The other day I popped into my local Contemporary Culture Library (you may know it as the nail salon) to do a little research. Because I was captive for a two-hour appointment (I was trying out a new kind of manicure that lasts three weeks and only needs touch-ups for a few weeks after that), I had ample time to peruse the literature (“junky tabloids” sounds so harsh). Despite the manager of the salon swearing that no one had been able to read a magazine while undergoing the complicated procedure involving wet nails going in and out of the UV-light dryer thingy, I managed.

Anyhoo, I came across a little blurb in a June US Weekly about the clothing Jessica Alba’s little baby girl Honor Marie was receiving. One of the items? A snap-up, multi-color footed one-piece outfit—a glorified onesie with feet—by Petit Bateaux...for $48. Whoa. I mean it was adorable, with lilac and red stripes on a white background, but still, Little Honor would only be hanging out in her crib wearing the thing for a few weeks (days, even) before she outgrew it  or had some messy explosive “output” in it, or it was rotated out of her wardrobe line-up so she could wear another of the many other oh-so-adorable outfits hanging in her already stuffed closet. 

Yes, it’s been awhile since I priced out everyday baby clothes for my kids, but still. If I were outfitting or gifting a newborn today, I’d so head right to Tar-jaay or Old Navy. Anyone else experiencing sticker shock about the prices of  those little scraps of fabric that the designers call clothing for the wee ones?