Apple CEO Steve Jobs used to talk a lot about changing the world. I don’t know about that, but he certainly has changed my clothes, and the “accessories” I carry.
I discovered a new brand of pants the other day at REI. They’re called Rebel from a company called Kuhl. Never mind that I’m too old to wear anything called “Rebel.” They’re awesome pants! A brilliant cross between jeans and karate pants, they’re comfortable as they are indestructible. I like them so much that I’m never buying jeans again, and will wear these pants all the time, unless someone makes me wear a suit.
What really sold me on Kuhl Rebels was their iPhone compatibility. No, I’m serious!
Most Kuhl pants, including the Rebel brand, have a special cell phone pocket (which fits the iPhone 4 perfectly) on the outside of the left leg well below the regular left front pocket. Sliding the iPhone out of this pocket while sitting in any position is super easy.
On the outside of the right front pocket, Kuhl added a zippered pocket perfect for earbuds, which keeps them separate from whatever junk I put in the regular pocket. Nice!
The iPhone also let me transition from a wallet in the back pocket to a much smaller money clip in the front pocket. All the pictures, small pieces of paper and other stuff that used to go in my wallet live electronically on my iPhone. My pants still have back pockets, but I don’t use them anymore.
I’ve also changed my workout clothes. Years ago, I used lightweight media players that could be clipped to a sweatshirt, or lashed to an appendage, such as an arm. But because all my listening these days happens through my iPhone, I had to change the kind of clothes I wear while working out. Conventional sweatshirts with the loose, low open pocket in the front prove hazardous while running on trails or treadmill.
Many brands of sweatpants have pockets too low for the standard Apple earbuds to reach from years to pocket. So nowadays I choose workout clothes with pockets that can both secure my iPhone, and keep it close enough for listening.
Before you call me nuts for buying clothes for my iPhone, consider this. Pockets exist on clothing in order to accommodate whatever it is that people carry around. Nowadays, people carry phones and earbuds, yet many brands of clothes pretend that this is not so, and have failed to adapt.
All clothes should consider the need to carry a cell phone, and everyone except naked people need to think about where the cell phone goes before buying clothes.
It’s Not a Purse!
Clothes with pockets aren’t the only things that have changed in my life thanks to Apple.
For the past 20 years until about a year ago I was traveled with a rolling laptop case. I needed the case not just for the laptop, but for the padded sleeve that protects the laptop, the AC adapter, a mouse, spare USB and RJ-11 cables and other laptop accompaniments.
Like everyone else, I carried this bulky case on business. But like a dork, also on vacation. No more!
Nowadays I travel with my iPad and Bluetooth keyboard. It fits in a tiny man bag (it’s not a purse, it’s European!) I bought in Greece a couple of years ago. Because the man bag concept is a little “metro” for my taste, I bought one that looks like military surplus, with dark green canvas. There. Problem solved.
Meanwhile, because the bag is so tiny, I can pretty much carry it anywhere. Whenever I start getting cabin fever from working in my home office, I just grab the bag and head over to either Peet’s or Starbucks to work for a while on my iPad.
When traveling, I also carry the bag. The iPad is not only a LOT better for using on an airplane, thanks to its size and battery life, the bag itself is so small I don’t have to jockey for space in the overhead bin.
So that’s how Apple has changed the clothes I wear and the “accessories” I carry.
How about you?
