Chicago Sun-Times

Oh, baby! Look at you now in designer duds
FASHION | Celebrity kids set standard as moms splurge on toddlers' clothes

March 21, 2008

BY PAIGE WISER pwiser@suntimes.com

While many adults find it difficult to dress fashionably, consider the plight of the toddler. There's nothing but applesauce-stained synthetic fabrics in their closets, and until those chubby fingers learn to fasten their own buttons, little girls are at the mercy of Mom. 

Now, worse news: Suri Cruise has upped the ante.  With the dress she put on Suri last summer, mom Katie Holmes seemed to anticipate the eyelet pattern that's hot this spring.

TwirlyGirl Dresses (far left) www.twirlygirlshop.com 

Since she arrived on the celebrity circuit, Suri has been impeccably turned out in Armani, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren and Chloe. And rumor has it that Katie Holmes ordered a custom pair of Christian Louboutin shoes for $3,000.

Maybe that's why so many of her peers are drooling.

As the average age of parents gets higher, they seem to be spending more money on their children's clothes. Mothers who have never owned Burberry items are splurging on designer plaid kilts for their kids.

Cynthia Jamin, an actress who landed roles on "Friends" and "Don't Shoot Me," wanted even more glamor for her girls, Roxy, 6, and Lola, 4. Her TwirlyGirl creations are for funky princesses with $70 to burn.

The dresses reflect the new consumer mentality. "Every girl who wears a TwirlyGirl dress is unique," says Jamin. "I want the dress to be as extraordinary as she is."

Among TwirlyGirl's extraordinary fans: Brooke Shields' daughter Rowan, Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple and Heather Locklear's daughter Ava.