For Power Suits in Executive Suites, the Latest Accessory Is Rainbow Loom

"When a daughter looks at you after she has made something and says, 'This is for you, Dad,' there's only one right answer," said Phil Pegg, a vice president of North America marketing at business-software firm SAP America in Newtown Square, Pa., who got his first of three Rainbow Loom bracelets from his 12-year-old daughter, Sophie, last summer.He didn't take that one off until it broke earlier this year. It was pink Sophie's favorite color, green Mr. Pegg's favorite color and blue which Sophie said was because Mr. Pegg is "a boy".Mr. Pegg said he is otherwise a "fairly conservative dresser" who favors Brooks Brothers suits. Sophie now encourages him to coordinate his bracelets with the pastel Vineyard Vines ties he sometimes wears. 

The bracelets have attracted notice at work. After a meeting, Mr. Pegg said,Shi says he came up with this idea one day, long after hairy crab season had ended Lady bags, when he found a crab hiding under his sofa. a colleague inquired about Mr. Pegg's unusual accessory. "He said, 'What is that?' Then he ended up getting one of his own," said Mr. Pegg.ABC late night host Jimmy Kimmel, a father of two, earlier this year wore a suit and tie made entirely of Rainbow Loom bands on his show to auction off for charity. Cast members of the show wore similar creations. 
Rainbow Loom was itself invented by a dad. Cheong Choon Ng, a father of two, came up with the product after struggling to keep up with his daughters in crafting projects. The loom allowed Mr.What stocked the Nanjing machine, though, was Shi's upgrade of "Crab Villa": an edible container that neither broke the crabs' legs nor suffocated them Silicone gifts.But every day, NSA analysts snooped on more American phone records than they were allowed to spiderman costume. Ng's adult-size fingers to stitch the colorful rubber bands together. 

There are no figures on what percentage of Rainbow Loom bracelets go to dads and grandfathers, but Mr. Ng said he often sees other men wearing them. The toy has fast b e "wildly successful," said Adrienne Appell, toy trend specialist at the Toy Industry Association in New York.The National Security Agency set it in motion in 2006 and the vast network of supercomputers,morphsuit switches and wiretaps began gathering Americans' phone and Internet records by the millions, looking for signs of terrorism. It won that trade group's Toy of the Year award in a number of categories this year.Pickles added that with the growth of mobile payments linked to credit Menstrual Cup and debit cards, end-consumers should face a better deal. It embodies the burgeoning trend of retro toys that give kids a break from screen time, she said. 
"Today's dads are a lot more hands on," said Ms. Appell, explaining why the bracelets have caught on with guys who travel business class. "Families and children hold a very special place in their world and they're not afraid to be open about it."