Fashion

As amazing as it seems, the Swarovski is capable of putting its crystal-studded name on products that aren't totally disgusting. Even though its latest USB key is still a bit garish, the glass house co-produced some subtly designed earphones as part of its newly released "Active Crystals" products. (Perhaps it's the influence of Philips, which is co-branding the line.)

The four new sets--"Space," "Icon," "Amazone" and "Mirage"--come in polished silver and four crystal cuts, including navette and baguette. (Tiffany, eat your heart out.) Gadget Candy approves: &… Read more

It's been nearly a week (gasp) since our last post on a Swarovski-encrusted item, and we don't want to be as irresponsible as we were with our recent lapse in pink products. Crave collegue Caroline McCarthy was quick to scold us for the latter transgression.

So to fulfill our bling-laden obligation, we offer the "Active Crystals" line of fashion USB keys from Philips. Gadget Candy says there are four models: "Heart Ware, Heart Beat, Lock In and Lock Out"--the first two designed as pendants, the last two as keychain attachments. Each stores a … Read more

Anyone can wear their geekdom on their sleeve or, in some cases, around the neck. How much guts, after all, does it take to wear a blue tie?

But keyboard boxers--now we're talking serious Nerdville. There's really not a whole lot to say about this embarrassing undergarment, other than the fact that it's been marked down twice from the original $20.50 price. (We were shocked to find that they weren't sold out, much less discounted.)

Uber-Review points out what we find most amusing of all, that the gray keys spell out "computer geek.&… Read more

In the '80s, it was the Cabbage Patch doll. In the 1990s, Beanie Babies.

What better toy to rule the millennium age than with a social-networking stuffed animal? A relatively Web-savvy concept by gift company Ganz, these plushies hope to usher in elementary-level children into the Web 2.0 realm.

Webkinz--stuffed animals that also live virtually through avatars that interact with others in their own online world--have become increasingly popular since their introduction in 2005. Like Beanie Babies, certain they're available for a only limited time, then retired. On eBay, the retired Webkinz Cheeky Pet Dog and Cat … Read more

On-screen instruction for household activities has been around for years, especially in the kitchen for cooking and such. So Bernina got the bright idea to apply the concept to other domestic chores--namely, sewing.

Its "Artista 730E" has a color touchscreen built right into the machine at eye level and is loaded with Windows software, according to Chip Chick, to help with sewing patterns, quilting and embroidery. It even has a "stitch library" that includes 850 stich types and more than 100 embroidery patterns.

All of this is well and good, but don't think you'll … Read more

We felt that something had been amiss lately, and it finally dawned on us: It's been days since we've blogged about a pink gadget. But this one more than makes up for our dereliction of duty, if we do say so ourselves: the multimedia "Girls" keyboard.

All of the keyboards made by Greybusters are colorful, to say the least, but this one seems over the top even by the company's own garish standards. And not just because it's shocking pink from A to Z--as Chip Chick points out, it's also got a vanity mirror … Read more

Crave usually isn't fond of objects that change colors just for the sake of doing so. But there's something about sunglasses that makes a chromatic carousel seem natural.

A pair of shades developed at the University of Washington promises to "change colors on command," though it's limited to various intensities of blue at present. "It uses an organic compound inside the lens, which, once zapped to change, stays that way without any sustaining power," according to Shiny Shiny.

The real fun will begin when researchers add red and green to the mix, which … Read more

Crave has a long-standing tradition of ranting against useless or ugly "special editions," but rarely have we seen one just for a product's case. But when you're a company like WANT Les Essentiels De La Vi, we suppose, you can pretty much do whatever you want.

The international purveyor of luxury goods has proven that point with its limited-edition "Narita" iPod case, a handcrafted work of Italian leather that Popgadgets says weighs more than the media player itself. Never mind that it's not exactly the most practical item, as you need to open … Read more

We don't know if Paris Hilton had anything to do with this, but we wouldn't be surprised. Nintendo was apparently so enthralled with her Swarovski puppy design that it's decided to extend the frightful concept to other DS Lite models, tarring the image of the venerable brothers Mario among other characters. Luxurylaunches reports that each of the custom items, on display at the Nintendo World store in Manhattan, is covered with $600 of the infernal stones. The good news: They're not for sale.