'Stylish' kids: fashion or farce?

'Stylish' kids: fashion or farce?


It was American design great Bill Blass who said in perfectly understated terms: "Style is primarily a matter of instinct."

What the late Blass might say, then, to learning that a six-month-old is on the "most stylish children" list is probably best left at a long, bored, groan.

A UK website, TwistedTwee, has gone out of its way to coax public opinion as to the world's most stylish child.

The resulting rollcall, a who's who of children in celebrity news, is as stultifying as it is tawdry.

The winner is... Suri Cruise. At the age of six, the progeny of the ill-fated Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes union reportedly has a wardrobe valued at an astonishing $1.96million.

While her parents fill column inches for all the wrong reasons, Suri is apparently able to hold her own in the style stakes. This, despite not being allowed to cross the road alone.

Next up is Beyoncé and Jay-Z's baby, Ivy Blue - and this is where the list descends from risible into the downright farcical.

I have seen precisely two photos of six-month-old Ivy without being shrouded from lenses. Ever. I could no sooner isolate her style as I could guess how many feeds she has a day.

She can't sleep through a night or sit up, for goodness' sake, let alone exercise her fine aesthetic judgement when it comes to her complex daily wardrobe needs.

In third place is Willow Smith, of Will Smith fame. That old-timer, Willow, 11, is an edgy dresser (and has been since the tender age of seven) there is no doubt - what this says about her days of play and innocence is another question.

Fourth is Nicole Richie's daughter Harlow, who, at four, we hope is mastering her alphabet rather than agonising over which pair of shoes she should wear to the sandpit.

Capping the top five is Harper Seven Beckham. She may only be one, but Harper is no stranger to sartorial accolades. In fact Victoria and David's girl was recently named most stylish celebrity baby - and was named, at JUST TWO MONTHS OLD, the hottest young celebrity under the age of 25. To put that in perspective, Lady Gaga, international pop star, came in at 99th.

These children (ok, Willow, you are excused) are wearing clothes bought for them, given to them, gifted to them from designers. Like hand-me-downs and school uniforms, they don't have much choice in the matter - their designer rags are taken care of by mothers, fathers and nannies.

Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn't children be out playing and getting up to mischief, not watching runways and taking style notes?

And any baby whose fashion prowess is being celebrated before they can eat solid foods is probably going to have a warped view of their place in the world as they do learn to walk, talk... and, yes, dress.

At its best, the list of world's most stylish children is something of a ludicrous misnomer, perhaps more accurately named the richest children list, the probably-quite-spoilt children list, the children most likely to be styled. Or simply, a list of children who happen to have been born to very famous, PR-driven parents.

At its worst, the tally is a terrifying indictment of how fame and money at a young age somehow translate to natural talent and style instinct in the adult world.