When Samantha Meiler shops for her son, she has a very specific look in mind: designer jeans, velour track suits, L.A.M.B. sneakers, a sporty-urban vibe.

"My son's style is very Kingston," she says, referring to Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's boy. "I make no qualms about it. I see pictures of Kingston and I say, 'I want that outfit for my son.'"

Of course, Rossdale is still a toddler, and Meiler's son is just 21 months old. But they're part of a growing set of pint-sized fashion plates, wearing shrunken-down versions of trendy adult clothes.

In the past few years, the obsession with dressing little kids like Dogtown skaters, Malibu moms and Upper East Side socialites has hit a new, Suri-high level.

More clothing firms are producing what the rag trade refers to as mini-me clothes on every price level. Marquee American designers, such as Phillip Lim and Marc Jacobs, are turning out Lilliputian renditions of clothes that sail down the runway each season.

The fast-fashion folk have followed suit: H&M and Zara are turning out mini-me looks for kids of all sizes.

Lisa Kline, who owns four boutiques and one kids' store, said everything she buys, including Chip & Pepper jeans and C&C California tees, is a shrunken version of looks you might see on styled-out grown-ups.

Her sales staff uses celebrity kids mania as a selling tool, pointing out which Kingsley shirt Maddox Jolie-Pitt was recently seen in. "People care about that stuff," she says.

"Kids are getting more informed these days about what labels their favourite celebrities wear, and want to emulate their favourite role model," said Serge Azria, designer for contemporary women's line Joie.

These tots might not be moving $3,000 Balenciaga bags, but after Tom Cruise's chubby-cheeked daughter Suri (recently fitted for a pair of custom Christian Louboutin shoes) was seen in a belted Burberry dress, the house's signature nova check plaid started popping up on kids all over L.A.

But what rational person pays $180 for a Burberry shirt-dress or $150 for a Little Marc (Marc Jacobs) swing coat for a human being still working out how to twist the cap on a bottle of Elmer's? Sure, there are christenings and special events that justify a special purchase, but for some -- even some with money to burn -- buying duds that cost more than weekly groceries smacks of waste.

Ali Froley, a mother of two young children who runs the L.A. office of a public relations company, said buying expensive clothes that mimic adult fashion "is a waste of money and I think it's weird. It's freaky when moms have mini-mes running around. And kids grow out of things so quickly, I don't see the point."

But for some parents it's another way to assert their style and affluence. "You can live out your fashion fantasies through your kids," says Meiler, who dissects duds worn by Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, Violet Affleck and other celebrity offspring for Life & Style.