That said, if analog31 wants to wear the mic on his shirt, that distance is actually good enough for most 1 to 1 conversations. Just understand that you're trading off "spatial perception" (no left/right balance if only one mic).
Then my brain recalculated. Sound stopped and started again and the pattern was obvious then. I confused for some good 5-7 seconds a halfmile away boat siren with an insect around my head.
By first hand experience: It's amazing what the brain does triangulating the two ears input, and it is indeed very sensible to the quality of the inputs. On the other hand the brain is also great at adapting to new, lower quality sensors. I don't see that same scene happening now, after several years of one sided hearing.
My wife still recreates that moment from time to time.
Bluetooth receivers for television or phones, for example. In other cases, I've seen lapel microphones meant to be worn by the person speaking.
If analog wants to build their own for the sake of the experience, or for cost, then I'm certainly not going to discourage them. But if all they want is the solution to that particular problem, it already exists and is being sold.