I mean, really…

Marks & Spencer is to stock a business suit for men too busy, or too lazy, to pull their iPods out of their pockets when they want to crank up the volume.

The suit uses hi-tech “smart fabric” technology to build in lapel controls that allow the wearer to jump tracks on their MP3 player without the strain of actually removing the device from their pocket.

The Elektex fabric, developed by the Aim-listed Eleksen group, brings a whole new meaning to the term “lapel button”. It claims to turn a standard lapel “into a five-button electronic control panel” and “transforms clothing into must-have fashion for the billion-dollar portable MP3 and mobile phone market”.

The Marks & Spencer hands-free iPod suit – in wool with added Lycra and electronic wizardry – is going into nine stores. It is to be priced at £149 – £90 for the wired-for-sound jacket and £59 for the trousers. A spokeswoman for the store chain described it as a “classic black pinstripe, two-button, modern-cut suit”.

An iPod connector is sewn inside the pocket and the jacket includes a cunning system of loops to keep the earphone wires tidily out of sight. But there are also drawbacks – wearers will have to switch to manual and disconnect the device when they want to switch artists or albums.