Click to download a PDF of Mini Me.
Who: Verne Troyer, American Girl’s “Dress Like Your Doll” program, “celebrity” Pinterest kid Quinoa, fans of Minecraft and some high caliber fashion houses who understand the value in capturing their customers at an early age—Armani, Hugo Boss, Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci—all of which have children’s collections.

What: Grown up styling, kid’s sizes. Children these days know what’s up. When they head back to school they want to look cool, not cutesy. So many brands are doing away with the juvenile colors and cartoon characters to offer scaled down adult frames for this age group.

Wear: (Top to Bottom) Part of their recently launched First collection featuring the brand’s distinctive design aesthetic for kids and teens, the Mykita Flip is a classic panto made of stainless steel sealed with a rubber coating for a scratch-resistant surface. The Superflex Kids collection from WestGroupe jives with the company’s overall offering of colorful and unique frames; the 2-tone SFK-147 is a full rim, stainless steel frame for tweens. Made for the girl who has a knack for pizazz, the Lucky Brand D701 from REM showcases a small cat eye silhouette and an acetate chevron pattern outside to embrace youthful feminine style. Carrera from Safilo has introduced a refreshed new collection of Carrera Junior frames for 6- to 12-year-old boys and girls based on the brand’s “Out There” lifestyle concept, here the Carrerino 52. Ogi Eyewear’s Ogi Kids Mommy & Me, Daddy & I collection features a series of coordinating adult and child-sized frames modeled after the best-selling adult styles, here the OK321 patterned after the men’s 4508.

Why: Because what is cuter than kids who dress better than you do? Kid’s these days get exposed to a lot and it has changed their universe of reference. They are beginning to establish their own opinions and tastes when it comes to their style and adults are some of their biggest influences. Not to mention that there are still kids who are not happy they have to wear glasses so giving them something cool instead of kiddie can go a long way.

dcarroll@jobson.com