Columnist Muriel Stevens: At Mervyn’s, sales are child’s play

Wednesday, April 2, 2003 | 8:13 a.m.

Shopping for Easter togs for the kids? Mervyn's has some neat garb that will please parents and the kids. The photos that accompanied the Mervyn's Easter story showed an adorable group of youngsters (sizes toddler to teenager) dressed in a terrific selection of duds at terrific prices.

One of my favorites is the Van Heusen four-piece suit for boys in sizes four to seven -- trousers, vest, tie and shirt ($30). Nothing fussy, just simple styling that most kids wouldn't mind wearing.

Mervyn's has three new shoe brands for toddlers (Carter's, Munchkins and Osh Kosh B'Gosh), a host of brands offering easy-to-launder clothes and an extensive selection of accessories for boys and girls.

Some tips for shopping for kids' clothes: Easiest of all is shopping for babies and tots. They don't have to be with you, and no matter what you buy, they'll wear it. Youngsters ages 4 and older, however, have a mind of their own and a style sense that more than likely won't jibe with yours.

Let a kid choose what to wear when young and sassy, and later in life when he or she sees the photos, they may say (as mine did), "you sure dressed me funny when I was little." Of course, it's all in good fun.

There's no easy way to convince a child that he/she doesn't really want to wear that weird combination of colors and clothing, so before leaving the house to shop, make a list of what the two of you are going to buy. Then decide who picks what.

Playing this game with a boy is a snap (unless he's a teenager); girls, even young ones, require patience and more money than you expected to spend.

Buy clothes that fit. I remember shopping with a friend who bought clothes two sizes larger for both of her boys. "They'll grow into them," she'd say. No, they didn't. They always looked like they were wearing someone else's stuff, and by the time the shirt or whatever fit, it was no longer fit to wear.

We've got oodles of stores that have terrific departments for kids and youths -- Macy's, Nordstrom, Dillard's, Saks and Neiman Marcus and plenty of cool specialty shops. Accept the fact that from age 12 or older, you are no longer in control. Buy what they don't want and they won't wear it.

Shop early. The selection is better, and just in case you can't con the kids you still control into dressing the way you want them to and have to return another day, a smaller selection of choices might make life easier.

Chef togs for wanna-bes: Remember the craze awhile back when young folks were wearing the green or blue baggy attire worn by hospital operating room staff? Now it's chef's wear that's hot. Baggy pants in a riot of colors can double for gym clothes. Streamlined cargo pants and shorts and neck scarves and comfy shoes and accessories are available by mail order from ChefWear.

Since the advent of celebrity chefs and the proliferation of television cooking shows, kids want to cook too, so ChefWear offers pint-size cooking duds for kids: aprons, caps and hats of every description, including berets, as well as Nicole Miller designs.

Prices are moderate. To order a catalog, call (800)568-2433 or go online to chefwear.com.