Wearable Cities: 15 Urban-Patterned Outfits & Accessories

NYC Metro Cuff Bracelet

cityscape metro cuff bracelet

The Manhattan subway map is embossed onto the surface of a stainless steel bracelet in the NYC Metro Cuff by Tiffany Burnette, officially licensed by the MTA.

Wear You Live: Tees and Totes

cityscape wear you live
‘Wear You Live’ produces hand-crafted t-shirts, tote bags and prints of thirteen city maps from around the U.S., including Atlanta, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston. Taking touristy city pride shirts to another level, the figureground maps capture masses of buildings and voids of the streets to communicate some of the city’s character from an aerial viewpoint.

Bike Map Bandanna
cityscape bike map bandanna

If you’re ever riding your bike around Portland, Oregon, and you’re not sure what the best route to take would be, just consult the map on (that’s right, on, not in) your head. The Portland Department of Transportation printed a city bike map onto bandannas, which is a pretty smart thing to do for sweaty summer cyclists.

Upload Your Own City Print at Constrvct

cityscape constrvct

Online boutique Constrvct creates clothing from images you design and upload, allowing you to wear your own art, photography, or the city map of your choice, as depicted in this sample photo.

3D-Printed Hermit Crab Shells

cityscape hermit crab

So maybe this concept is only wearable for tiny hermit crabs rather than people, but it’s too cool not to include. Artist Aki Inomata created 3D-printed, city-shaped plastic shells, scanning the inside of real hermit crab shells for a perfect fit. “The hermit crabs wearing the shelters I built for them, which imitate the architecture of various countries, appeared to be crossing various international borders. Though the body of the hermit crab is the same, according to the shell it is wearing, its appearance changes completely. It’s as if they were asking, ‘Who are you?’”