Kevin Courtneyon cool clothes for daddy's little rocker
Dadrocker's all on his own this week: little Daniel has scooted off to Italy with his mother, leaving me rattling around in an empty house. It's deathly quiet around here - I miss the cries, the screams and the wails. And that's just his mum.
At least I had my turn earlier this summer, gallivanting off to Chicago under the pretext of writing a few things for this paper. This was seen in certain quarters of our household as "getting away with it", but I assured herself I would be working hard, shopping and sightseeing for our readers' benefit.
To assuage my guilt while in Chicago, I dropped in to Baby Gap on Michigan Avenue and picked up some cool stuff for Daniel. Up to then, I had never really given much thought to the whole baby clothes thing - just get a few babygros in Dunnes. But seeing Daniel in his surf dude T-shirt and combats from Baby Gap, I realised how important it is to get your sprog into the right gear: you've worked hard at cultivating a rock'n'roll image, so don't ruin it by having your kid dressed like your dad.
When Bon Jovi drummer Tico Torres was hanging out with his rock star pals, he noticed that, though everyone was sporting fashionable threads, their kids were all wearing the same boring old baby clothes. So
Tico started Rock Star Baby, a range of infantwear that would seriously kick ass. Only problem is, when you put your little rocker into Rock Star Baby T-shirt, hat, pants and hoodie,
he looks like Fred Durst from Limp Bizkit.
Another clothing line, My Rock Star Baby, has clicked
with the celebrity set. There's Shiloh Pitt, son of Brangelina, sporting his "Potty Like a Rock Star" T-shirt in OK! magazine. And check out Coco Arquette, daughter of David and Courteney, looking too cool for playschool. How about an AB/CD logo for the little metalhead in your life, or an iPoo'd logo for your techie tot? Or a pair of Babybans to give your kid that thousand-yard, rock-star gaze.
If all that seems tame, Metal Babies has a killer range of T-shirts and one-pieces for your little demon, featuring skulls, pentagrams and burning teddy bears, plus Motörkid, Twisted Li'l Sister and Maternica - Spill 'Em All T-Shirts.
Strolling around on Chicago's west side, I came across the one baby shop to rule 'em all: Psycho Baby on Damen Avenue. This place has everything you need to ensure your baby is the coolest kid in the creche. There's a range of T-shirts featuring the real Ramones, Blondie, Bob Marley, The Who and The Rolling Stones, plus a pacifier that says "mute button" and some hip nappy bags and baby wipe sets.
But wait - if I dress Daniel up like a rock star now, might he end up rebelling against his parents and "go nerdy" in his teens? So, maybe a Coldplay T-shirt to start with, and he can work his way up to the cool stuff. Believe me, Daniel, you'll thank me for it.
