The Best New Gear for 2008

Knit Picks

For some reason, footwear for babies fascinates me. They always look unbelievably tiny, making me think: "There's no way those can fit on a human." I seriously can't walk by a display of tiny shoes and socks without latching onto them and examining every inch. As I'm doing it, I even make eye contact with strangers as if to say, "Aren't these the cutest things you've ever seen?" So while I don't want a child of my own quite yet, I do want to purchase miniature socks and shoes. Thank god I have babies in my life who need their feet kept warm. And this is what I'm going to get them. They are the most adorable booties from SmartWool. They come in all sorts of awesome colors and they even have treads on the bottom to help with those first steps. Check out SmartWool's other baby stuff -- they also make miniature mittens with no thumbholes.

$16.95, www.smartwool.com