On any given Saturday in Los Angeles, toddlers — and their parents — are ready for their fit check. At the Arroyo Park playground in South Pasadena, a tiny Justin Bieber, clocking in at 32 inches tall, is dressed in an oversize red sweatshirt and baggy blue jeans with a pair of neon Crocs. Across town at the Playa Vista Farmers’ Market, a Billie Eilish look-alike, wearing a roomy hand-drawn graphic tee and clashing track shorts, is scarfing down a carton of raspberries. Meanwhile, at the Grove, kids are practically tripping over their baby-size JNCOs as they rush to hop on the trolley. Some days when I’m out with my own 3-year-old, I take style notes in my head. Perhaps when my kid is over his Spidey-merch-only phase, he too can wear a loose-fitting, swirly-print sweater with billowing striped pants.
For most of the 2010s, “sad beige” sets and onesies took over the children’s clothing market. But it seems that lately, hip parents are dressing their children like Gen-Z baristas: squiggly doodle prints, bright colors, and oversize everything. Think mini-size Marni meets Skylrk with a dash of Stüssy. The brand behind the most coveted version of this look is Milk Teeth, an L.A.-based online shop and in-house label that has become the go-to for parents who want their kids to look cool — and don’t mind spending $52 on pants their child will outgrow in six months to make that happen. Because dressing your toddler, whether you admit it or not, is at least a little bit about dressing yourself.
