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Parents Say Some Disturbing Things About Putting Their Babies in Skinny Jeans

Mini-adult clothes are adorable, and that’s why styles like skinny jeans for babies can sell so well, and we’re bound to see more and more of them in stores. When Gap and Old Navy introduced skinny styles for kids and babies, some parents were concerned that labeling kids’ clothes “skinny” and “super skinny” would prematurely nudge them onto the never-ending diet train that most women struggle with for much of their lives. At first this seemed a little preposterous, since they’re just tapered pants we’re talking about here. But maybe mini-adult clothes really do come with mini-adult problems. Stephen Colbert pointed it out on The Colbert Report:

“Thank you, the babyGap. I say, ‘You are never too young to worry about the size of your fat’” bottom.


Check out Christina Lane, whose 2-year-old daughter Ava has four pairs of skinnies:

“Babies and toddlers have big bellies, and skinny jeans are not for people with big bellies,” says Ms. Lane, a 29-year-old museum marketing director. “But they still work.”


How will Ava feel when she’s 12 and reads this in the ancient newspaper and sees her picture with her “big” belly staring back at her? Skinny toddler styles have also prompted Sarah Coffey to ponder the shape of her 2-year-old:

“She’s not skinny, so I wouldn’t have necessarily thought to buy skinny jeans but I was inspired by the display,” says Ms. Coffey.


What? Can’t babies just be little warm, squirmy lumps of growing wonderfulness without parents thinking about if they have the right figure to pull off skinny pants? They don’t even have figures yet — they’re babies! Maybe baby skinnies — or all skinnies — should just be called what they are: “tapered jeans.”

Do These Jeans Make My Diaper Look Big? [WSJ]

Parents Say Some Disturbing Things About Putting Their Babies in Skinny Jeans