Cheeky's the new
chic in tots', parents' T-shirts
The Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/03/06
People customize their cars, their cellphones, their closets and their kitchens. So why not customize their kids, too?
Tiny novelty T-shirts with slogans like "Which Part of Terrible Two's Don't You Understand?" are a burgeoning trend within the $27 billion kids' clothes industry.
Parents are also buying gear that shows they're reveling in parenthood rather than just surviving it. An assortment of tees at www.2chix.com — with messages like "He Shoots, He Scores" for dads and "Who's Your Daddy?" for expectant moms — make those old "Baby on Board" signs seem tame by comparison.
"My 4-year-old daughter has a little Ramones concert T-shirt, and her favorite film director is Tim Burton," said Amy Brayfield, editor in chief of Atlanta-based Pregnancy magazine.
"Part of you wonders if exposing kids to things that their parents are into might turn them into little goth rebels. But, as a parent, I think it's important to keep in touch with the things you've always enjoyed and share them with your kids."
NPD Group, a market research firm, reports that children's clothing sales rose by 2 percent between 2004 and 2005. The rise in overall clothing sales — up 5 percent to $53 billion among men and 3 percent to $101 billion among women — also indicates a spending mood.
So why not indulge in an egocentric T-shirt for the kids as an extension of one's personality? Clothing manufacturers must be salivating over the prospect of placing their signature onesies on TomKat and Brangelina babies, especially since regular folks quickly follow suit.
"Ever since Hollywood began this big pregnancy push, people have been more willing to go outside the box and not be bound by tradition," said Harry Zegers, an east Cobb County father of 5-, 3- and 1-year-olds, who also monitors trends as an advertising sales exec for the Pregnancy, Women's Health and Men's Edge magazines. "Why wouldn't you have fun with [parenthood]? Enjoy everything about having kids, as opposed to it just being what you do after you get married," he said.
Today's dads are "definitely more involved than they were 20 years ago," Zegers said.
And the market is catering to them with masculine accouterments.
Wake, a New York-based luggage and handbag company, has launched a $350 to $600 collection of "Diaper Daddy" bags made of calfskin and canvas, available on its Web site (www.wakenyc.com). Santa Monica, Calif.-based Web site www.diaperdude.com also sells messenger-style daddy diaper bags, priced between $52 to $112, in camouflage prints so image-conscious dads can blend into the urban landscape.
Now that Hollywood has made it fashionable for stars to boldly flaunt pregnancy, other women have begun to follow suit. Thus, the flood of novelty T-shirts on the market that make tongue-in-cheek reference to bulging tummies, food cravings and lactation.
The New Hampshire-based MaterniTee by Swanky (www.materniteebyswanky.com) sells $31 tees that feature the provocative silhouette of a nude mom-to-be in repose, or a set of headphones where baby's ears might be. And the kimtees.com Web site features $34 tees with slogans such as "Do Not Touch the Belly" and "Do the Math: It's Really 10 Months."
Cheeky designer duds for babies date back further than Angelina Jolie and her son Maddox. In years past, celebrity moms such as Madonna, Jodie Foster and Elizabeth Hurley and their kids were frequently targeted by paparazzi — and their kids dressed the part in stylish duds.
Thirteen years ago, Zoe Shapiro saw the need for "Mini Me" styles blossom. She and her mother, Kathie, opened the 98% Angel children's boutique in an exclusive section of Malibu, Calif. Shapiro considers herself an industry pioneer: "When I decided to start this business, I had no one's example to follow.
"The demand was definitely there," she said. "Where we live, it's very important for your children to look the best they can. The kids here want to mimic the way their parents dress, and the parents like it too."
Along with her own private label, the store carries more than 50 designer brands, including La Perla, Ugg, Diesel and Sonia Rykiel. Not all the stores' clients qualify as celebrities, but they crave the same merchandise.
"People see celebrities and want their lifestyles," she said. "And they want their kids to dress the part."
There's never been a shortage of ways to dress babies as an extension of parents' style philosophies. But the pint-size fashion statements are growing more precocious.
A line of $20 to $24 silk-screened onesies and tees from Tampa-based www.babyrockapparel.com offers such messages as "What Happens in Preschool Stays in Preschool," "Boob Man" and "My Mom Rocks."
In a similar vein, San Francisco-based Wry Baby sells casual tops with slogans like "I Might Barf," "I Eat Dirt" and "84 Percent Dirty, 16 Percent Filthy" for $16 to $22 each through the www.wrybaby.com Web site.
Baby Rock Apparel co-founder Kim Strayer started the company two years ago with her husband, Ryan, because shopping for their first son, Conley, was no fun.
"We weren't finding the things we really wanted to dress him in, so we came up with some designs of our own. We just wanted to give him more attitude and individuality than what was out there with all the little bears and duckies."
With a second son due in August, Strayer said she's finding no shortage of design inspirations. "Anyone can go onto our site and customize their baby's stuff almost any way they want. We've had some things come through as requests [and] we questioned whether or not to do them, so we didn't," she said. "We want kids to look edgy and hip, but we have to remember they're kids and you don't want to take away their innocence."
Wry Baby, a mom-and-pop operation run by Kelly and Dave Sopp, also offers items geared to the children of gay parents. Their site sells $22 to $24 tops bearing the messages, "I Love My Dads" and "I Love My Moms." They also sell $35 T-shirt and leggings combos sporting phrases such as "Someday I'll have a hairy chest" and "Someday I'll demand a pony."
Pregnancy magazine's Brayfield says the search for quirky items also leads to a community of kindred spirits who chat about their style-deprived experiences and exchange notes on merchants who meet their needs.
"We're not the same kind of parents our parents were," she said. "Even though I had a great mom, my goal was to be nothing like her. My generation of parents wants to maintain a sense of self. We're real people, even after we've had kids."
