolate: Custom apps for Suunto GPS watch

These days, I expect to find an app for just about anything. There's an app that tells you the best time to hit the restroom during a movie. There's an app that tells you how long your jumping hangtime is. Now we just need an app that tells you how much chocolate you can pig out on after a workout without feeling guilty. Oh wait, that app already exists.

Train for Chocolate is one of hundreds of apps in the Suunto-sponsored Movescount App Zone. The sports community site offers a large collection of apps that work with the Suunto Ambit GPS watch. … Read more

Mario, 'Star Wars,' Chuck Taylors collide in nerdy shoe collection

Knitting, once seen as a hobby reserved for fleet-fingered elders, has become an awesomely nerdy pastime. This movement has resulted in such creations as knitted frog dissection kits, knitted Princess Leia buns, and customized knitted geek Converse.

Etsy seller PrettySneaky's store is full of wearable knitted nerd art sneakers. The shoes are made from classic Converse high tops with hand-knitted uppers crafted from wool yarn. … Read more

Interchangeable clothing uses magnets to switch up the style

Anyone who has ever worn a necklace or bracelet made of Buckyballs knows the potential of magnets as a force for fashion. Ian Stikeleather is taking it a step further by integrating magnets into his Affectation clothing line.

Affectation is up on Kickstarter, working to raise enough to put the magnetic fashion line into production. The biggest draw is the interchangeability of the clothes. For a $50 pledge, you can pick up the Duality Interchangeable Tie. It comes with an extra tail that can be exchanged and is held on by magnets. Click it together and you have a new look for your busy day in the cubicle farm.… Read more