Let's be honest, the first wearables tended towards the blocky and cumbersome, as they attempted to put a phone on your wrist, chest or head. As they've advanced, they've become a lot easier on the eye (not to mention the wrist/chest/head), with top designers lining up to make their own tech-packed fashion statements. These devices have the brains but also the looks to earn a place on your person.
HP MB Chronowing
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Putting the "smart" in smartwatch, this was designed by Michael Bastion, whose CV includes Sotheby's, Tiffany & Co. and Ralph Lauren. A melding of stainless steel and mineral-hardened crystal, with a choice of nylon, leather or rubber straps, it's more attractive than, for instance, a Pebbleand works with iOS and Android devices, lasts a week before needing a recharge, and shows you sports scores, weather, music controls, calendar appointments and more. You can choose from the standard model or the limited edition black version.
Montblanc TimeWalker Urban Speed e-Strap
You like the idea of a smartwatch, but you can't bring yourself to part with your trusty old ticker. What to do? You could buy this smart strap instead, which adds smart skills to your standard watch. The 0.9-inch screen has a 128x36-pixel resolution, and shows emails, incoming calls, texts, appointments and notifications. But it also doubles as a fitness tracker, complete with a pedometer and accelerometer, and can control music stored on your phone. And all without harshing the look of your classic timepiece. It will also come as standard on certain Urban Speed models.
Mira
This bracelet tracks your steps and calories, but also gives you tips on how to get fitter. Example: "Here's a booty-friendly boost: Start your next walk with 20 squats." Cheers. It's sleek enough to fit in with most jewellery, and comes in two colours: gold and purple. You can take the tracker out and clip it to your clothing, if you prefer.
Polo Tech Shirt by Ralph Lauren
Wearables aren't just devices you strap to your wrist. This shirt tracks your biometric data while you work out and streams it to your smartphone or tablet. Fire up the companion app, and you can see a breakdown of how hard you worked and when. It reads your stats using biosensing silver fibres woven into the shirt, and can tell you how many calories you burned per hour, your maximum heart rate and steps taken. You can compare these over time, which should be ample motivation. The fabric also wicks away your sweat.
Ringly
This ring comes with a choice of four stones: black onyx ("Stargaze"), pink sapphire ("Wine Bar"), rainbow moonstone ("Daydream") and emerald ("Into the Woods"). There's also a limited edition version with a tourmalated quartz ("Dive Bar"). Whichever you choose, it'll come with an 18-carat matte gold setting that's very stylish too. It works with iOS and Android and vibrates to alert you to calls, texts, appointments, emails and Twitter and Facebook notifications. There's no screen, so you'll have to look at your phone to see why it's buzzing. But that's a small price to pay to look this good. It'll be out in the spring.
Intel MICA
MICA stands for My Intelligent Communication Accessory, and it does what it says on the tin. The bracelet features a curved sapphire touchscreen, but it's the catwalk credentials that have garnered headlines: it's designed by fashion house Opening Ceremony, and comes clad in either black water-snake skin, pearls from China and lapis stones from Madagascar, or white water-snake skin, tiger's eye from South Africa and obsidian from Russia. Premium indeed. Intel handles the guts, and like others of its ilk it gives you notifications when they pop up on your smartphone. Interestingly, it also has its own 3G connection so doesn't have to pair with a phone.
