Oh, it really is a phone in a see-through pocket.

Alphyn Industries

You know what is the worst? Having to take your phone out of your pocket in order to use it. Am I right or what? I mean, what a nightmare!

Thankfully, some geniuses at Alphyn Industries have a solution: Wearcom jeans -- pants designed for in-pocket cell-phone use. The pants' clear pocket is enclosed with a polymer film that doesn't inhibit the touchscreen's sensitivity. A hole in the pocket allows for headphones to run from your thigh to your ears, though unless your headphones are pretty long, or you are pretty small, you may have to walk kind of bent over to make that work. The pants will run you $160.

The pants are a bit gimmicky, but they also illustrate nicely how innovation begets innovation. It's hard to see how you could improve on pants, until you have a new need. So you tinker with the baseline you have, accommodating the changing world around you. Jobs crisis solved!