Clothing

Once you get pregnant it’s like you’re a ticking time bomb, counting down the moments until you’re going to be in a heinous pair of maternity pants. Oh sure, you can hold on for a while, looping your waistband together with rubber bands, or wearing some type of big cloth belt to keep them up as they bag beneath your swelling protuberance. But sooner or later, you’ll be forced to buy a big, baggy pair of paneled pants. Unless you send your favorite pair to Denim Therapy. This innovative company specializes in denim restoration: patching up holes in the knee, butt, or crotch. But it has a sideline in turning regular jeans into maternity pants, and then back again.

For $60, Denim Therapy inserts comfy, stretchable panels into the seams of your regular jeans. While you swell, they swell with you in the belly area, while giving you the same fit down to the ankles. When you’ve had the baby and deflated back to your normal size, you send them back to Denim Therapy and the panels are removed. There! Wasn’t that an adventure for both of you?

For more information, visit denim-therapy.com.

Boys clothing tends to be either of the bland “play clothes” variety (bedecked with masculine imagery like dinosaurs, tools, trucks), or fancy-dress duds suitable for wearing to a wedding. What does the well-dressed young man wear to social occasions where fashion matters, yet formal gear is inappropriate (and hellishly uncomfortable)?

The Goncalo Polo Sweater by Tea Collection fits the bill. The style is retro, bringing to mind the ubiquitous Penguin polo shirts of the 1950s. The shirt’s pattern, inspired by the tile sidewalks of Rio de Janeiro, is similarly vintage in feel. It’s a cozy, easy-wear pullover that has a great deal more style than a T-shirt. It’s available in sizes 6 months to 6 years.

Goncalo Polo Sweater, $47-49

Your pint-sized fashionista is putting up a fuss. There’s no way (NO WAY!) she’ll spoil the sleek look of her favorite outfit with an ugly, bulky belt.

To the rescue: Invisibelt Girl, a scaled-down version of the revolutionary Invisibelt, a clear, flat-buckle fastener that’s nearly undetectable under form-fitting tops. The new smaller-sized cincher features the same sturdy support, easy adjustability and notch-free construction as the original, but this inch-wide wonder extends from 20 to 38 inches in length, making it appropriate for girls — and possibly even a few bold boys — ages 4 to 16.

Best of all, unlike the grownup style, it’s served up in a range of fresh colors (neon pink, sheer grape) and cool designs (skulls with bows, purple peace signs) that can be worn exposed or concealed — a bonus that will surely win over even the most belt-skeptic tot.

Available at invisibelt.com.

It’s Mommy-and-me movie day, and the theater is full of rambunctious toddlers all wearing the same navy Polo shirt. As soon as the lights go dim, you wonder if you’ll ever locate your little bugger.

Help him light the way: Booby Trap, a new Los Angeles-based children’s brand, does glow-in-the-dark duds. Marco Rached’s hand-illustrated designs adorn the jumpers, rompers and tees — some are a bit spooky (the bloody face is better left for big kids), while others are more abstract.

Lights out.

Visit boobytrapshop.com.

You have enough smocked frocks, cargo pants and graphic tees to outfit a pint-sized army, but your kids’ wardrobes are still lacking style.

Kaiko, a new line of functional but unique basics, may very well fill the void. Created by two Japanese-born, New York City-based moms with backgrounds in fashion and costume design, the collection features distinctive separates made from soft, natural materials — like organic cotton jersey, linen, wool and indigo dyed denim — often sourced from Japan. Many of the pieces are reversible or multi-purpose. A halter-style flower garden top, for example, doubles as a skirt with a sash, while a pair of gauze and plaid pants look equally great worn inside out or outside in. The pieces can be easily pair together or mixed with your tot’s existing closet staples for a chic global playground look.

No one has to know you didn’t travel to the Far East to get it.

Visit kaikokidsnyc.com.

He now insists on dressing himself, which could result in any number of looks: superhero cape with pajama bottoms, swimsuit and snorkel, baseball cap and Dad’s best tie.

Make sure his special DIY style is at least coordinated. Benny & Moon is effortlessly cool with vintage-inspired duds for ages 18 months to 7. Launched earlier this year with a preppy-boho mix of bell-bottoms, cap-sleeve party dresses, cotton jackets and collar shirts, the Chicago-based collection’s summer line draws from classic Americana and childhood vacations on the shore.

You’ll be over the moon.

Available at bennyandmoon.com.

Your teeny tiny infant needs extra special care — and extra special clothes.

Zutano’s popular Itzy Bitzy line of newborn and preemie clothing is now available online. Available in two sizes, for 4-8lb. and 9-13lb. babies, the collection (gowns, long-sleeve wrap bodysuits, dresses, kimono tops) features the brand’s signature bright colors and outspoken graphics on styles specially designed to fit brand new babes. Mix and match the prints, and help your little one grow in style.

Soon she’ll be too big to let you dress her.

Available online at zutano.com.

You’re celebrating Mother’s Day for the first time — make that Mother-To-Be Day. And you refuse to spend your special Sunday in sweatpants.

Put the pregnancy-induced moods aside for one afternoon and get all dolled up. Try a fun frock from Fierce Mamas for Moody Mamas by Christian Siriano. The Project Runway winner has done maternity dresses, like this silk charmeuse frock, perfect for mocktails and dinner.

And tell him a jacket is required.

Available at moodymamas.com.

Too bad you didn’t save your old baby frocks, because as your mom says, they don’t make ‘em like they used to.

Rediscover classic clothing: Belle Heir is a throwback to the hand-stitching, smocking, pin-tucks and pleating of an earlier time (perhaps when children were seen and not heard). Original vintage pieces for newborns to 5-year-olds include precious little rompers, short sets and dresses from the late 1800s through the mid-1900s. Items are classified by the condition they’re in (like new, near perfect, gently used), and measurement details help you figure out the fit.

How thoroughly modern.

Available at belleheir.com.

With spring in the air, now is the time to look around and enjoy nature — which can be found everywhere, even on your shirt.

Check out the collection at Shirin Kids, an edgy-but-soft line of tees, tanks and onesies. Designer Shirin Roubeni poured her passion of pairing nature and textiles into the shirts that are hand silkscreened with water-based inks (yielding a semi-transparent look). The children’s collection is a takedown of Shirin’s adult line, including some precious mommy-and-me couture.

Available at shirinkids.com.