Rich toddlers draw fashion designers' eyes [View all]

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Rich toddlers draw fashion designers' eyes

By Anne D'Innocenzio, Associated Press

NEW YORK – Juliet Sandler dresses in the latest $650 dresses and $400 shoes from Parisian fashion house Lanvin. Juliet is 3.

Her mother, Dara Sandler, says she dresses her daughter in the latest fashions because Juliet is a reflection of her — even though her daughter can't spell the names of the designers, let alone pay for their clothes.

"I dress my daughter exactly the way I dress myself," says the 33-year-old Manhattan mother, who spent $10,000 for her daughter's summer wardrobe. She plans to spend a few thousand dollars more for fall.

Top fashion designers are pushing more expensive duds for the increasingly lucrative affluent toddler demographic. This fall, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, and Marni launched collections for the pint-sized. Luxury stores Nordstrom and Bergdorf Goodman are expanding their children's areas to make room for the newcomers, many of them with higher price tags. Late last year, Gucci, which launched a children's collection two years ago, opened its first children's store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue.

Look at the bright side: maybe they'll be too busy shopping on the day of the election to vote.