Teenies and teens share an emphasis on style

Sunday Herald, The, Mar 24, 2002

IN A WORLD dominated by adults, children want to feel individual, and with boys and girls begining to assert their fashion taste and independence at an earlier age each year, harassed parents need clothing that will meet their children's exacting tastes, but their own price and quality concerns.

Trends for girls this season include star-inspired preppy lines, along with a Flashdance meets the 1980s look and lots of girlie glamour. Anything with applique, glitter or badges will sell well and the look and feel is one of individuality with an emphasis on being subtly trendy. Popular colours include lilac, marl grey and bleached denim.

For younger girls, 1950s gingham and indigo denim are all the rage at the moment, teamed with red and white or lilac and white. Look for green and peach in denim or cord with chevron stripes and floaty dresses.

Boyswear throughout the season is clean and crisp. A college boy inspired range of casual leisurewear which mixes denim, chino and corduroy with splashes of colour, such as orange, red and green.

College prints and bold checks teamed with light denim jeans or surfing styles for that trendy skateboarder look.

New kid on the block, Kid's Connection, a specialist children's clothing outlet on Dumbarton Road in Partick, stocks a range of designer lines and top class outfits for babies, toddlers and young girls and boys. With stock drawn from Italy, Spain and France among others, this specialist retailer has just extended its offering to include summer shoes and sandals for the wee people in your life.

Stocking everything from gifts for newborns such as two-piece sets, babygros, hats and bibs, to funky outfits for the under-10s, you'll find big name brands such as YSL alongside Baby Joseph, whose line of clothes for babies of three months up to children of six years, is for sale for the first time in Glasgow at Kid's Connection.

Shervignon for boys is a lovely range of clothes in aqua, white and cream. Covering surfy T-shirts,smart shirts, trendy sweats and cool knits, it's not as over the top as some brands and is selling well. The YSL boys range presents the classic man's shirt scaled down, along with short-sleeve printed shirts and T-shirts. Denim jackets are also available and this classy range is not as brash then other designer lines.

One of the hottest ranges is the German brand Steiffe, makers of the famous teddy bears. Two lines, Steiffe and Whoopi for older children, are available in the shop. For babies aged six to 18 months there's a line in two-piece check trousers and sweatshirts with co- ordinating denim pieces.

Blue and white stripe T-shirts and three-quarter length baggy shorts offer new parents something a bit different to the average babygro, while Whoopi, for one year up to six years, has lots of red, cream and blue outfits with naive prints for boys.

The Steiffe range has adorable teddy bear motifs down the legs of the shorts, or the arms of tops and as a logo on T-shirts.

The girls' range is equally cute with lots of pink and white stripes and teddy prints. Simple, summery A-line dresses with little frills on the arms, available in red and white or pink and white gingham check, sell well, as does the denim range with silver stars and hints of glitter.

As one of the first Stockists of Baby Joseph in Glasgow, Kid's Connection offers the discerning parent a range of top line occasion wear. Prices start at (pounds) 30for a baby's shirt but the range does provide a level of exclusivity not available elsewhere.