It’s to Be Not Seen in: Covert Chic

--You want to be appropriately dressed for an occasion, but your bulletproof vest is a little too bulky to carry off a look that’s stylish, yet casual. What to do? Get on down to Spy Shops International and outfit yourself in a bulletproof safari jacket for $650. While you’re there, you might want to have them sew a tiny transmitter into your collar so you can be traced in case anyone tries to kidnap you. The Miami boutique carries all the latest in anti-terrorist and counterespionage gadgets, from voice scramblers and bug detectors to night-vision glasses and pocket-size video cameras. Proprietor John Demeter says sales have been brisk since he opened earlier this month. Demeter’s engineers can also equip your car with bulletproof armor, a computerized tracking system, a device that scatters spikes from the rear, hidden cameras, remote-control ignition and jets that spew smoke and tear gas. Demeter says his customers have included a Saudi government official who wanted to detect phone bugs he believed were planted by the CIA, and a frustrated banker whose BMW was burglarized four times in six months. The banker bought a $185 gadget that sprays tear gas if anyone tampers with the steering wheel. Demeter says he tries to screen out people who may be terrorists or criminals, but he acknowledged that many of his customers pay for their purchases out of suitcases full of cash.