Small-Fry Fashion Adds to Solid Kidswear Basics Biz

Kidswear is trending more than ever toward adult and juniors styles, even as the majority of the market remains tried-and-true basics.
July 1, 2009

This toddler ruffled tunic from L.A. T Sportswear is made of combed ring-spun cotton 1x1 rib knit. Rib knit is one of the most popular fabrics for kidswear because it’s soft and stretchy. The tunic length is filtering down from juniors styles — another trend being seen in kidswear.

By Deborah Sexton, Contributing Writer

Oooh, baby! Today’s kids are sporting some decidedly progressive, adult-driven apparel, including sun dresses with Affliction-style heraldry designs, diapers decorated with abstract sublimated designs, vintage-wash fabrics and organic cotton one-piece body suits. These fashion-forward offerings are part of a bumper crop of products from industry suppliers, who continue to unveil new twists for tots, even as classic kidswear items retain their perennial popularity.

“We added a new fashion sublimation line for children 4 years [old] and older. It includes spaghetti-strap summer dresses and lightweight sweat shirts that feature fl orals, heraldry, peace signs and abstracts,” says Eddie Glik, quality control manager, Happy Kids for Kids, Opa Locka, Fla. “Anything for an adult can be good for kids.”

Bella, Los Angeles, also has introduced new, adult-inspired offerings for children, including thermal one-piece body suits and a 3.5-ounce, two-in-one T-shirt with a crew neck. “It has a pop of color at the neck, and there’s a bit of extra fabric at the neck and sleeve, so it looks like two T-shirts layered together,” says Erin Talbot, national account executive. “The shirts have solid body colors and contrasting colors on the neck. We have the layered look in Bella Girl, and people would say, ‘Oh, I’d like a little kid’s version of that.’ This ties it all together.”

L.A. T Sportswear, Ball Ground, Ga., added infant and youth zipper hoodies to coordinate with its toddler zipper hoodies. “Due to high demand, we introduced girls’ vintage T-shirts and longer length T-shirts to coordinate with our juniors offerings,” says Mindy Anastos, vice president of marketing. “We also added girls’ thermals to coordinate with our ladies’ and juniors products.”

Organic apparel also remains an important trend, and Anastos says it is probably more popular in the childrenswear market than in the adult market. “We introduced organic accessories because we felt we needed to round out our infant organic offerings,” she adds. “Also, by offering accessories, many of our gift retailers are packaging the T-shirts with the accessories as baby gifts.”

Meanwhile, Royal Apparel, New York, expanded its line of organic apparel for children, adding a long-sleeve one piece, a long-sleeve lap-over and a thermal long-sleeve tee. “There was a big need for more items in our organic line,” says Morey Mayeri, president. “People were asking for it. We have more than 30 styles and 23 colors, and we’re continuing to expand.”

Bella also has seen growing demand for organic apparel, which it offers in an infant’s one piece and a jersey T-shirt. “Everyone wants to feel like they’re doing their part by buying organic,” Talbot says.

Bumkins Finer Baby Products, Scottsdale, Ariz. — which mainly sells directly into retail — added a one-piece snap crotch with the Dr. Seuss license. “It has a vintage treatment to give it a worn, distressed look,” says Ashley Andrews, sales and marketing coordinator. “The vintage look sells better than our classic lines, which have bold colors. We also offer the Dr. Seuss designs on sublimated diapers.”

Andrews adds that she’s seeing the vintage, distressed look in kidswear and infants’ styles. “We’re also seeing graphics with a more adult orientation,” she says. “The more sophisticated prints are popular right now, like geometric shapes and fl oral patterns.”

"As we’ve seen in years past, childrenswear is becoming more fashion oriented and trending toward the juniors market more than it ever has before,” Anastos says. “I’m seeing combed ring-spun fine-jersey T-shirts, vintage apparel and designs, thermal fashions and bright colors. In infants and toddlers, I’ve seen some of the burnout and fashion washes.

“Also, the tunic length is popular, but in a different way than it is in the adult style. In girls’ fashion, you see the longer length, but it’s more of a conservative look than its juniors tunic counterpart,” she adds. “In infant and toddler wear, you don’t see it nearly as much — except over leggings replacing some dress fashions.”

Basics vs. Fashion
Before you toss out your kids’ classic one-piece body suits, keep in mind that the aforementioned fashion-forward offerings are meant to complement, not supplant, the industry’s mainstays. Michael Cohen, vice president of sales, Eva Tees, Long Island City, N.Y., says his company’s top-selling item for kids remains the toddler T-shirt, followed by the infant one-piece.

Dean Vuong, vice president, Kavio!, Commerce, Calif., estimates that about 65% of kidswear sales are basics, with the remainder coming from fashion items. The company’s best sellers are its infant sunflower dress, a vintage-wash boy-beater tank top for girls, and a pullover hoodie jersey.

“If you take into account our basic T-shirts, creepers, bibs and fleece items, I would say basics make up about 80% of the market,” Anastos says. “However, it greatly varies from market to market. At retail, basics definitely make up a smaller percentage than they do in the collegiate or corporate markets.”

Happy Kids for Kids’ biggest seller for children remains its basic T-shirts, Glik says. “Probably 70% of our styles are basic and 30% are fashion,” he says.

Adds Bella’s Talbot: “There’s not a huge demand for fashion styles for children; it’s more about the print on the garment.”

For Bella, the infant one piece — which the company offers in several styles — is far-and-away the company’s top-selling item for kids, Talbot says. “We offer a 100% ring-spun cotton short sleeve, and we do a long-sleeve thermal in a mini-waffle knit,” she says. “We also have an organic short-sleeve one piece, and a two-tone one piece. The one piece is definitely the staple for kidswear, by far.”

True, kidswear does follow some of the trends in adult fashion, Mayeri says. “We’re seeing some burnout [styles], and all the dyeing is really popular — garment dyeing, mineral washes, acid washes, tie dyeing,” he says.

Kavio! introduced a vintage wash for youth, girls and infants this year. “It did very well in juniors, so we expanded the offering,” Vuong says. “We’ve had many customers asking for vintage wash in kidswear.”

Fabric Favorites
The classic jersey knit — in either 100% cotton or 50% cotton/50% polyester — is the most sought-after fabric in kidswear, Cohen says. “If you’re doing leagues and schools, you’re mostly doing 50/50 because of the perception of wear and tear,” he explains. “As you get more into retail fashion, you see the 100% cotton.”

According to Mayeri, popular materials also include 1x1 rib, 2x1 rib and thermal. “You don’t see as much jersey because it’s not as stretchy. Ribs and thermals are very stretchy, so they’re comfortable,” he explains.

Rib-knit fabric is extremely popular for infants because it works well for unisex apparel, Talbot says. “It also stretches and moves around, so it’s comfortable,” she explains. “People want to put their babies in soft garments that have minimal shrinkage.”

New fabrics aren’t introduced frequently into the kidswear market, due in part to customers’ unwillingness to pay higher prices. “Kids go through their clothes so quickly, so people are looking for great value and the right price point,” Cohen says. Still, he adds, fashion-forward styles like Bella’s 1x1 rib tank are big sellers. “That sells primarily at retail, but we also see some pull into the camp business.”

Cool Colors
Eager to add some sizzle to the country’s somewhat stale mood, suppliers are offering a few new fashion colors for kidswear. For instance, Kavio!’s new colors for this year include bubblegum pink. “Pink has been doing well for a couple of years, but it will probably get a boost during the recession,” Vuong says.

Bella also added some fashion colors: berry, chocolate and baby blue. “Pink is one of our best sellers, and berry does really well too,” says Talbot, whose company also added athletic heather to its line of one-piece body suits. “We’re seeing growth in collegiate colors, so we also added royal blue. We’ll probably expand into more collegiate colors next year. Adults want those colors, and it trickles down to [their children].”

Eva Tees added yellow and passion green to its offering of Bella one pieces and T-shirts. “In the youth market, you can’t offer too many colors,” Cohen says. “The resort market needs fashion colors, like light pink and daffodil. Plus, a lot of the younger kids are playing organized sports now, so you also need the core athletic colors like black, red and navy.”

Still Selling
Cost-conscious customers looking to save money may do so by switching from a color to a heather, or a heather to a white, Cohen says. However, it’s not likely that customers will simply not order kidswear, particularly for specific segments of the marketplace. “In a sense, it’s recession-proof because nobody’s going to deny [his or her] kid a uniform,” he explains.

Mayeri says he’s seeing kidswear sell well across the board, adding that at least a dozen of his screen printing customers decorate Royal Apparel’s kidswear for Disney. “We also see more for daycare centers, theme parks and resorts, as well as companies that sell children’s products and that are trying to do promotions,” he says.

Talbot adds, “We’re seeing kidswear in hospitals and daycares, and for private labeling. A lot of corporations also will put kidswear in their corporate gift packages. When an employee has a baby, the company can present a gift from its baby store.”

Overall, decorators’ purchasing decisions for childrenswear have largely remained unaffected by the recession, Glik says. “People are buying less merchandise than they did last year, but they’re not buying less-expensive items.”

Talbot agrees: “They just want to sell a quality product, something that washes well and that they feel confident about.”

Deborah Sexton, the former editor of Impressions, does marketing and public relations for decorated apparel companies. For more information or to comment on this article, e-mail Deborah at dsexton@ sbcglobal.net.

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