Does my iPad look good in this?

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10 April 2012

It has become London's fashion- gadget dilemma of the season. It's too bulky to slip into a suit pocket, too slim to warrant its own laptop bag — and way too precious to chuck into your Mulberry Alexa without worrying about scratches from keys or smudges from a stray lipstick. So, just how should you wear your iPad?

Pictures of chaps in Japan wrapping them in newspaper for protection, celebs such as Miley Cyrus, Natalie Portman and Christina Aguilera carrying naked iPads under their arms, and websites suggesting we should swaddle the thing in a cheap jiffy bag confirm that Apple's latest wonder is yet to find its sartorial niche. While in search of the perfect solution, people have been turning to the nearest best-fit.

John Lewis says sales of its A4-sized travel folios costing £40-£70 have surged 33 per cent in recent weeks and demand for its reporter bags is 41 per cent up. Meanwhile, at Amazon's bag and shoe website Javari.co.uk, sales of manbags are up 170 per cent.

Senior buyer at Javari.co.uk Christopher Chick suggests that the arrival of the iPad has made the traditional laptop bag look out of date.

"Customers are opting for style as well as function," he says. "They want an everyday bag to house their latest technology."

Will Findlater, editor of Stuff magazine, thinks "we are going to be inundated with manufacturers creating iPad- sized bags in the coming months".

But, in fact, small independent designers worldwide (invariably quick to react to the latest gadgets) have already been pumping out solutions for months — from cork matting cases by Hackney designer Ryan Frank and wool covers knitted by Emma Ras for the Carnaby Street store of surf brand Howies, to Etonia-based Portel's felt sleeves with leather straps, brightly-coloured floral options from Elizabeth David Design in Alabama and vintage tweed covers from Blythe King in Virginia, USA.

"I began designing a case for the iPad as soon as the product dimensions were announced," says King. "We have arrived at a point in our evolution where we have become so inseparable from our portable devices that the universal focus of design is no longer the body, but its necessary technological assets."

These designers will charge you no more than £18 to £65 for their cases, but it will come as no surprise that higher priced solutions are already making their way on to the market — steering the way for those lost at how to dress the smartest new extension of their body.

In London, accessories designer Bill Amberg has been the quickest off the mark with his own £140 leather version. He has already seen the first consignment sell out and now has a waiting list for the next batch.

"When a friend of mine got an iPad early from America I had the opportunity to get hold of one long before they reached the UK — and we modelled a case," says Amberg. "They have sold extremely well and we now have a big waiting list."

Mulberry will soon start on a custom bag for the iPad, but already has a line of bags (and plenty of new colours) created in collaboration with
Mac that it says "have the capacity for an iPad".

Paul Smith also already offers a cashmere iPad sleeve, while three cases priced from £150 to £205 by Gucci and a £240 option from Louis Vuitton have just gone on sale in their respective London stores.

Burberry has just launched one for £235 and not far behind is Anya Hindmarch, who declares herself a "gadget junkie" and says: "I managed to get my hands on an iPad a month ago. It has become my constant companion — much to my husband's despair — and has already revolutionised my life. It certainly warrants a stylish cover so I am working on one that will sit in our Bespoke collection."

That will be a sure comfort to many city women who are bound to feel that plain leather wallets are a little too modest for their fashion tastes. A £115 pink case by Juicy Couture also arrives at Selfridges in October.

Yet while most designers are sticking firmly to the option of a case for the iPad, some are getting more creative. One New York tailor has created the iPad suit, with a pocket large enough for Apple's device.

The $600 suit, designed by Mohan's Custom Tailors, is already selling well, the firm claims. "Many of our customers are techie men who love new gadgets and want a practical way to carry them," said a spokeswoman for Mohan. An Australian firm has also created an iDress with pockets for the gadget.

But style guru Stephen Bayley says it will be a while yet before carrying an iPad becomes as ubiquitous a sight on the streets of London as sporting its smaller cousin, the iPod. "I'm rather struck by how few people are carrying them," he says. "I suspect people treat them with such reverential awe that they keep them at home."

Or perhaps — until now — they just haven't quite worked out how to wear them.

TOP TEN IPAD APPS
Elements £7.99
A superb educational app, Elements manages the impossible and makes the periodic table of the elements interesting, and even offers you a 3D view of each one.

Epicurious Free
Great free recipe app which walks you through common recipes
and cocktails.

All Saints Spitalfields Free
Online catalogue for the fashion retailer which looks great on the big screen, letting you see this season's collection and buy online.

Marble Mixer for iPad £1.19
Superb multiplayer game that lets four people play at once to flick marbles into the centre of the screen, rather like a digital version of hungry hippos.

Angry Birds HD £2.99
Already a huge favourite on the iPhone, the iPad version is just as absurdly brilliant as you catapult birds into a series of ever more complex buildings to destroy them.

Gravitarium Free
Simple yet strangely hypnotic, gravitarium allows you to create strange patterns and music on screen simply by moving your finger around.

Marvel Free
Perfect for keeping the children (and nerds) happy, the Marvel app lets you download thousands of comics and view them in amazing detail.

Star Walk £2.99
Simple and brilliant — hold the iPad up towards the sky, and it will show you exactly where the astronomical constellations are.

Tate Top Trumps Free
A brilliant game that allows you to play top trumps with the Tate's art collection as you wander around the gallery. The only drawback is that you'll need to take your iPad (or iPhone) with you.

Korg iElectribe £5.99
Perfect for budding dance musicians, this recreates an entire recording studio on your phone.

TV Catchup Free
A website rather than stricly an app, but alongside the BBC's iPlayer still an absolute essential, allowing you to watch live TV channels for free on the big(ish) screen.

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