Clothing should be three things: stylish, functional and comfortable. But they can also be useful for more than one thing.

People who enjoy economy in their clothes have been looking for items that can serve more than a single purpose for a long time.

This has led to a whole movement of multi-purpose threads and accessories to hit the market.

Here are ten fantastic ideas that do more than just keep you covered.

1. Coat + Tent

Do you love the outdoors? This fully functional and heavy coat will keep out the chill on long hikes, and serve as a shelter if you find yourself in an emergency situation. It is eco-friendly and useful, while also being attractive. No one would know you were wearing camping gear if you put this jacket on.

There are also two other versions, such as one that transforms into a two-person tent, and another than turns into a sleeping bag.

2. Tie + Pocket

These ties come with a pocket to keep everything from pens and papers, to little keepsakes or change. But the Guatemalan company offers more than that option.

They also have scarves and other neckwear, each with their own pockets for your use. The quality is high and they pride themselves on producing using the best materials, while paying their workers fair income for making them. They are yet another humanity-conscious company to come out of the woodwork in recent years.

3. Weight Watcher + Belt

If you are hoping to lose a few pounds, why not go by inches instead? This fascinating fastener works by calculating your measurement while keeping your pants up. You can use it to make sure you are staying trim, or to encourage you to shave a bit off of your waist.

Whatever the use, it is much easier than keeping a separate cloth measuring tape around. Not to mention a great way to show off your progress, and an ice breaker for like minded health freaks.

4. Slippers + Light

Turning on the lights at night when you go to use the bathroom or grab some water has two issues: one, it is jarring for you and others to suddenly be flooded with light, and it interrupts sleep.

Two, it wastes energy. These slippers take care of both problems by offering a useful – but gentle – light for you to see your way by.

5. Leggings + Power Generator

Get fit, run and get a reward for it. These unbelievably cool running pants use kinetic energy from movement to power an mp3 player.

The more you run, dance or job, the more power you will give your device. It makes you work for your music, which is a great incentive to push it to the limits. One of the best health devices, not to mention environmentally friendly, that I have seen in a long time.

6. Tie + Opener

There’s nothing like a cold beer after a long day at the office. This accessory dubbed the “After Work Tie” comes with a hidden bottle opener that can open any standard beer or soda bottle you can find.

It is a great conversation piece for the bar or parties, and stylish in a slender, black look. It goes with anything, but with liquor best of all.

7. Scarf + iPod Holder

I am an avid runner, and I love running early in the morning turning the fall and winter months especially. The cold burn of the frigid air in my lungs, the way steam rolls off my body as I heat up, the silence that only seems to come in the colder months… it is amazing.

But I am always freezing when I do my cool down, so I wear a scarf. This is a must have for those like me, who also like to run with music. It holds your iPod or other player for you, and keeps it close so you can more easily change it without reaching down into a pocket.

8. Hat + Fan

Do you like safari hats, or are you going on an actual safari in the future? Maybe you just don’t mind what kind of hat you wear as long as it covers your head.

Whatever the case, this is a pretty cool choice for the summer months. They come with a solar panel on the top, which is used to air condition the hat itself. It will keep your head warm naturally and in an environmentally friendly way. Alright, so it will look ridiculous,  but it is still kind of cool.

9. Hat + TV

Once again, this is fashion for someone who doesn’t mind looking like a complete idiot. But I have seen plenty of people who match that description, so they will love this.

The hat holds an iPod or other device in a drop down section off of the brim, and covers the sides to make it dark. That means you can watch videos from the device from the hat. I guess that is one way to pass the time while waiting at the doctor’s office.

10. Tie + Napkin

Remember those old cartoons, where people would eat and then use their tie as a napkin? Now, you can use your napkin as a tie. This pretty stupid looking but hilarious napkin gives a colored, striped tie on the front.

You can use it for a classy business dinner before throwing on your tuxedo t-shirt and going to a formal event.

We spend plenty of time online chatting with our virtual friends on Myspace or Facebook, tweeting, digging, etc.

In fact, we spend so much time online that it is sometimes hard to believe there’s an “actual” word where these networks do not exist.

However the virtual reality is growing fast and we have less time for the “offline” life – this is even reflected in the clothes we wear.

Today’s t-shirt collection is dedicated to all social media and web 2.0 users who already can’t live without social networking:

1. “I Submitted to Digg but All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt”

2. “I’ll Google Your Yahoo”

3. “You Look Better on MySpace”

4. “You Are So off My Buddy List”

5. Anonymous Twitter T-Shirt

Source

6. “I am Huge on Twitter”

7. “Tom is not My Friend”

Who doesn’t know Tom of MySpace (who has recently joined Facebook by the way):

8. “I Have More Friends Than You (on Myspace)”

9. The Original Search Engine

10. “I Am Your Web Mistress – You Must Submit”

Source

Same idea for men:

A necktie is an ordinary part of our daily outfit.

For most people “a tie” is synonymous to “dull” because it is immediately associated with boring office routine.

What if we try to make this daily accessory much more fun? What if we show everything (even this ordinary little thing) can be enjoyable and extraordinary?

This post is an effort to give you a few gift ideas for upcoming Christmas: make your dads and husbands happy!

1. Necktie + Bottle Opener

This necktie is rightfully called “after-office” because it should come in handy when you and your friends get together after office. It is meant to bring more fun to white-collar formal clothes:

2. Necktie + Pocket

This one seems really useful: it is so often that you don’t know where to put that pen and then you just can’t find it. This necktie solves this problem amazingly:

3. Necktie + Organizer

This looks a bit too much: what else can you stuck there?

And one more similar one: what I like is the beer bottle stuck in there:

4. Necktie + Charge

This solar power tie gets recharged while you walk in the sun. I see two benefits here: first, it encourages you to go out more and secondly (which is obvious) it can be used to charge your little gadgets like a mobile phone or an iPod:

5. Washboard Necktie

With this Washboard necktie you will never be bored. Looks like a good start for a necktie based band (via):

6. USB Drive + Necktie

With this tie you will never leave your USB drive at home: it will be right there on your neck, when ever you need it!

7. Necktie + Fan

It is always so hard to be dressed in a suit and a neck tie when it is hot outside (or in the office) – that’s why this necktie with the hidden USB-charged fan inside seems such a cool idea!

8. Necktie + Spy Camera

Would you like to pretend to be a James Bond? This tie with the built-in camera is a good way to. It holds 2GB of video and connects to your computer via USB.

9. Necktie + iPod Holder

This tie has a secret pocket at the back that holds your iPod. It actually looks like being pretty easy to create one at home: so enjoy if you like the idea!

10. Necktie + Tape

This tie is made of audio cassette tape and if you rub a tape head over it you can actually hear jumbled sound collages recorded from the NYC metro system.

Bonus:

Not quite useful but fun! Sorry, couldn’t resist

A necktie doesn’t seem to be a boring holiday gift any more, does it?