Shown herein is an example embodiment of a garment or other article of clothing with EL lighting and tear away functionality. In one example embodiment, the garment or article is a safety vest that includes an EL lighting assembly wherein the vest and the assembly are adapted to allow at least a portion of the article to be torn away in the event the article is accidentally caught in a machine or vehicle. In one embodiment, tear away functionality is provided by providing a line of weakness in the article at the shoulders that allows the article to separate if pulled with sufficient force, and also with a "pull-apart" connector in the EL lighting assembly that is positioned at about the location of the line of weakness.