In The Closet

By Maryanne Murray Buechner, Lev Grossman and Anita Hamilton

FANCY PANTS

We've been hearing about nanotechnology for years, but this fall it finally landed in our lap--literally. These pants look and feel ordinary, but they have undergone a special chemical treatment to give them "nanowhiskers"--millions of tiny fibers one hundred-thousandth of an inch long--that help them repel spills. Eddie Bauer and Lee, among others, are gambling that the fabric will give them a leg up on the competition. INVENTOR Nano-Tex, LLC AVAILABILITY Now, $35 for Lee Performance Khakis TO LEARN MORE www.nano-tex.com

LET IT RAIN

Ah, cashmere. It's toasty warm, deliciously soft, wonderfully luxurious--and now water repellent. Every fiber in this $1,100 "windbreaker" introduced last spring is coated in Teflon, though you wouldn't know this to wear it. The chemical treatment is done when the raw cashmere is first washed (to make it soft for knitting), so there's no discernible difference--until you flick water at it and watch the droplets run off. INVENTOR Lutz & Patmos, with Yves Behar AVAILABILITY Now, in two new styles, $850 and $1,075 TO LEARN MORE www.lutzandpatmos.com

COOL TUNES

When the temperature drops, music lovers are often forced to choose between unzipping their jacket, thus exposing themselves to arctic blasts, and listening to the same set of songs over and over until they pray for frostbite. With the Burton AG Clone MD Jacket, you don't have to choose. Designed for snowboarders, the jacket is made with a Sony Mini-Disc and digital music player sewn right into its fabric. The player's controls are touch-sensitive fabric patches on the jacket's sleeve, so you can control the music just by pressing your arm. INVENTOR Burton Snowboards AVAILABILITY December, $999 TO LEARN MORE www.burton.com