Suri Cruise, eat your heart out – there’s an even more adorable 3 year old about to steal the limelight. And she’s already beaten you in the style stakes: this one already has her own clothing line!

Meet Anaïs, the impossibly cute daughter of Jane D’Haene, designer and founder of kid’s clothing line Anaïs & I. Jane, a former interior architect at a big firm in New York City, quit her job 4 years ago during her difficult pregnancy to focus completely on her daughter. She loved dressing her little girl up, but often couldn’t find what she liked or simply found the clothes too expensive, so she took a few evening classes in the Garment District to learn the basics of how to sew.

Everything else is completely self-taught, but Jane found lots of similarities between her former job as an architect and making patterns. Pretty soon the other neighbourhood moms started to notice Anaïs’ stylish clothes and would ask Jane to make some for them too. The rest, as they say, is history.

What makes the brand so special is the mother-daughter combo. Jane works with Anaïs on every item, as these are the clothes she actually needs to wear herself. She’s a strong-willed girl, who will tell her mother when something is uncomfortable or when she doesn’t like something. The big pockets featured on most of the AW10 collection were actually completely Anaïs’ idea (good for putting lots of stuff in, right?). From a mommy perspective, Jane makes sure everything is machine washable. All the pieces are made in NY.

Being a recent auntie to two little nephews myself, the world of kid’s clothing has only just opened up to me, and it’s so nice to see that there’s a middle road between Baby Gap (adore it, but…) and Little Marc (gorgeous, but expensive!). Now Jane has 2 little boys, she’s working on a boys and baby range for next season too, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for that.

Have a look on the Anaïs & I facebook page for the latest news and the full lookbook, where you can also contact Jane. The brand will soon be stocked in Europe I’ve been told.
www.anaisandi.com