Recession may have hit designer brands but the one section that looks all set to tide over the slump is the kids clothing and fashion category that is still seeing a steady yearly growth. Not surprisngly, considering that it's been many years now since the style quotient moved on from ‘pink for girls and blue for boys’ to more innovative, stylish and trendy outfits. So much so that even designers who were in other segments are venturing, investing and experimenting with designer kidswear market.

Radhika Gugle Shetty, who is planning to exhibit kids wear from across the world in an exhibition in the city this month, feels that kids wear is a very big market and has not yet been fully tapped. Says she, “Even in metro cities like Pune, when it comes to kids wear, there aren’t many choices available. Big malls have limited collection and that too priced on the higher side. These days when parents want the best for their children, exclusive stores that offer a variety of kidswear, have all the potential of doing well.”

Says Ranjana Gupta of Ranjana Fabrics, “We started our store six years back and primarily dealt only in the ladies wear. But looking at the latest market trend and the demand coming from our regular customers, we are gradually foraying into formal kidswear also.”

With the rise in the income and even the lifestyle, parents don’t mind shelling out an extra thousand to dress up the apple of their eye in expensive garment. Sulabha Shah recently bought a single dress worth Rs 3,500/- for her only daughter Arya. “When we elders prefer to buy only branded clothes than why should we buy regular stuff for the little ones? Nowadays kids are very demanding and they also know what looks good on them and what doesn’t.”

If dressing up your kid has become an expensive affair, it has become interesting too. One can choose from colorful skirts, shorts, dungaries, frocks, cargos, corduroys, denims, capris and a lot more. Seema Puri, vice-president, design, Lilliput feels that kidswear segment offers more returns and is very lucrative career. Says she, “Kidswear churns higher volumes because unlike adults, kids outgrow their clothes every season. Moreover, the merchandise is categorised into infants, toddlers, junior boys and junior girls, which is further broken down age wise. Also the evolution in kidswear has been remarkable as the element of fashion has steadily taken precedence over functionality. The nuclear family structure and higher disposable incomes have wielded kids with higher pester power. Now, they have separate wardrobe for each of their daily activities – dance classes, tuitions, parties and so on, unlike earlier times when the approach to kidswear was by all means utilitarian.”

What’s in this summer
For the girls’ gang
* Colors like green, red, yellow and orange
* Pink is still a hot favourite amongst girls
* Frilly tops
* Frocks with sequins and embellishments
* Longer balloon tops
* Frilly skirts
* Frocks in pastel colours, with accessorised wallets