Big style for the little ones

Have you ever noticed how sometimes the little kids are the most fun to dress? They don't talk back and tell you they hate that hat. They can't pull off their rosy pink jacket or untie that beautiful big bow around the waist of their sailor dress or unbutton that little linen vest - well, most of the time! We all know a few precocious toddlers who have a definite opinion about what they want to wear and what they want to rip off right before Sunday school.
So when it comes to shopping this spring and summer for that special little someone, there's lots of big "adult" style blooming on a small scale to impress children of all ages.

You'll have a hard time choosing just what to buy - and we all know most of the time, we just have to have it all. Right, Grandma?

"Fashion has become just as important to kids as it is for adults," says Lisa Strubel, director of color and concept for The Children's Place Retail Stores Inc., which features clothing and accessories for kids.

Here are some of Strubel's trendy picks for this season's best buys for kids:

- Prints and Patterns

They're bright and beautiful, big and bold in ditsy and impressionistic floral prints, to polka dots, plaids and stripes.

- Prep Stars

One of this year's "must-haves" for girls and boys is the argyle pattern. In everything from dresses to vests to socks, the argyle patterns is feminized in pink and yellow for girls, blue and green for boys. Other classic looks get a pop of color in preppy button-down oxfords for boys layered over twill shorts and pants in bold orange and green or crisp white.

- Arts and Crafts Details

It's all about the handmade details that make kids clothes special this spring and summer. With eyelet dresses, jeweled touches, embroidered skirts and ribbon embellishments, there's something to give tiny tots and the clothes they wear even more charm.

- Retro Remembrance

Remember those Easter Sundays of the '60s and '70s- well, as parents today, we won't have to go far to be right back in those puckered seersucker sundresses with our straw handbags and patent leather Mary Janes.

- Like That Linen

It's a spring favorite and a classic that kids have worn for generations. This year's updated styles are picture-perfect in pastel plaid dresses for girls and dapper vests or blue and green plaid shirts for boys.

- Skate into Spring

The skater look is hot for little and big kids this spring. Boys will slide right into skater pants with adjustable lengths, athletic hoodies, graphic T-shirts, and solid and striped polos. Big and little girls get in on the look, too, with skater pants teamed with T-shirts, flowing tanks and bright hoodies.

- Steppin' Out

These are my favorites - I can never pass up those darling little shoes that are no bigger than my hands. Tiny sneakers and sandals or flip-flops with big fluffy flowers or great big jewels grab my attention and my credit card. I have been known to buy them and then find some baby to give them to.

Let's face it - buying torn jeans and looking at the tattoos is not near as fun.

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Sharon Mosley is a former fashion editor of the Arkansas Gazette in Little Rock and executive director of the Fashion Editors and Reporters Association.

© Copley News Service

Tag: fashion in fashion