John Davidson finds that he doesn't even

have to grit his teeth as he works the

child charmers in their designer duds

HERE'S a recipe for potential trouble. Take three children. Add lights, camera, photographer, and a massive pile of clothes. And there is plenty of scope for a major mishap.

I've been around for long enough to know that no-one of sound mind should ever agree to work with children or animals. But there's no point in dreaming of a day when children are obliged to stay in school (and therefore in school uniform) 365 days a year. Weekends and holidays are an unavoidable fact of family life. Right now, most children are right in the midst of the longest school holiday of all - the summer break. They need to have clothes which will meet all practical concerns. And it is my job to investigate the best options on offer.

Childrenswear should, of course, be machine-washable, colourfast, and tough enough for tree-climbing, mud-wrestling, or food-fighting. But practicality is only a starting point. I mean, have you actually been shopping for childrenswear lately? I can tell you that it has become a daunting experience. Fashion has insinuated itself into every childrenswear outlet, rendering clothes for juniors just as trend-led as any every other category of contemporary clothing.

Pint-sized ``designer'' fashion? Absolutely! Ralph Lauren, Moschino and Versace are all conspiring to catch their customers young. Very young. Yet at prices matched to the cachet of the full-sized labels. At a lower price level, a plethora of logo-laden mini-size merchandise is now available from leading sportswear or jeanswear brands such as Joe Bloggs and Pepe. But the value-conscious high street stores have never done a better job at interpreting the demands of this younger generation. Their childrenswear departments are ablaze with colour - positively pulsating with upbeat, contemporary styling.

Kids, you quite probably already know, actually have an opinion these days - make that an informed opinion, about what is the right thing to be wearing. And far from being seen but not heard, today's junior shoppers can be only too vocal in their responses to the choices on offer.

In fairness, models Andrew, Cleo and Holly were a trouble-free trio. But when questioned directly, all three agreed on a preference for casual clothes over starchy ``Sunday best'' or anything remotely reminiscent of life on Walton's mountain. A pretty dress? Ughh! But western-style denim shirts? Or colourful T-shirts? Now those were rather more to their liking.......if I had known it was going to be so straightforward, I'd have booked some animals too.