Like Father, Son and Daughter : Fashion: The man behind Match-N-Dad thought youngsters’ apparel was kid stuff, so he came up with togs based on his own cool clothing.

Children who idolize their fathers want to act like them and even dress like them. Trouble is, dad would look silly in a giant pair of OshKosh overalls.

A new clothing company in Newport Beach called Match-N-Dad is ready to change all that. Match-N-Dad makes sophisticated sportswear for fathers and their children, including matching volley shorts and T-shirts in big sizes for dads and small sizes (12 months to 6 toddler) for sons and daughters.

Match-N-Dad will be carried at Nordstrom starting May 15.

The idea for Match-N-Dad was born when a new father, Robert Wilcox, was sitting around with friends discussing fatherhood.

Wilcox and friends--an active bunch of weekend warriors who love to play on the beach or by the pool--wanted to include their sons and daughters in their activities. That led to a proposal: Wouldn’t it be fun to dress their children in the same cool shorts and T-shirts they throw on when they go fishing, boating, swimming?

Most would have let the idea drop there, but not Wilcox.

“I kept thinking about it. I told my wife, ‘Gosh, what a great idea,’ ” said the 33-year-old Wilcox, who lives with his wife on the cliffs overlooking the ocean in Solana Beach and spends much of his time in shorts.

Wilcox teamed up with another father who had experience in manufacturing beachwear, and now Wilcox and his 21-month-old daughter pal around together in the company’s matching volley shorts.

Match-N-Dad’s summer line features cotton or nylon volley shorts, as well as T-shirts and baseball-style caps. All garments coordinate with each other through matching color, trim or fabric. The baseball caps, for instance, are made of the same printed material as the shorts.

The volley shorts come in solid colors or bright geometric and abstract prints with the Match-N-Dad logo embroidered on the leg. One style features a funky leaf print in blue, purple and green, while another has white triangles floating against a dark background.

“Sometimes the kid’s stuff is too cartoonish,” Wilcox said. “This is more classic.”

A company goal is to move children away from the “sloppy flannel look” sported by skaters and snow-boarders and get them into a clean, sophisticated look.

Wilcox decided there was a strong market for father-child clothing because so many people in his age group had gone from being DINKS (double-income, no-kid couples) in the ‘80s to parents in the ‘90s.

“In the ‘80s so many of my friends were out there having fun. Nobody had kids,” he said. “Now when we get together with friends there are kids climbing all over the place.”

Once he had the concept for Match-N-Dad, he conducted what he calls “informal market research” to make sure the project would fly. He simply asked everyone he knew who had small children what they thought of the idea.

“The response was always fantastic,” he said. “Even moms liked the idea.” Mothers can find shorts for their husbands and children now without going to different departments.

One group Wilcox didn’t need to persuade was the children; most toddlers worship their fathers and want nothing more than to dress exactly like dad, he said.

Nordstrom also liked the idea after seeing the company’s summer collection. The retailer will carry Match-N-Dad in the men’s sportswear department at 12 of its stores, including South Coast Plaza, Brea Mall and MainPlace in Santa Ana. Volley shorts cost about $36 for dads and $18 for children.

By midsummer Match-N-Dad plans to expand its line to include pleated walking shorts, Brazilian-influenced volley shorts with matching hats, heavy weight T-shirts and over-sized Polo-style shirts. For winter, Match-N-Dad will add sweat pants and shirts to its collection.

What makes Wilcox sure the venture will succeed despite a stubborn recession? He cites the growth of children’s apparel and the increased emphasis on the family in the ‘90s. Men are taking a greater interest in their children, he said, from participating in childbirth to getting up in the middle of the night to feed the baby.

“We’re riding the wave of young couples who are having children and going back to family values,” he said.