If you are wondering how catwalk and microchip might further collide, www.styleborg.com is a blog charting developments in “wearable technology, fashion, design and culture”. It is maintained by Kerry Bodine, a graduate student at Carnegie Mellon University, and many of the devices and fabrics she features, including Rachel Wingfield’s funky electronic textiles, could be the trends of tomorrow. The personal entries are also fun: “Thanks to my friend Kenneth, who reminded me that lying motionless for hours with a laptop on your stomach does NOT make it wearable...”
Social history often gets bogged down in trends and sources: www.hiddenlives.org.uk injects humanity with the often poignant stories of children in the care of the Waifs and Strays’ Society (now The Children’s Society) between 1881 and 1918. The polished site has digitised thousands of documents and photos, and gives a real insight into the lives of 150 children.
Finally, if you are planning a visit to New York in the next few months, look out for a chap running around the Washington Park area of the city dressed as a giant yellow mouth. This isn’t America’s latest antiterrorist measure, but a real-life version of the arcade game Pac-Man. Mug up on the rules and watch games streamed live online at www.pacmanhattan.com/about.php.
James Knight