Regression just got rad. Go back to being a child – okay you can’t but you’ll want to – at Mal, a new Colaba store where designers like Savio Jon achieve shrinkage with style. Wait, that came out wrong. Let’s take it from the top (and pair it with a Shraddha Nigam bottom): Mal is a multi-designer store for kiddies aged 0 to 11 – its flagship space sits in Juhu - where big designers create small clothes.  Size zero, indeed!

Baby, It’s a Wild World

A spin around the split level store showed, not surprisingly, cute loot with pricey tags. A party dress or shirt for instance, will set you back by about Rs 3,000.
Babies, if you’ve spent just a few days in this world, start at level one. It’s rough out there and you’ll be feeling the heat soon, so be prepared with airy kurta pajama sets in white and pastels. Also see rack of barely-there jhablas that sweaty grown-ups will wish came in their size, and a bunch of gay bikinis. Older kids can browse cotton-candy like dresses by Sonya Vajifdar, bohemian slip-on saris by Sonali Mansingka and a random assortment of kaftans.

Upstairs gets fancier with little wooden cupboards dedicated to Savio Jon’s fresh white cotton shirts and Pero’s signature checked dresses. Special mention to the carousel of boys’ Indian clothes featuring Jodhpur pants, breeches and wrap waistcoats. You can even rummage through a shoe cabinet, where brown and orange leather Kolhapuris, soft suede loafers and ballet ties lie in wait of little feet.

Be Warned

Now kids, if you have just one trump tantrum up your sleeve, use it for the luscious red Pero dress crafted from cotton silk, way too cool for school.  We did the same for the grown up version at Bombay Electric down the street, and it worked.

Live from the city playground tonight, it’s Fitz and The Tantrums featuring You!

Getting there: Mal, Florence House, shop no 10, Meriweather Road, behind Taj Mahal Hotel, Colaba, call 65294425, Rs 4,000 for a Pero dress.