Bring Back Baby Phat!

I revisit brands often thinking about what brands were just awful from the start. I use my youth as to excuse most of it because hey, we were all kids. I think 90’s babies were the last group who spent their time dressing our appropriate age. Aeropostale in middle school was cool but the butterfly logo on a short didn't seem as if it would last too long. Bobby Jack shirts? Very middle-school like and I see how that faded as well.

But seriously, how did Baby Phat go out of style?

When Baby Phat was thriving, it wasn't age appropriate for me. I was in 3rd-6th grade. By the time I tried to wear the brand, it was already becoming a distant memory. I was a 9th grader that was more interested in what styles my friends were wearing, what they preferred, in the phase of a temporary obsession with name-brands, and none of my friends were buying Baby Phat at all. This brand was amongst my favorite that I never got to ask my father to splurge his money on when it came to spoiling his only child.

Brand created by Kimora Lee Simmons, Baby Phat embodied sassiness, spunk, and attitude even if you did not know the girl that was wearing it. The simple cursive letter cat symbol was a design just made you feel like you were the “it” girl, and it let you know that whoever was wearing it was the "it" girl, no matter who the design was on.

It was artists and models throughout the early to mid-2000's that made it their go-to brand. It embodied sass. It embodied prep. The brand was so on-brand for the average American Girl that it made wanting a flip phone in the early 2000's more desirable than it already was. It made the average Motorola Flip Phone go from a normal cellular device to wanting to get your hands on a flip phone just to get this customization. No one has a flip phone anymore, but imagine this design on your Samsung? Your iPhone?

Or this daring top from the late singer, Aaliyah. She was known as the Music Industry’s “Baby Girl” due to her soft singing voice and innocence, but the industry was reminded that she was still a young adult and was allowed to dress as boldly as she pleased. After releasing her first sensual or "sexual" hit Rock The Boat, the young artist began to dress more of her age for that time. A simple top from Baby Phat made one of the first few bold statement!

The brand inspired the #8 2003 hit ‘In Those Jeans’ by Ginuwine, a song about wanting to make love to a woman because he was attracted to how good she looked in her jeans. Pointed title, of course, but the women in the video who didn’t necessarily have the best looking butts. They weren't plump, but they managed to hug the slim figures of the models. This is quite common with most jeans, but something about the Baby Phat jeans just made what appeared to be "scrawny" figures pop.

In my early teens, I often struggled with my confidence because I didn’t have the big butt that most girls my age had. I wanted that firm jean fit that matched the thick figure. Sounds like an exaggeration, but watching this video when I got older, Baby Phat was the first clothing brand that made me think, “You know what, I can rock a flat ass just as well as those girls, if not better!” The brand just made girls want to channel their inner Regina George glam, even if you weren't a mean girl. It was high maintenance clothing with an urban style to match.

Even their jewelry was bad ass!

Denim’s sorta coming back, right? Not really? Well, who gives a crap! Plain solid, checkered or business-liked skirts are boring. Bring back Rockstar-like skirts with spunk like this with old bedazzled decorations, glitter, and wording!

Their track suits, are you kidding me?

Again, seriously, how did this clothing brand go out of style?