What your clothes say about you.

My son is mortified that I bought a Juicy Couture tracksuit at Christmas. But you’ll be glad to hear that’s not what this article is about. (In my defense, I liked the idea of wearing velour when travelling but he says I must never leave the house in it – not at my age).

He says that outfit would say the wrong things about me. Which got me thinking about clothing and how brands you wear do say things about you. (My Barbour jacket might point to me being an outdoorsy type, say).

Given where I work, it led me to looking far more closely at NFC enabled clothing.?? More companies are now incorporating NFC chips into their clothing so that when a smartphone is held near the chip, the phone takes the user straight to the predefined web page.

NFC tags can be installed virtually into anything given they are pretty compact, very lightweight, and rather robust - machine washable and heat resistant.? But does the wearer feel the benefit or just the brand?

Nike’s?NBA connected jerseys?for example, sends users exclusive deals, highlights, and relevant player stats when they tap their smartphones on the NFC tag embedded in the fabric.? Bet the fans go wild for this.? In fact, sports brands have been at the forefront of using this tech in their apparel ranges.

Brands understand that the NFC tech gives them the opportunity to provide an enhanced user experience, increased customer engagement. Not to mention they clearly will value the data they can collect in the process.

Whilst researching this subject a bit more I came across loads of examples – this one caught my eye.? https://www.dresscodeshirts.co.uk/pages/the-cashcuff%C2%AE-the-worlds-first-smart-payment-shirt

Paying via your cuff.? I’m torn as to how I feel about it though.? Too gimmicky?

Pretty neat.? If I could get a chip into my Juicy Couture (and dare to wear it onto a plane), I’d find it somewhat handy if it brought me a gin and tonic every hour – and the occasional packet of peanuts.