WHEN DO WE EAT? Ellie's Party duds won't stay clean for long.

When you have kids, holding on to the last vestiges of your own hobbies and sense of style can be a challenge, what with limited free time and an excess of sticky little fingers everywhere. Fortunately, three clever entrepreneurs have figured out ways to express what's important to them through their kids' clothing designs, proving that necessity is indeed the mother—and father—of invention.

The Foodie
A baby's first solid food represents a milestone to any parent, but if mom's got gourmet taste, that first spoonful of bland rice cereal can be quite a letdown. Jenny Davis, a writer, editor and mother who has a passion for food and wine, didn't let her daughter Ellie's boring baby food get her down. Envisioning all the yummy things that lay ahead for her young daughter, she created Ellie's Party, a line of clever onesies, bibs and toddler T-shirts channeling what she calls the "growing gourmand" in every child.

"Ellie already had the onesie that said: I'M SMARTER THAN THE PRESIDENT," Davis says. "I figured, why not flaunt her sippy cup skills?" In 2003, the SIPPEE CUP SIMMELIER design was born, along with other slogans fit for minigastronomes like HOLDING OUT FOR CHOCOLATE MILK, ASPIRING FOODIE AND I'LL AND I'LL HAVE THE DOMESTIC WHITE.

Davis's online business has received orders from fellow foodies on both coasts and everywhere in between, including a number of professional chefs, cookbook authors, and food and wine writers. She's already sold 700 onesies and T-shirts so far this year. Looking for a way to connect with older kids and encourage a new generation of food lovers, she recently launched Coco's Kitchen, which sells items like a cheery yellow book bag emblazoned with FOLLOW ME TO THE KITCHEN, and a T-shirt that junior chefs can write on with washable markers to announce what they're cooking.

"I want to offer products that help get families into the kitchen together," Davis says. "If you can spend quality time with your kids and get something done in the process, it doesn't get much better than that."

The Hipster

So many mothers of boys lament about the lack of cool clothing options available when they shop for their sons: There's the stuff that's too precious (Peter Pan collars), and then the stuff that's too boring (standard-issue polo shirts). Wilmette mom Julia Finlayson, a former executive at an advertising postproduction company, didn't like what she saw, either, and decided to do something about it.

"I was just so bored with the clothing options that were out there," says Finlayson, who has two boys. "I wasn't seeing interesting designs or colors. I wanted what lots of other parents want—for their kids to be a reflection of themselves and look cool, just not like miniature adults."

Her solution came in the form of Fooey Inc., a company she launched with friend and graphic designer Kent Rayhill last year to make infant and toddler shirts. Fooey's designs—for both boys and girls—emphasize rich colors, such as pumpkin and deep olive-green, and funky, bold illustrations of things like tools, boom boxes and paper airplanes.

"We base our designs on what we think is hip and funny, but we take into account what kids like, too," says Finlayson, whose designs also include a jive turkey T-shirt guaranteed to make parents smirk. "I want my four-year-old to think he's putting on a cool shirt."

Fooey's sales in the first year have reached just over $100,000, and what Finlayson originally envisioned as a hobby Internet business she'd run out of her basement now distributes to some of the hippest children's clothing retailers across the country.

"It just shows that plenty of people have the same aesthetic," Finlayson says. "No one wants to dress their kids in crappy sweats and a Barney T-shirt."

The Chicago Guy

Remember those IN DUSTY WE TRUSTY T-shirts that people started wearing en masse during the Cubs' 2003 playoff bid? Those were the idea of Chris Festa, and they caught on big enough for him to turn sidewalk sales of the shirts into an online apparel business, FestaStuff.com.

Based on the success he had celebrating his team pride, Festa next turned to creating slogans based on the loyalty he felt to his adopted hometown of Chicago. He started selling his apparel in local boutiques, and eventually spun off designs touting hometown allegiance in other parts of the country.

Not yet a father himself, Festa kept hearing from parents urging him to branch out into the children's market, wanting his shirts for their own children. "They'd tell me how much people love to spend money on their kids," he says. "I realized parents want their kids to start developing a sense of connection to their community, so our designs would speak to the same people who might buy a child a Cubs or Bulls outfit."

Festa debuted kid-friendly versions of his adult styles in October 2004: The 773 FOR-EVER shirt pleads don't let my mom and dad move to naperville. The response was immediate, with wholesale and retail sales reaching $5,000 so far. "These are conversation starters for kids and parents, but the message is really for the parents," he says. "You have to appeal to them because they're the ones buying the clothes."

Ellie's Party and Coco's Kitchen products are available online at www.cafepress.com. Fooey is available in Chicago at Active Kids, Little Threads, LMNOP and Red Balloon, and online at www.fooeyusa.com. Festa Stuff kids' shirts are available at Little Threads in Chicago, Mona Lisa in Palos Heights and at www.festastuff.com.