Kiddie Chic

That’s Natasha and Nick chez nous circa 1985, I’m guessing.  They’re gussied up for a Christmas party we threw that year.

I dug out this old photograph because I remember Natasha’s party dress.  It came from Cerutti in New York City.  Back in the day, all my kids’ dressy clothes did.

I had to shop long-distance for them because, in those days, there were not a lot of options to tog out your tots.

Oshkosh B’Gosh or Florence Eiseman- these were about my only two choices in kindergarb.  And if they didn’t have it at Marshall Fields or Marian Michael in Winnetka, I was toast.

That seems like ancient times nowadays.  I was strolling through a suburban mall the other day and I was struck by the number of stores dedicated to the proposition that all kids should be rigged out like Suri Cruise.

Baby Gap, Crew Cuts, Carter’s Babies & Kids, Polo For Kids… the choices were endless. Today, practically every high end designer label has a junior version.

In Chicago alone, baby boutiques like Psycho Baby, The Red Balloon, Twinkle Twinkle, Cloud & Bunny, Bonpoint and Milani are stylishly lurking to painlessly part you from your hard-earned cash.

Convenient?  Certainly.  Expensive? Unfortunately.

But today’s young moms and dads must not mind how much they have to shell out to make the Best-Dressed Kid List.

Or if they do, there is so much pressure from social media that they might as well surrender and  just start shopping.

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest are all crammed to bursting with cute famous and semi-famous and wanna-be-famous mini me’s posing with pouty mouths and hands on hips in Kardashian fashion.

Seems like every kid these days has to look like he/she belongs to Gwen Stefani’s family or the Beckhams.

(Note the Empress of Chic, Anna Wintour, to the left of Harper Seven Beckham.)

And don’t forget about the Royals.  The Internet is filled with adorable photos of England’s tiny Prince George and Princess Charlotte.  And they always look smashing!

That’s a lot of peer pressure (no pun intended) for the average commoner parent today.

Whew.  I’m glad I missed this craze for designer duds for the under-ten-and over-privileged set.

But with the advent of Boston’s Sam, Carly and The Player To Be Named Later in Seattle, I just might get a chance to be lavish, silly, impractical, you know…

A grandmother.

Now where’s the Psychobaby website?  I know I saw baby socks with cheeseburgers on them…