A young girl checks out the Puja collection at Sohum Shoppe. Picture by S.H. Patgiri

It is always the “little customers” who ultimately decide what is fashionable, albeit adults, while choosing the right outfit for lil’ ones, emphasise on comfort and wearability. Autumn is quite special though, since both fashion trends and adult diktats can harmonise into the perfect buy.

The Puja season, neither too hot nor too cold, is just right to wear any kind of fabric styled into any design. Clothes with pretty frills and other shows do not have to hide under sweaters or shrink into a sweaty rag.

Kidswear has also come a long way from printed frocks trimmed with lace for girls and babasuits in dull shades and patchwork for the boys. Kidswear designers these days have created clothes that can at one glance be thought to be haute couture stuff! No wonder then that the city Puja market is boasting of the most exciting collections for the little youths. The Telegraph finds out the trends that are sure to delight the kids....

In most cases, kids clothes — between five and 13 years — are miniature versions of adult ensembles trimmed with kid stuff like animal and flower motifs, fake fur or even cocky embossed slogans like “I like being a rebel”.

Denim and stud details conjure up images of the Wild West, fur trimmings at the flare bottoms take us back to a wintry age and leather-finish fabrics look very streetwise.... Whimsical and fun, they inspire a smile of childhood remembrance among adults even while putting stars into children’s eyes. The kids brands available in the city include Gini & Jony, Weekender, No Gap, Free Look, Toon World, Rough Kids, Drop, Cuckatoo, Tiger and Lee Youth.

The range for girls at any fancy store in the city is as exhaustive, if not more, than women’s. The city’s most hi-profile departmental store, Sohum Shoppe, Urban Tribes, Topsons, R. D. Store and other outlets at Shoppers Point and Kuber AC market are a mine of kidswear, both branded and unbranded.

From frayed denim with stone, bead or thread embroidery embellishments to velvet and leather finish flares dressed up with heart-shaped flowers, to fancy kurti-pants in net and chiffon, complete with tiny dupattas or scarves, the shelves are overflowing with a whole range of outfits. Fits and silhouettes are also an intrinsic part. Off-shoulder and spaghetti straps, short tops and comic T-shirts, teamed with denim and leather-finish flares, divided skirts or mini skirts are the highpoint of casual chic fashion.

For the party-pretty look, there are the sequinned dresses, floaty chiffon dresses embossed with beads and patchwork dresses in girlie shades. Floral printed short skirts also vie for attention.

For the diehard romantic parents, there are pretty dresses for their little girls in soft romantic single-tone colours edged with English lace or pretty floral prints ruffle-edged with lace trimmings and enlivened by puff sleeves, ribbon ties and the like, in a wide range of colours.

The prices of tops normally range between Rs 300 and Rs 900 while skirts and pants range between Rs 300-1100. The prices of kurti-pants suits depending on the fabric range between Rs 300-800. Dresses are also available in the same range.

For little young boys, the season’s look is essentially sporty though a mix of trends is the order of the day. Certain themes are apparent — forest inspired green tones and prints and the ever-popular combat styling on heavy cottons. Comic style prints or fun slogans are the rage. The fabrics range from denim, corduroy, velvet to a type of waterproofed PVC and leather.

What is hot stuff though, is monkey-wash trousers. For those uninitiated ones, they are denims that have been deliberately faded in the areas above the knees to create patches. They are teamed with short kurta style shirts for the fusion look.

The shirts are plains, checks and prints, primarily in cotton. As regards party wear, little boys need not feel left out. See-through and party shine fabrics, dressed up with sequins and beads and stones have flooded the markets. Lycra with beadwork, stretch net and leather stretch are also good buys. All said and done though, it is the three-quarter shorts teamed with short T-shirts — in popular business parlance called Jamaican set — that the market is awash with.

Shoes are needed to make any outfit look all the more fashionable. Dress shoes and pretty rubber-soled slip-ons for girls are available in the city markets and are easy buys. For boys, the market is flooded with runners, sports shoes that can take all the abuse of pandal hopping. The Bata and Liberty showrooms and Sohum Shoppe are good destinations.