High Tech Heat Gear

If you want to try something a little different this fall, try purchasing some high tech heat gear instead of cranking up the thermostat. A whole new wave of clothing with heating features is being developed, many of which are very stylish. The New York Times had a great article about it:

“In the wintertime, generally people like to warm up more and more, and as a result, people become really bulky,” said Aoi Matsumoto, Uniqlo’s manager for global marketing and communications, explaining how the idea for its Heattech line was born. “We thought we’d like to make people feel comfortable. If we warm up closer to the skin, people can actually enjoy fashion.”

Uniqlo has sold 100 million Heattech items globally since sales began in 2003. The company started with basic tops and tights, but this year has expanded to leggings, mufflers, hats and, yes, even skinny jeans.

It is not alone. Brookstone offers its own line of “Cold Weather Gear,” which includes jackets and fleeces with “built-in heating” — basically thin, battery-powered heat bundles that can reach up to 113 degrees and last up to five hours, according to the company Web site. There are also heated sock liners, complete with a battery strap that seems disconcertingly like an ankle bracelet Lindsay Lohan might wear.

And then there is WarmX, the family-run, Germany-based business that stumbled upon its heating line after “some experimentation with fabrics for the German government,” said Keith McCoy, the company’s distributor for the United States and Canada. Their clothes have silver threads woven into the fabric that, when hooked up to a battery pack, create a current that runs along the threads and into the clothes. “It’s like your whole body is immersed in a warm bath,” Mr. McCoy said.

For the full article, click here.