# The Galaxy Dress **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 17, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873 "2009-11-17T03:05:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/1 "2009-11-17T03:05:12Z")
[Ooooh, pretty!](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/12/galaxy-dress-24000-led-go_n_355931.html) > [@](#): > > Francesca Rosella and Ryan Genz, the London-based design duo behind interactive clothing company CuteCircuit , have created a dress that will quite literally light up any party. The ‘Galaxy Dress,’ made with 24,000 LEDs, will soon be the center piece of an exhibit at Chicago’s the Museum of Science and Industry. > > The dress is very wearable, the designers explain. “We used the smallest full-color LEDs, flat like paper, and measuring only 2 by 2 mm,” they said in an email to [Wired.com](http://Wired.com). “The circuits are extra-thin, flexible, and hand embroidered on a layer of silk in a way that gives it stretch so the LED fabric can move like normal fabric with lightness and fluidity.” The dress is powered by tiny iPod batteries and the sparkle is enhanced by 4,000 hand-applied Swarovski crystals. Ok, it’s not all that pretty, but I like the future of it. If I were a pretty, skinny famous person going to the Oscars, I’d have them make me a more subtle version, with just a few colors, like a black dress and various shades of blue LEDs. I think I’ll go down the the Museum of Science and Industry when the exhibit opens to see it in person. In a few years this kind of outerwear (using more technologically-advanced and cheaper versions of the fabric) will be very commonplace, in regular clothing too. Kids (and adults) will be buying programmable light-up clothing in Target. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/2 "2009-11-17T04:43:41Z")
I thought it was actually going to be a black dress with the LEDs arranged in the shape of the Milky Way or something. That completely prosaic rank and file arrangement is BOOOORING! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/3 "2009-11-17T04:58:46Z")
I would totally wear an LED suit. Or an LED jogging suit. Actually, I’d wear anything with LEDs all over it, even the dress if that was my only option. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/4 "2009-11-17T05:40:34Z")
Maybe that’s how I’ll become a billionaire. I’ll design an active circuit fabric and sell an LED implanting device that works like the bedazzler. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/5 "2009-11-17T05:43:52Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I thought it was actually going to be a black dress with the LEDs arranged in the shape of the Milky Way or something. That completely prosaic rank and file arrangement is BOOOORING! Same here. Compared to my grandiose imaginings, the actual dress was a bit of a let down. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/6 "2009-11-17T07:00:54Z")
It’s like a grown-up version of those sneakers with lights on the sole. And yes, it would have been a lot prettier by actually using less LEDs. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Knig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@Typo\_Knig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Knig)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/7 "2009-11-17T12:49:32Z")
Not a bad version 1.0 demo, IMO. They need to reduce the pixel size, and display more complex patterns, images, and full motion videos. The plain color thing gets old pretty quickly, but what if the dress showed the Mona Lisa, the Winged Victory, the Declaration of Independence, Apollo VIII’s earth rise, a Mondrian, and other iconic images and videos. In rotation. Or display a live NFL feed on the bodice - every man’s eyes will be fixed there for the whole party. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/8 "2009-11-17T16:34:47Z")
My first thought was video! Since I’m dirty-minded (and the wearer would be an attention whore anyway) I imagined a nude walk video that might or might not be the wearer: “You’ll never know!” Then I considered feature films across her lap. Too bad the best they could do was a sort of rippling plaid effect. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/9 "2009-11-18T11:52:44Z")
[Rabbit in the Moon](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K8QT_JZdc8) got there first. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/10 "2009-11-18T12:43:45Z")
No indication of when that happened, but if it was recent, then [Venus Hum got there first](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ytn66X4ZI) (it’s a Blue Man Group performance, and she comes out around 3:00). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/11 "2009-11-18T13:19:30Z")
24,000 lights is _not_ a galaxy. 3 orders of magnitude off for even a dwarf galaxy. Maybe a globular cluster but not a galaxy. Doesn’t “the globular cluster dress” have a nicer ring to it anyway? ---
**Author:** ![scareyfaerie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scareyfaerie/32/3135_2.png) [@scareyfaerie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scareyfaerie)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/12 "2009-11-18T13:36:18Z")
That is one ugly dress. I’d have to be really on my beam ends before someone could pay me enough to wear that! ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/13 "2009-11-18T13:43:18Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I thought it was actually going to be a black dress with the LEDs arranged in the shape of the Milky Way or something. That completely prosaic rank and file arrangement is BOOOORING! Me too. I was picturing something akin to [Kate Winslet’s dress](http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/mommdearest55/wedding/titanicdress.jpg)in Titanic, but with tiny white LEDs sprinkled among the crystal beads. Or a black or midnight blue velvet dress with a spiral pattern reminiscent of the Milky Way. That thing, on the other hand, is a cross between plaid and gaudy Christmas decorations. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/14 "2009-11-18T15:38:24Z")
Subtle. Understated. Demure. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/15 "2009-11-18T16:15:35Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > Subtle. Understated. Demure. Those words…I do not think they mean what you think they mean… ---
**Author:** ![phouka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c5a1d2/32.png) [@phouka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phouka)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/16 "2009-11-18T18:35:10Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > No indication of when that happened, but if it was recent, then [Venus Hum got there first](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2ytn66X4ZI) (it’s a Blue Man Group performance, and she comes out around 3:00). That is a fantastic clip, and it totally made my day. Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/17 "2009-11-18T19:57:38Z")
> [@phouka](#): > > That is a fantastic clip, and it totally made my day. Thank you. You’re welcome, but I just realized I gave the wrong link. [THIS ONE is the one I meant to post.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyL09hTLOls) It’s the same, but with audio in sync. And yeah, I agree that the dress is kinda ugly and definitely garish, but as I said, I like the future of it. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2009, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/18 "2009-11-18T20:10:55Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > Me too. I was picturing something akin to [Kate Winslet’s dress](http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y171/mommdearest55/wedding/titanicdress.jpg)in Titanic, but with tiny white LEDs sprinkled among the crystal beads. Or a black or midnight blue velvet dress with a spiral pattern reminiscent of the Milky Way. Now THAT would be beautiful. I love that dress, and the red one too, the one worn when she was going to take her dive off the back of the ship. I can’t find a picture of it. A dress like that, with red LEDs, would be great. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/19 "2009-11-19T02:02:48Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > I thought it was actually going to be a black dress with the LEDs arranged in the shape of the Milky Way or something. That completely prosaic rank and file arrangement is BOOOORING! Yeah, me too. I was envisioning [this.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWxzM9_gEo0) (At 3:55) ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873/20 "2009-11-19T03:28:39Z")
Why stop with clothes, any reason implantable LED’s wouldnt sell to today’s depraved youth? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-galaxy-dress/517873.md?page=2)