Tiki a new look at kids’ clothes

Ryan Carter

Amy Kitchen’s new children’s clothing store is not for children with

a dull sense of style.

She and her husband, Andy, recently opened Tiki Party, a store for

children that Kitchen hopes will help match a child’s personality

with the right wardrobe.

The store opened in September at 444 Foothill Blvd.

“What we’ve set out to do is revolutionize shopping for kids,”

said Kitchen, who lives in La Crescenta. “We want it to be a fun

experience for them and for them to be able to pick from a selection

of clothes that fit their personality.”

That selection includes clothes with a trendier, stylish edge,

like girls’ jeans adorned with rhinestones and boys’ bowling shirts

with fire-flame designs. It is stuff you might see on adults, but is

sized for infants to young teens, up to size 16. Not only that, but

workers help fit and match clothing to the style whims of their young

customers.

Kitchen, an artist who quit her job in the computer industry to

start the business, said the area lacks such a trendy retail

experience for children.

“We give people in the area a local alternative,” Kitchen said,

adding that not even The Gap or Old Navy can offer the funky retail

niche that Tiki Party does.

The store itself is touted as a bit alternative.

“When you walk in, it can be overwhelming,” said stylist Kimberly

Wilson, whom Amy and Andy recruited from a similar store in Dallas.

“There is so much going on. It’s all so different. But our whole

thing is shopping should be fun.”

That means playing music children like, and having funky things to

look at, like a dressing room designed with a shower motif and

ceiling portions decorated with cocktail umbrellas.

Accessories to buy include furry phones in leopard skin print

coverings and sassy jewelry.

Still, Kitchen said she was very conscious of not going too over

the top, particularly with the name. The name of the store was a

result of Kitchen and her husbands’ love for tiki parties before they

became more popular, she said.

“We wanted something fun, not babyish,” she said of the name. “We

didn’t want to come up with anything too feminine, to scare away

boys. Trendy and fun, yes, but still kind of timeless.”