gADgeT fAshion

I’m an Apple fan, like many. But I also have an old Samsung Galaxy SII phone in white that I’m quite partial to (but that’s another story).

Today, however I finally got the iPhone 5c – a long awaited upgrade of my old iPhone 3gs work phone. It’s slick and beautiful. The problem is it needs a case because these damn things are so delicate if you drop them at an angle you can totally shatter the screen. With contracts running for two years it can be a hard graft getting it fixed if you don’t have insurance (as my flatmate Barima sadly discovered the other day).

So I’ve been scouring accessories websites for my gadgets. Our household red-rubber clad iPad sadly won’t escape the makeover either and is the first on my list for redress.

What I found is… well, there’s a lot of tack out there. And as much as I like a bit of tack, walking into a client meeting with a bubblegum pink diamante case won’t quite cut the professional image I’m going for. Plus, it’s not quite the stylish and discreet cover I need to stop a passer by from hacking my arm off for a shred of premium technology (even as ubiquitous as it may be nowadays…)

But then I fell upon these custom made iPad cases from the cleverly-named Chicago based accessories label: Stache & Hyde.

I have my eye on the Berlin White-Ribbed case retailing at $175 from http://www.stacheandhyde.com/

Inspired by Berlin’s street art culture, this handcrafted hardbound white ribbed vinyl book, featuring the S&H monogrammed endsheet, is the perfect cover for that sleek understated look.

But if I had a bit of spare change in my aluminium Illy coffee can-cum-piggy-bank, I’d splurge on this number which tugs at my chevron-patterned heartstrings…

The Marrakesh Chevron iPAD case measuring 11″H x 9″W x 3/4″D compatible with iPad 2/3/4 at $225 available from the same retailer is a 70s-inspired hardcover for the eclectic Bauhaus-loving boho type.

Stache & Hyde would do well to create a chevron range with different colours – maybe lemon yellow, cream and white?