Just like us, dogs can suffer from dehydration and heat exhaustion. They do their best to stay cool by panting, but since they can't exactly sweat, it's tough for them to beat the heat.

There are all kinds of contraptions on the market that use space-age polymer technology and old fashioned evaporation to help you do right by your best friend. From cooling vests to crate fans, to simple travel water bowls, it's easy to keep your pet cool. And that makes you cool, too.

Steampunk is a counter-intuitive sci-fi concept. It's about the future, but set in the past, usually Victorian era England. The technology is pre-digital and steam-powered, but it's also quite modern and computer-driven. Analog computers, that is, that float over cities on dirigibles. See? Confusing. Let's stick to the aesthetics of it.

If you enjoyed the look of City of Lost Children, Van Helsing, Howl's Moving Castle or Lemony Snicket, then you like steampunk. One of the most distinctive visual characteristics is a quasi-Victorian mechanism, with lots of polished brass and clockworks.



Interested? Well, before you pull out the superglue and renovate your laptop, start by decorating yourself with some mechanically beautiful necklaces, cufflinks, earrings and brooches from Rivkasmom on Etsy. They really capture the essence of steampunk, with clocks, trains, balloons, and so much shiny brass! The items are all handmade, original designs, and one of a kind, so if you see something you like in the gallery, rush over to Etsy before some steampunk beats you to it!

What qualities would your perfect bra have? Of course, it would have to provide proper support and be comfortable. And, it would need convertible straps so it can be worn with just about anything. It needs to cut low enough for you to wear your deepest neckline, but still provide a seamless appearance under a clingy t-shirt. It should lift and separate, but not so much that it makes your breasts look fake. Oh, and it should be a little sexy, too.

Are we forgetting anything? Because it turns out that building the perfect bra is a lot more scientific than we had realized.

As Gillette and Schick continue to battle it out, creating razors with increasingly higher blade counts -- until one day we'll have razors that look at the hair, talk to the hair, ask the hair out for coffee, and then get to know its parents before finally hacking it off -- one of them has finally returned to inventing something useful. Kind of. The new Gillette Fusion Chrome Collection Power Razor comes with five blades, "micro-pulses" (read: it vibrates), and has a flashlight.

For those times when the world needs to know that you'll exchange sex for money, you can't go wrong with a pair of shockingly-tall, black leather stilettos. But what most hookers don't realize is that you don't have to forgo fitness while you're pacing poorly-lit street corners and schlepping up stair cases to the untidy apartments of lonely pervs.

In fact, you don't even need a separate stair-counter for your working-girl workouts -- all thanks to these new heels from Costume National.

Cell phones have become far more than a way for us to make a call. Between sending text messages, pictures, and videos, storing music, and acting as a mobile workstation, it's a wonder our cells have time to do anything else.

But they do -- they act as yet another fashion accessory.

In India, adding bling to your cell is a booming business. For example, there is a device that will turn your car's rear view mirror into a monitor so you can check the incoming calls by looking in your mirror while you drive. There are also options for music lovers, like stereophonic speakers to turn your phone into a mini home theater. Or, if you're a bit forgetful, you might want to opt for an intelligent watch, which will alert you if you're leaving your cell behind.

And, if you're more interested in making your phone look fancy than in giving it fancy functions, you can always opt for phone jewelry and charms. After all, if you can personalize your ring tone, shouldn't you be able to personalize the phone, too?

As it turns out yes, the fashion industry is pretty much the anti-Internet. The International Herald Times put out an article about the top dogs in the fashion industry and their fear (well more like avoidance) of the Internet. Just typing about it gives me the willies, it would be a cold day in hell before you could pry my MacBook away from me.

Here are some top designers and their examples of computerphobia:

Marc Jacobs: "I do know how to Google. And I've even had a relationship from the Internet. But I can't sync up with my iPod; I don't know how to use Photoshop and machines break around me."

Nicolas Ghesquière of Balenciaga: "No, I am not really Internet - but I just got a BlackBerry."

Karl Lagerfeld: "I don't use a computer; I do research with my brain, and if I want or need to - I get people to do it for me."

Elbaz: "I open my imagination to push me forward, a computer is about getting into a formula - and that is the biggest danger to the imagination. I work with my heart and write with my brain, you take the knowledge but go forward with your feeling, your instinct. Above all, you have to start and end with the dream."

Prada: "I don't use the Internet - it is all in my imagination, if I want to see something they have to show me the sites. For me it is fundamental, today the computer can do everything fake. But the imagination is endless."

Dolce & Gabbana: Dolce has never used a computer, where Gabbana uses one twice a week.

Yikes, call me crazy but for me going without the Internet is like going without air. Not all designers are crazy computerphobic; Christopher Bailey of Burberry loves the Internet and "uses it all the time" and Robert Polet, chief executive of PPR's Gucci group says computers are a must.

Amen Robert Polet! What do you all think, could you live without the Internet?

ThinkGeek has done it again. They have taken something normal (a T-shirt) and made it outrageously nerdy (a Wi-Fi detector).

Here it is, the ThinkGeek Wi-Fi Detector T-Shirt. Yep, it really works. Those little bars are on an animated decal you can remove to wash the shirt. Because Wi-Fi bars are not washable. Betcha didn't know that.


When I think of all the times I have wandered New York City with my laptop wondering where there is a place I can check to see if Han Solo has e-mailed me yet, when I remember sitting on that freezing bench outside of the fancy east side residence Sutton Place, when I think of peering at peeling Wi-Fi stickers in the windows of delis and diners, when I think of all the times I've desperately clicked on networks called "Tina's Angst Zone" and "Boyz Gone Wyld" in vain. . .how I wish I'd had this shirt.

I don't feel particularly inclined to walk around like a beacon of computer signal activity, but I would like to hire an intern to stand near me wearing this at all times. That would be handy. I can't offer pay, but I'll take you to prom. Okay?

P.S. Han Solo never writes. Scoundrel.

Facebook was the new Myspace, and now Twitter is the new Facebook. Are you following me? Probably not, but that's OK. Let me just put it this way. Twitter is going to be the next big thing.

It's a keep up, or get out of the way kind of world, and Twitter is what you should be keeping up with now. It's like Facebook, but in real time. You can update your status and set Twitter to send out phone text messages to tell all your friends what you're doing.

I been noticing that more and more people on blogs are using Twitter to communicate with their readers. I've seen Twitter everywhere lately! Since Styledash is always ahead of the game, we even used it during Fashion Week last year.

The phenomenon has been especially popular with people traveling, who might not have time to sit down and write an email to all their friends and family who want to know how he or she is doing. With Twitter, the traveler is able to send out his whereabouts by telling everybody at once, "I'm in Bali, getting a $5.00 massage. Life is good!" When you change your status, those who follow you on the website will receive text messages, if they are set up to do so, with your updates.

Twitter hasn't quite broken into the mainstream yet, but I have a feeling it will soon. The website is continuing to explode in popularity. Time Magazine said, "Twitter is on its way to becoming the next killer app," and I believe them. It's trendy to be on Twitter right now!

Do you Twitter?

Feeling the heat?

If so, you might want to look into Japanese Kuchou-fuku's air-conditioned clothes. The shirts and jackets keep the wearer cool with two small fans sewn into the back of each garment. The fans are powered by a pocket-sized rechargeable battery pack.

They aren't the most fashionable thing I've seen, even in any of the 10 different styles and a variety of colors, but they do help the environment because they use about 1/50th the energy of a small air conditioner. If you don't mind that you might look like a human blimp, you can get one of these shirts for 11,000 yen ($96).

It's not easy to be a woman in Japan. Sexism is still widespread -- to the point that if you wear a skirt on the train, you're likely to get grabbed or photographed by some random pervert.

Gross.

Even worse, is that some men have figured out how to alter their night vision camera phones to see through clothes. So now, no matter what you're wearing, freaky guys with devious minds can check you out -- whether you like it or not.

That's why Cramer Japan created ShotGuard Inner Shorts, which are made from a nylon and polyurethane weave that blocks the infrared rays used by night vision cameras. Now, no matter how hard they try, the pervs can't see anything you don't want them to.

Remember invisible ink -- one of those utterly pointless products they marketed to kids so they could pass notes without getting caught? If you miss the good 'ol days, gossiping with Mary Alice in the back of English class using your super-secret decoder pen, fret not -- there's now a modern-day version just for grown-ups.

Introducing Kameraflage! If you're interested in the science of how this works, go here -- but the point is: the technology uses colors that are invisible to humans, but that are picked up by digital cameras. So, you can add a little surprise to your t-shirt that won't show up until someone takes your picture.

Of course, whatever you put on there will be seen by anyone who takes your photo -- not just your BFF -- so be careful what you "hide."

I'm always the last to know when something's wrong with my body. I think I'm perfectly fine, and then wham, I'm immobile on the couch, sick as a dog.

Maybe these new "intelligent textiles" can help. According to European scientists, they're embedded with sensors designed to monitor body fluids like blood and sweat. Subsequently, they can be used to make clothing that monitors your health.

The sensors have been built and are functional, and scientists are about to test their fabric on human volunteers. While it sounds like something that could be useful for everyone, at the moment the plan is to use the clothing only for recovering hospital patients, people with chronic illnesses and injured athletes.

No word yet on how the clothing will look, but -- by the sounds of it -- these "intelligent textiles" could be sewn into any garment, so patients can theoretically look cool, and monitor their health at the same time. Genius.

Now you can wear something different every day, even if you only have one t-shirt -- just change the channel. It might soon be possible thanks to a new razor-thin display (.01 inch-thick) that shows full-color video despite being incredibly pliable.

The explanation for how Sony created the new gadget involves words like "electroluminescent" -- which, for all I know, could mean "magic," but the technology might have interesting implications for both fashion and interior design.

According to a Sony spokesman, "In the future, it could get wrapped around a lamppost or a person's wrist, even worn as clothing. Perhaps it can be put up like wallpaper."

So you could wallpaper you child's room, and instantly change the decor as they get older -- or when they move out, and you need the room for guests. And, conceivably, you could create clothing that reflected -- in real time -- how you were feeling, the weather conditions, or the time of day. You could "change" from something summery and fun on a sunny morning to something gray and subdued when it starts to rain that afternoon -- all with moving images.

But, while the idea is certainly revolutionary, it may be some time before it can be made affordable. That said, when the technology does become available to the public, the possibilities seem endless.

To see the video screen in action, check out this video.

Last year, Deidre brought us news of the sleek, sophisticated Prada phone from LG, the first official collaboration between a phone carrier and a designer label. Knowing the way that fashion houses tend to play follow-the-leader, naturally, it was only a matter of time before we started hearing rumors of other fashion-forward collaborations. The first in the rumor mill is the Gucci phone. There isn't much to substantiate the existence of this phone since it's based on nothing more than a couple of photos on Flickr, but wouldn't it be cool if it was true?

Move over iPhone, there's a new gadget in town!