Did you know the first example of garments containing lights gives back over one hundred years to 1884? I didn’t. This and lots of other intriguing and well researched material is in a great article on the history of wearables by Laurenti de’ Medici The article covers all aspects of wearable devices including glasses, a beautiful wearable abacus and a bulky head mounted display.
In terms of electronic garments the 1884 light dresses where examples of electronic stage wear, worn by ballet dances during their performance in New York. I’m guessing that the photo in the article, shown above, is not from that period but is meant to give an impression. Other garments mentioned are the Philips Levi’s ICD+ jacket and Tommy Hilfiger’s solar jackets. Heart-rate monitoring clothes don’t seem to get a mention, but it is hard to cover everything in a concise article and the early findings are a joy to read about.
Source: WT VOX