Could our grandmothers have ever imagined that there would even be a category of clothes for the newest entrants into the world and that the category would be labeled “baby clothing”. Their generation would actually refuse to shop for the newborn. It was a superstition, engendered by earlier generations that until the child was born and had spent a good couple of months making her presence felt, no clothes were to be bought.  Can one imagine…no booties to be exclaimed over, no baby shower to be planned, no layette to be eagerly color coordinated and put together!!In fact from personal experience I would say, that the last couple of months of pregnancy, when one feels just a little larger than a double decker bus in slow motion, is possibly only made bearable by the eager anticipation brought about by accumulation of  tiny smocks, booties, caps…oh the sheer joy and the smell of new baby clothing.

Today’s almost there Mamas are spoilt for choice. There is a plethora of choices and the parameters have widened from the friendly neighborhood tailor with his clacketing sewing machine, to entire stores that offer different clothing lines for babies. There are baby designers who create trends in baby clothing, making today’s infants hip and with it.  If it’s pastels and button down collars one season, it’s animal prints and tiny denims the next. Colors, textures, prints…the sheer variety boggles the mind. Baby clothing has gone beyond simply being apparel. It has become a lifestyle statement.

In fact companies manufacture entire lines of products based on particular color combinations and parent requirements. An offshoot of this has been interior designers who have clambered onto this very lucrative baby bandwagon to offer the creation of nurseries for the newborn that have a theme around which the décor, clothes and even the nanny’s room revolve!!

In keeping with today’s well informed and computer savvy parenting generation, entire baby clothing lines have been showcased online allowing the new parents the luxury of browsing top of the line baby products from the comfort of their homes. Shopping for the baby is now possible at the click of a button.

As I told my daughter, we’ve come a long way from the time expectant mothers would dreamily embroider smocks and knit baby booties. Today’s baby is a consumer possibly from the time he or she is in the womb, and his parents who are eagerly awaiting his entry are the customer. Catering to this need are stores, designers, clothing and accessory lines, baby toiletries… the superstitions have been firmly set aside and the newest kids on the block now hold centre stage!!