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For Real Babes, Denim Gets Pricey

On a recent shopping trip to Barneys, Jessica Meli spent $170 on two pairs of designer jeans by Diesel--one with oversized pockest, the other with a medium-blue finish. The recipient? Her 21-month old son. "Compare to other jeans, these don't make him look like he has a full diaper," says Mrs. Meli.

Jean-mania is trickling down--to the 2T, 3T and 4T set. Fashion-conscious parents are increasingly spending adult prices on denim for toddlers. These jeans even sport adult-like detailing, sucha as "whiskers" (distressed horizontal lines) in the lap area, to distressed spots and studs on the upper thigh and lower leg.

Lucy Sykes New York, which introduced $93 toddler jeans made from vintage-wash denim last January, doubled production for thsi spring. Genius Jones, a kid's boutique in Miami, tripled its stock of designer jeans thsi spring (price range $98 to $135) and says the new lines, including jeans with copper rivets and double stitching from Lit'l Earnie, ar selling briskly. Barneys New York launched pint-sized $110 Paper, Denim and Cloth jeans in 2002; today designer denim makes up 20 percent of the stores toddler apparel sales, according to Tracy Edwards, a merchandise manager for the store. "It's the fastest growing section of the childrens business for the past 18 months," says Ms. Edwards.

Although there's nothing new about pricey kid's clothes, parents traditionally have splurged on special-occasion outfits such as Ralph Lauren sport coats. For more casual wear, they tended to shop at such chain stores as Gymboree and The Gap, where jeans start at about $20.

In general toddler denim is selling so well its contributing to the revival of the childrens clothing amrket. Though salkes in the childrens-apparel industry dropped 5 percent in 2004, they rose 2 percent to $27 billion last year, thanks in part to a 5 percent jump in sales of all kids jeans, says market research firm NPD Group. "We really do want out children to be a reflection of who we are," says Marshal Cohen, NPD's chief retail analyst.

Well, not everyone. Kristen Foodim, a New York mom, buys herself jeans from labels such as Seven for all Mankind (about $175 a pair) but draws the line at buying jeans for her 2-year old son. "I like the way they fit," she says of the pricey toddler denims. "But it's not like he has issues with his body type yet."

Nor does junior appreciate his $100 jeans. Jennifer Lattuca, a mom in Dixville, NY, was horrified when her 2-year old daughter drew on her $106 True Religion jeans with permanent markers. "She only wore them a couple of times," says Mrs. Lattuca. After the incident she vowed never to spend more than $40 on a pair of kid's jeans.

Still, designers are rolling out a new array of child-size denim this spring. Seven for All Mankind and Lit'l Earnie are introducing skinny-leg jeans, and Paper, Denim & Cloth is expanding its kid's line with two new washes.

Kelly Gold, a mom in Miami Beach, Fla., says she's a;ready asked the sales people at her favorite stores to call when new shipments arrive, so she can outfit her 3-year old. "This is definitely a fashion-victim child," she says. "Sometimes I think, where do we draw the line?"