Tiny Fashion

STYLE:A FEW YEARS AGO, I worked in an upmarket department store that sold upmarket children's wear.

I whiled away the hours selling €200-plus puffa jackets to parents whose children would outgrow them before the weekend.

Although I saw the error of their ways, my work ethic – and, crucially, commission possibilities – ensured my silence. But the insanity of investing in clothing for a rapidly-growing child never left me and has influenced my thinking on children’s clothing ever since.

While dressing yourself offers a challenge in itself, dressing your children can be even more of a conundrum. Will your child last even an hour in a white dress or trouser suit? (No.) Is it essential to dress your child in gender-coded colours? (No.)

And, crucially, is it every worth getting up at 4am for the Next children’s wear sale? (No – life is too short to get up at 4am for anything other than a flight to Barbados.)

So here’s our guide to wallet-friendly solutions for your fashion-forward offspring, from Penneys to Zara and, should you be so inclined, Brown Thomas for nippers, with neither a white suit nor a pretty pink tutu in sight.

Grow babygro

There are few clothing items that we will buy in such large quantities as babygros, should we be blessed with offspring. We will wash them in their hundreds, putting them through the dryer as many times as their soft cotton fabric will withstand; we will find them, years later, down the side of the couch and behind the television and, covered in dustballs, beneath the dog’s basket.

They will haunt our dreams and nightmares. We will, at least once, wonder if there is not more to life than washing, folding and buttoning up babygros.

But you can buy cleverly, and we’re not talking about “classics” – these are, after all, items that your baby will be wearing before he or she is even aware of the location of his or her nose – we’re talking about buying colours that won’t show up that spit-up stain and fabrics that will withstand being washed twice daily.

This elephant-print babygro (€21.50 from cherishme.ie) will look great even when covered in regurgitated mushy peas and is blessedly gender-neutral – as is this aubergine-printed number (€25.95 from koollittlekids.com), which will disguise any Ribena-type spills while still looking super-cute.

If you fancy something a little more wallet-friendly, these babygros from Heatons (€12 for a pack of three), while perhaps not as spill friendly, are equally gender-bending and will go the distance in terms of cleaning.

Following in their parents’ footsteps

They may be – for the most part – pint-sized, but these celebrity offspring have a thing or two to teach the rest of us about getting dressed. What’s that you say? Dressed by their mothers? Surely not!

Take Zuma and Kingston Rossdale, for example (Zuma’s checked trousers, far left, were donned for the launch of her mother’s most recent collection). Kingston (left) changes his hair colour more often than Brangelina add to their brood – and check out his ode to surfer chic with his casual pattern-clashing.

Lourdes Leon (right) may not, strictly speaking, be in the “child” category any more – she turns 16 this year – but in terms of celebrity spawn, she’s among the most stylish. It helps, of course, that she’s the image of her mother and has Madonna’s entire back catalogue of couture to rifle through, but Lourdes has carved out an aesthetic all her own, favouring dark colours and gothic-inspired jewellery – much like Madonna’s 1989 video for Like a Prayer.

The queen of the young guns is Suri Cruise, who mastered the art of walking in heels at the age of three and is the champion of the paparazzi-ready smirk.

Just check out the power of that pout (right) – you have to admire her for posing so seriously while clutching on to a furry panda. That’s professionalism.

Brand focus: Next

Bio:Next was set up in February 1982 as a womenswear store selling coordinated fashion separates in a "boutique-style" environment – by July 1983, the brand had 70 stores around the UK.

Since then, it has grown exponentially, with Next Directory launching in 1988 and its online retailing in 1999. Next now sells womenswear, menswear, children’s wear, homewares and electrical goods.

Aesthetic:While Next could be accused of erring on the safe side, with a plethora of yummy-mummy staples such as Breton stripes and high-waisted jeans, its high-fashion credentials shouldn't be overlooked.

In 2007, current Victoria’s Secret Angel Alessandra Ambrosio modelled for the brand, while its current campaign is fronted by top model du jour, Arizona Muse.

Its children’s wear is clean, crisp and trendy – and at affordable prices. Its regular sales cause near riotous behaviour in otherwise sane individuals, who have been known to queue overnight for rock-bottom prices.

Stockists: There are Next stores nationwide, but it also sells online at next.co.ukand by phone – in fact, it was the first retailer to offer three ways to buy its products.

Price tag: You'll pay from €12 for a pair of shoes and €15 for a pair of boys' chinos – with even the most upmarket items, occasionwear, rarely stretching beyond €50.

Read Rosemary Mac Cabe’s fashion blog, Fash Mob, at irishtimes.com/blogs  Email any fashion queries to  rmaccabe@ irishtimes.com