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Whether it’s a customizable design, eco-friendly fabric or sophisticated look, clothing designers agree: finding the right apparel to make a style statement transcends all trends.
The details in children’s clothing adds personality to a garment, says Taylor Falls, President of ABC Reps, and tweaked designs for children add the style that appeals to children and their parents. “Apparel,” she notes, “isn’t cutesy anymore.”
The diminishing popularity of “cute” is due to a more educated parent accustomed to never-ending options, she explains. Adults have more at their fingertips, Falls says, and they feel like a younger generation. She notes the new adage that “40 is the new 30” and similar ideas about what it means to be a young parent. However, designers, retailers and parents aren’t “trying to take the fun out of [children’s clothing]. It’s fun and delicate, but a kid can have a personality without a superhero [cartoon].”
In fact, she notes, if an adult trend isn’t edited for a child, the effect is the oft-
criticized “too mature” look. “To be ‘sharp’ and interesting for a child may make them look too old.” Successful designs, Falls says, adapt trends and imagery that are part of the adult world but with a child’s take.
The expectation of quality design naturally extends to quality manufacturing and production, Falls continues. “Parents are willing to spend more for their children because they understand that with quality comes longevity, [and they] expect their children’s clothing to have the same quality found in their own closets. Parents,” she concludes, “want more for their children and they want more from their products.”
In layette, the presence or inspiration of adult trends may be less obvious, but mindful designers continually change the classic onezies, sleepers, rompers and shirts, says Thomas Antonelle, Director of Design and Merchandising for Rashti & Rashti. “Prints, art, fabrication and special details are key factors in keeping layette looking fresh,” he explains. “Historically, silhouettes in layette have not changed so much for the simple reason that at this early stage of a baby’s life, dressing must be kept as simple as possible for comfort of baby as well as ease of dressing for the parents.” Thus, Rashti offers slight changes by “infusing fresh color palettes, updated art applications and whimsical prints,” he says, as a departure from traditional lines in order to keep each season’s introductions “new and fresh.”
“Holidays, birthdays and family gatherings are all opportunities for parents to show off their precious little baby,” he says. Likewise, a family’s gushing adoration of the newest family member creates an “awe mentality” when it comes to purchasing a garment that may be worn only once. “The trend seems to show that parents [and] grandparents,” Antonelle concludes, “will hold off on buying for themselves, but will make sure their little ones are completely coordinated with matching accessories from the hat to the coat and shoes.”
The success of mature trends within the juvenile market is attributed largely to a new generation of parents who see their children as an extension of their own life. “Naturally, parents like their children’s style to reflect their own tastes,” says Jacquelyn Doran-Blauvelt, Marketing Associate for children’s fashion accessory designer High IntenCity. “Over the past few years,” she adds, “manufacturers have taken a grown-up sensibility or style and mixed it in an age-appropriate way. The concept of ‘grown up’ styles with a child-like twist is something that parents today have fostered and demanded.”
A child’s twist on grown-up looks is about following popular culture and often times older siblings, Doran-Blauvelt says, noting that in High IntenCity’s accessory lines, teenage film and television celebrities dominate what younger children wear. “Kids are wearing icons and colors that they love, or celebrating or mimicking the style of their older sisters and ‘tween idols,” she explains. Rock star themes and licensed characters such as Hannah Montana also encourage the pop star alter ego within children who think “that could be me,” Doran-Blauvelt adds.
However youthful, children’s accessories take guidance from the adult fashion world. “Icons and themes are often taken from the adult market,” explains Doran-Blauvelt, and “bits and pieces trickle down and make their way to children’s pieces. The adult world offers inspiration, while the children’s world offers a fun way to interpret a trend and make it something that a child [or] ‘tween is actually going to love.”
High IntenCity has taken a page from men’s fashion (and listened to retailers’ requests) with the introduction of MAJOR, its first line of fashionable jewelry for boys. Doran-Blauvelt explains that boys accessorize in a more unconscious manner than girls. “Boys are not necessarily ‘accessorizing’ on purpose, they are throwing something on because it is cool.” But, just like young girls, using beloved images and what is perceived as cool appeals to boys as they begin to cultivate their own style. “Overall,” Doran-Blauvelt concludes, “boys like their icons and graphics, and will throw something on as an extension of what they love.”
This article originally appeared in Baby & Kids magazine, another Talcott Publication.
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