Suitable Attire for the Genealogist

Getting dressed for a trip to the local courthouse, library, or archives? How about getting dressed for an airline trip? You will want to have several high-tech devices with you, right?

Let's see. There is the laptop, the PDA, the digital camera (for taking high-resolution pictures of documents) and perhaps even a pocket scanner. If you are a photography buff, you may want to take lenses, a tripod, a remote flash, and other doodads. Don't forget the cell phone; you never know when you might need to make or receive a call. You may also want to add a "low tech" item or two, such as a water bottle. For an airline trip, you might want to carry a magazine or a good book for reading. An iPod music player with earphones helps make the trip shorter as you listen to music.

Of course, you can stuff all this into a briefcase or book bag, but what about when you are "in the stacks?" Carrying a briefcase with you every moment is awkward, to say the least. Of course, if you leave the briefcase with all the high-tech goodies back in the reading room, you will have some security concerns. More than one laptop has "walked out" of a library without the owner's permission!

Cheer up! There is a solution for you.

You can carry all those devices (and more) in a combination vest and jacket with many pockets and zip-off sleeves. It has places for everything. You can protect everything by keeping it with you at all times. Best of all, you don't have to have exposed dangling wires. This jacket has built-in "tunnels" for the wiring. The concealed wires are referred to as a "Personal Area Network," or PAN. If you carry an iPod-type music device, it even has tiny pockets for the "earbuds" sewn into the collar. Those same pockets can also be used for any of the hands-free microphone/earpieces used on cellular telephones.

The Scott eVest was invented by Scott Jordan, a lawyer who went through a career change to become a high-tech clothing designer. He formed Technology Enabled Clothing, LLC. Jordan apparently loves high-tech gadgets but didn't want to look like a geek by wearing an electrician's toolbelt. Quoting from the Scott eVest Web site:

Now, it's easy to connect cell phones and music players to PDAs, power sources, and/or listening devices, such as earbuds and headphones. In addition to connectivity, special pockets are designed to accommodate digital cameras, portable keyboards, GPS devices, small laptop computers, two-way radios, bottled water, airplane tickets, magazines, wallets, keys, and much more. In cities and areas requiring hands-free devices while driving, the PAN is the ideal solution.

The Scott eVest speeds up the process of going through airport security. With all your devices stowed in your eVest, just take off the jacket and put it through the x-ray machine. Security will still ask you to remove the laptop computer, but everything else can remain securely in the eVest. I also place my small change and car keys into the eVest pockets. There is no need to take things off your belt, out of your pants pockets, shirt pockets, etc. What's more, with the one carry-on rule, your eVest effectively doubles your storage capacity - you can even fit a small laptop computer into the back pocket! Airline personnel will never count your jacket as a piece of "carry on luggage," even though you are using it as such.

This should work for the gadget-carrying genealogist. It also works for undercover police officers. They find that it is possible to carry badges, walkie-talkies, firearms, handcuffs, and more, and yet still blend into a crowd. Undercover police officers reportedly are snapping these things up. I found an interesting testimonial from a SWAT Team member:

The Scott eVest allows me to look like a normal human and yet carry all of my concealed equipment: gun, badge, nightstick, walkie-talkie, handcuffs and doughnuts.

I first wrote about the Scott eVest several years ago, and two lady newsletter readers have since told me that they purchased an eVest after reading my earlier article. Both are very enthusiastic about their eVests and report that they wear them often, both on genealogy library visits and on airline trips. While the eVest is listed as a man's clothing item, many women purchase eVests as well. It does have a unisex look. 

I recently purchased the Scott eVest "Tactical 4.0" outer jacket with fleece liner. This is a three-season jacket and even can be used at times in the fourth season. With the inner fleece liner it is a very warm winter jacket, suitable for temperatures of zero degrees or above. When you remove the fleece liner, the Scott eVest "Tactical 4.0" becomes a very nice lightweight jacket for spring and autumn use. On cool summer mornings in the northern climate where I live, I can unzip the sleeves and even use the lightweight vest and still have many remaining pockets.

When outfitted with the fleece liner, the Scott eVest "Tactical 4.0" includes 54 pockets. Yes, that's right: 54 pockets! Removing the fleece liner reduces the storage capacity to "only" 40 pockets. Unzipping the sleeves drops the total to "only" 36 pockets. Some of the pockets even have secondary pockets in them. In addition, I can run the wire from my iPod music player to the "earbud" earphones up through the personal area network tunnel sewn into the jacket.

To be sure, this jacket becomes quite heavy when you add several pounds of electronics, water bottles, and magazines to the pockets. Then again, that is the same weight that I would be carrying if the same items were stuffed into a briefcase or book bag. I find it more convenient and less tiresome to carry that weight evenly distributed in my jacket pockets instead of in a hand-carried bag of some sort that keeps me off-balance when I carry it.

I now understand why these jackets are so popular with law enforcement plain-clothes personnel. It does not look like law enforcement apparel. Indeed, the wearer is really in "plain clothes."

The Scott eVest appears to be very well constructed with rugged fabrics and heavy-duty zippers. I suspect that it will last for years. It is also the only jacket I ever purchased that came with a user's manual!

With the Scott eVest, I am now prepared for any trip to the library, the courthouse, or the airport. Now that all my gadgets slide through the x-ray machine in my eVest, I no longer have to spend five minutes repacking or "getting dressed again" after going through security.

To be sure, this clothing is expensive. Prices vary from $60 (fleece pullover) to $450 (leather jacket). The ultimate geek can even add removable solar panels to recharge a walkie-talkie or cell phone for another $150. I decided to skip that option on the eVest I purchased! I can add it later, should I change my mind.

I could never justify the price of an eVest for casual use. However, if you are already looking for a jacket and also are thinking about purchasing another briefcase or suitcase to carry all your gear, it may be more cost-effective to purchase an eVest. I know I would hate to part with mine!

Scott Jordan started his company by selling the eVest with the zip-off sleeves but has since expanded the clothing line to include all sorts of jackets, vests, t-shirts, pants, and even a baseball cap with a hidden pocket. (You won't carry a laptop in the baseball cap, however!)

You can read more about the Scott eVest at http://www.scottevest.com.

You can read more testimonials about this versatile clothing at http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=scott+eVest&btnG=Google+Search

Comments

[Rochelle Gereg]

And how much does this jacket cost. All this high tech stuff , just adds to the high cost of doing a genealogist hobby. Senior Citizens, we are left out again!We're given all these things to make it easier to find our ancestors and then priced right out of the market. What good are they to us?
Plane fair, Hotels and motels, high tech equipement, parking fees, meals etc.. no wonder we have to rely on writing letters (postage, ) that most people fail to answer, online information that more and more sights are charging an arm and leg for. We do a search and post it then the genealogy sights charge for our work. We can not Win!

[Haley]

Dear Rochelle,

No one is forcing you to buy this jacket (it costs about $250). So what are you complaining about? Buy a used jacket from your local second hand store and sew in your own pockets for crying out loud. What makes you so special that you deserve everything for free? Medical care, etc., yes- you should have discounts and respect for that. But genealogy is your hobby, right? If it is too expensive, get a cheaper hobby. Take walks in the park.

You might also think about things you could do to save money. Stop using your dryer for example and put the clothes on a clothesline to dry. Change your light bulbs to the new flourescent ones that last 14 times longer and use 1/3 the energy.

The US is a consumer-based, money-driven society. There is no free lunch, get over it and quit whining.

[Loretta Krumwiede Barlow]

For goodness sake, Haley! No reason to be rude! And are you not aware that most housing developments and apartment complexes do not allow clotheslines of any kind?

[Mark Barker]

Whoa, Haley! Don't be so angry. After all, you'll be older someday, if you live long enough.

[yankeewoman]

As a researcher with 40 yrs + under her belt and a full fledged Sr. Cit:
Genealogy is NOT a freebie hobby; never WAS and as technology advances, never WILL.
When you get serious about it, you can spend a lot of money....or not. Buying Family Tree Maker does NOT make you a Genealogist any more than buying Tender Vittles makes you a Kitten. It depends on you.
Letters, computers, memberships, perhaps seminars and travel are all part of the possible scenarios. But, regardless of your age and experience level..stop whining about the cost (and the fact that YOU still have to do the work). It is still cheaper than a lot of things, opens a lot of doors and keeps your brain functioning as you ponder the unsolved mysteries of your lines.
An old Safari-style jacket is great, or carry a satchel and lug it around. See if your local Library subscribes to Ancestry or Heritage Quest.
Allocate what funds you do have and make sure they are spent where they return the most for your money.
Of course, if you prefer the McGenie method to research - just go on line, copy whatever someone else has posted. It is free, it is filled with errors and it is quick.

[Haley]

Hi everyone!

I was simply responding in kind to Rochelle. :-) I'm not naturally rude, but yes, I pulled it off this morning!!

So yeah, sorry... I guess I let this post get to me. Somedays though, one just wants to scream back at all those lame people who think they are entitled to everything.

And calling out like this: "Senior Citizens, we are left out again!" ughh. Is it really senior citizens against everyone else? This entitlement business is why the rest of the world hates the US.

As for clotheslines...you can use an indoor rack. Works perfectly fine, folds away when not in use.

Bye!

[Haley]

Oops! Just wanted to add this link for people to read, just in case anyone here cares about savings:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_cfls

It's about how much we'll save as a nation, if people just change one light-bulb.

Bye-bye!

[Julia]

I'm also a senior citizen. All this discussion reminded me that I have a vest with pockets that I purchased at the urging of my gadget-loving husband, maybe 10 years ago. I'm sure it didn't cost much or I wouldn't have bought it. I've never used it, but I just checked and it has 8 pockets, including the back pocket that might hold a small laptop. So look around in odd, inexpensive places like Value City, Big Lots, consignment stores, etc. You might find an appropriate garment in your price range.