Kid couture
Today, my daughter Isobel wants to dress up as a princess. Yesterday, she was playing mom to her two baby dolls. Tomorrow she’ll want to ride her bike and play baseball.
Sometimes it seems like five-year-olds have as many personalities as Sybil. It’s a challenge to dress them up on a day-to-day basis, especially when they start exhibiting their own tastes in clothing.
Young mom Hindy Weber-Tantoco has the same challenge, multiplied by three. Mother to two girls and a boy, Hindy sends her two older kids to a school where TV watching is verboten; nor do they allow branded clothes that depict cartoon characters. “I couldn’t even find a toothbrush that didn’t have characters on it, so I asked Rustan’s to do something about it,” she recalls. “And they said, ‘Why don’t you do it?’”
At first she was resistant: “That would be a big headache,” she says, but with a creative team that included Mariel Chua of Rustan’s, she ended up designing Kiddos, a line of fun and functional kidswear for children aged 2 to 14. (Sizes go up to 18 for taller kids.) “I didn’t want to make it too ‘precious,’” she notes.
Basics include a preppy line with stripes, argyle and gingham, though there are dressier items and boys’ barongs. Each item bears an “I” logo, which stands for “individualism.” To spur childhood creativity and let kids express their individual styles even further, Kiddos will soon feature customization options like monogramming, jars of buttons and different-colored ribbons.
“It lets kids mix and match according to their unique personalities, moods and activities,” Hindy says.
An eco-friendly organic line and recycled packaging also foster early awareness in kids on how to care for the earth while having their fashion fun.
It’s a big departure from her trendy, fashion-forward label Culte Femme. If there’s a common thread, it’s in the vibrant color palette and prints. She also designed what she wanted heedless of children’s tendency to outgrow their clothes really fast. After all, with prices ranging from P300 for staples to P1,000 and up for boys’ barongs and embroidered dresses, Kiddos is a lot less taxing on the budget than those character-driven clothes. And let’s face it: The rate that kids outgrow their clothes keeps pace with fashion’s ceaseless changes, anyway.
In the future Hindy says she wants more broken-in comfort, like the softest denim after years of use. Though Kiddos has shoes — like the cutest ballet flats in glittery gold and ballerina pink — more accessories are coming in the form of wallets, swimwear, robes, and toys like locally made fabric dolls and a Pinoy-style dollhouse.
Though she didn’t have access to such designs in her childhood, Hindy already exhibited a flair for fashion and customization back then. “As a kid I would cut up my mom’s clothes to create outfits for myself,” she says.
In the big picture, Kiddos’ more casual offerings are meant to complement Rustan Junior, a line of barongs and formal party dresses for children; and Rustanette, Filipiniana made with piña and jusi to match the boys’ barongs. Together they comprise a complete wardrobe for kids and their many personas, whether they feel like a budding scientist today or a little entertainer tomorrow.
My Isobel is so girly she’ll choose a skirt over pants any day, even if it means scraping her knees during playtime. And her fashion fantasy is a strapless gown, even if she doesn’t currently possess the chest to hold it up.
I think I’ll be able to find the perfect outfits for her at Kiddos.
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Kiddos is available at Rustan’s
