To Sell Wearables to Women, First Make Them Feel Bad

Women are the early adopters of all kinds of technology. We talk on our phones and send more text messages than men, spend more time using location-based services, and own the vast majority of Internet-connected devices, including e-readers and health gadgets. Not that you would learn any of this while walking around the International Consumer Electronics Show, the colossal gadget convention that wrapped up last week in Las Vegas. CES is a four-day festival of tech at its most hyper-masculine, complete with booth babes, the most ridiculous TVs ever, thousands of square feet devoted to such classic man-toys as high-fidelity audio equipment and car tech.

What little was on display for women spoke volumes about how gadget makers see us, their female consumers. Industry assumption No. 1: To get more women to buy wearables, offer more glamorous options. A handful of companies displayed fitness bands and smartwatches specifically for women—who, the exhibitors claim, are turned off by black rubber and steel form factors. Chief among them this year was Misfit, which unveiled an activity tracker gleaming with Swarovski crystals designed to be worn wrapped around the wrist or as a pendant. Gorgeous, the gadget mag Wired applauded, holding up Zsa Zsa Gabor-esque Swarovski Shine as evidence that 2015 is the year "wearables will stop being so ugly."