Ali Landry Starts the Season; Talks Baby Style

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Actress Ali Landry poses with husband Alejandro Monteverde and 16-month-old daughter Estela Ines at the Hollywood Christmas Celebration at The Grove, held Friday in Los Angeles. The family started the holiday season off with a bang, lighting the giant Christmas tree at the shopping center.

As usual, Estela was dressed to the nines in a gold dress topped with a sweater coat and accessorized with red shoes and a bow. Ali recently spoke to CBB about why she loves classic baby style for her daughter.

“[For myself,] I’m a bargain shopper extraordinaire. We’re talking $20 for the shoes. For my baby I do not go cheap chic. I fly to Louisiana and buy all her clothes there, because I am very much classic, traditional [for] Estela. When we’re out and about people are like, ‘Oh, it’s a baptism. Oh, it’s a party.’ I’m like, ‘No, we dress her like this every day.’

I put her in bonnets till just a few weeks ago and she wears the shoes, little socks with the ruffles, a bow in her hair. She’s always completely dressed and very classic baby. I refuse to do trendy. Babies — in my opinion — should not be trendy; they’re a baby for a very short amount of time; they should look like a baby. Now she’s 16 months and she wears dresses; I never put her in a pair of pants ever.”

Comments

Hmm. I appreciate her desire to have this perfect looking little baby – but it can’t really be all about what SHE wants. She is a child, not a barbie doll. Sometimes we have to let go of our fantasies and let our children be themselves.

- Susan on November 24th, 2008

Wow! “No pants ever.” Well, I guess she’s taking full advantage of this time to dress her daughter in a style she likes while her daughter doesn’t have the mouth to talk back and say, “No mom…I don’t like these clothes!” Since Ali has the cash to do this then more power to her!

- Janet on November 24th, 2008

This little girl is beautiful and lucky to have such great parents. But I couldn’t imagine going all the way to another state just to buy my childrens clothing. But if I had their money things would be different.

- Randi on November 24th, 2008

Kids are not accessories. And since when is wearing dresses all the time the same thing as dressing like a baby?

- Elena on November 24th, 2008

Well I understand what she’s saying. A lot of clothes for baby/toddler girls nowadays are just shrunken down versions of women’s clothing.

I love the classic look and always think Estela looks beautiful. But I also think once she starts preschool or needs more play clothes Ali will have to adjust her expectations.

- Brandi on November 24th, 2008

Give her a few months! That little girl will be tearing off those hairbows and frilly socks before we know it. Keeping on a simple metal-clasp clip and plain white socks is an everyday battle with my 2 year old!

- Anne on November 24th, 2008

I can appreciate that she is honest about her feelings about dressing a little girl… but what’s wrong with a pair of pants? There are some really cute little pants outfits out there, that would even be considered ‘party clothes’ if that’s what’s important to her.

Her perspective is the complete opposite of my sense of appropriateness for children (I think kids should be dressed in comfortable clothes for playing, because it’s their job to play, not look like a living doll)… but she is right about the classicness of children’s clothing. Seeing little ones in things that look like shrunken adult clothes just always make me uncomfortable.

- Mrs. R. on November 24th, 2008

I can appreciate the sentiment, though I dont think i would go quite as far as she has gone with her girl. But in shopping for clothes for my son, I get exasperated most times because so many of the choices have obnoxious sayings on them like, “I’m kind of a big deal”. I cant stand that kind of thing. Is it so hard to make a plain blue shirt? Are you telling me there isnt a market for that? Why is it so hard to find?

- Stanley on November 24th, 2008

Totally agree with Susan on this one!
I think her attitude toward dressing her daughter is a bit much. There are so many more important things out there, and this just seems really petty. Just my honest opinion

- mary on November 24th, 2008

Amen! So refreshing to hear someone say that they’re only babies for a short time and there is plenty of time to be trendy later. What a beautiful baby. Classic suits her very well!

- Jane on November 24th, 2008

I agree about childrens clothing being shrunken down versions of adult’s clothes. After my son was six months I felt like I was supposed to dress him in jeans and button downs! So many babies I saw were in jeans, with button closures and everything. I only put him in jeans that have a knit elastic waist or he doesn’t wear them at all. What’s wrong with sweatpants for a kid?

I think babies should be able to dress like babies for much longer than people actually dress them like that. Comfortably. Let’s not even talk about toddlers potty training and button pants…

- crg on November 24th, 2008

I love the way that Ali dresses her daughter. They are only so complacent about what they wear for so long, so all the power to her. My mum dressed me like that when I was a baby. I was always in bonnet, dresses with matching accessories and socks. I did wear pants, but never jeans. Things changed as I got older but still to this day I am very much a girly girl and more comfortable in dresses and skirts than in pants!

- Devon on November 24th, 2008

I have always dressed my daughter really ‘girly’ with dresses, coats, skirts, bows, hats, etc. She does also wear jeans and tennis for school and the park, but I always like to put a bow or a cute headband…I just love bows!! lol and my daughter has always liked them and hats and sunglasses too! lol

Anyway…her daughter is adorable…and in my opinion she has the right to dress her how she feels appropiate some little girls love the bows and tights and dresses, and hats and sunglasses, mine sure does!

- Bren on November 24th, 2008

Beautiful little girl and she is dressed adorable. Its funny to me that with Suri Cruise people are always saying how cute she looks in her dresses but this woman tells the truth about how she likes to dress her child and there are immediate negative comments about it…

- Care on November 24th, 2008

Good point Care. I love the classic baby looks like 40′s,50′s, and maybe a little 60′s. They’re adorable to me, I even know a site where they sell vintage clothes. It’s called Grammie’s Attic. I love bonnets, I can’t wait to have a girl so I can put a bonnet on her.

- Jessica on November 24th, 2008

I’m with her on that one, Estela is still very young, it’s not like she’s going to run away and play and get dirty. If she’s taking her somewhere why not put her in cute classic dresses? You can only wear that kind of frilly stuff when you’re a baby! =)

For later I agree with the posters above, she will need more “normal” clothes, but that’s exactly what Ali said: “they’re a baby for a very short amount of time”!!

- Alice on November 24th, 2008

“But I couldn’t imagine going all the way to another state just to buy my childrens clothing.”

-Ali is from Louisiana.

- Amanda on November 24th, 2008

Everyone will always comment when something is extreme, but honestly can you look back and remember what you were wearing at this age. I can’t! It won’t effect Estela in the slightest, she’ll just have some pretty pics to look back on.

- Ivey on November 24th, 2008

I love Ali Landry! I find myself watching reruns of Eve and cracking up @ her character. I also love the way she dresses Estella. It’s so classic and elegant. Plus, when you see the baby out she always looks so put together. BEAUTIFUL FAMILY!!!

- Crystal on November 24th, 2008

I absolutely love the way Ali dresses Estela! I think she is the best dressed baby and I love the traditional girly look! I don’t think there is anything wrong with the way they dress her, when I have children they will be dressed like that!

- Fifi on November 24th, 2008

Estela is such a beautiful little girl! I actually like the way Ali dresses her. The classic look is so cute, in my opinion.

- Jennifer on November 24th, 2008

She has every right to dress her daughter as she wants. I mean it’s not like she’s being neglectful. Also, I am sure there are stars who go way farther than their home state to get clothes for their kids (don’t some of Suri’s clothes come from Paris?). If I had as much $ as some of these people do, who knows? I might do the same.

- MB on November 24th, 2008

Ali seems to go to as much trouble as many other moms (or dads) who have a set idea of how they want to dress their kids. Consider those parents who love to dress their baby in a punk/rock style of little tee-shirts with funky sayings or mini skulls, or those moms who go out of their way to buy all organic/bamboo clothes for their kids. Same difference.

Furthermore, even though I’m far from wealthy, I’ve already planned on dressing my future babies in the same way as Ali. My mother has always spoken so fondly of how nice it is to see a baby dressed as a baby, not as a mini adult, or trendy teen. In fact, I’ve also always thought of traveling to my family’s native country just to buy baby clothes when I’m pregnant.

I commend Ali for her efforts. Estela will surely be in pants or whatever she wants to wear in a few years, and these years are for Ali.

- Xan on November 24th, 2008

I tried the whole “girly” thing with my daughter.
Trust me – I had 2 boys before her and I was thrilled to be able to buy dresses! Once she started crawling – dresses were replaced with pants and long sleeve t’s. There are tons of really cute, baby-appropriate girly panst and long sleeve t’s out there!
She didn’t have any hair til she was 18mos. She is 22mos now with a bunch of hair – think I can even get a comb through it much less and clip in it??

I tried putting a dress on her for our holiday photo’s and she walked around like she had a big poo in her diaper because the tights were so uncomfortable for her.
So she wore a really pretty red velvet top with satin trim and jeans (the boys wore turlenecks and jeans)

I guess she figures you can’t play hockey with your brothers in a dress…

Estela is a very beautiful baby. I look forward to the day that I see a pic of her on here wearing a pair of pants!

- Christine on November 24th, 2008

Oh and Care – according to Tom Cruise, Suri refuses to wear pants.
Whereas Ali refuses to put pants on her daughter.

- Christine on November 24th, 2008

I don’t really see the way she dresses her daughter as dressing like a baby. A onesie is dressing like a baby, not bows and shoes and frilly socks.

Of course it’s her choice how to dress her and she does look cute but I wonder how comfortable it is.

Amanda, even though Ali is from Louisiana she clearly says she flies to Louisiana to buy the clothes.

- Sarita on November 24th, 2008

I don’t know where the other posters live, but I am from Alabama, and dressing kids in the South is a huge deal. Ali is clearly a Southern girl at heart. Love the bows!

- Laura on November 24th, 2008

Yeah Christine I read that, but prior to anyone knowing that, most of the comments on this board were how cute she looks. And Ali’s daughter can’t argue right now lol I am sure when she can she will definately have an opinion either way, like all kids!

- Care on November 25th, 2008

I, too, think that’s a bit extreme, and also think some kids’ clothes are also going overboard (i.e. baby bikinis and halter tops). Then, too, I heard many a story about how my mom used to change my clothes AND comb my hair 3 times a day… like I was a doll. As far as being dressy dressy, with the lace on the socks, ruffles on the bloomers and froufrou dresses, that was saved for Sundays.

- Nina on November 25th, 2008

I personally think that my daughters looks their cutest, and most baby-like when they wore pretty girlie dungarees. I am wondering how her child got thru the crawling stage always wearing dresses – we found that a problem, as our eldest daughter kept falling over the hem of her skirt when she was crawling. We had to put the skirts and dresses away until she was on her feet!

- Elaine on November 25th, 2008

It’s not like her 16-month-old can really decide herself what to wear so I don’t see what it matters how Ali dresses her daughter. She has little time left to choose what her daughter wears before she is deciding herself.

- Katie on November 25th, 2008

Nina I have to disagree about baby bikinis. They are actually practical since you can change a diaper a lot more easily than having to pull off a wet bathing suit and put it back on. Plus the one my daughter has had a cute ruffled bottom and an top that was more like a tank top.

- Kirsten on November 26th, 2008

I’m not a mother yet, but I won’t be as dead-set as she is on dressing her as she wants (while she still can, of course!). And that may be because I’m not a big dress person like I was when I was younger or when I had no choice, lol. I wear what I like to wear, and I’ll put on my child what I want. Unless it’s a gift from someone, then I’d at least want them to get some use out of the outfit that was given to them… Besides, there are some cute little pants/jeans/leggings outfits out there lately.

But, hey, Estela is adorable in every outfit I’ve seen her in, dresses and all. She, like her mother, can rock any look!

- FC on November 26th, 2008

Alii is from Louisiana. That is how girls are dressed from the time they are babies until about 4. Bows and dresses. The rest of the world may not like it but we just don’t care! We like our girls to be girls and non-trendy. Plus…..little girls don’t need to be in black either!!!!

- cactus70 on November 29th, 2008

Estela is such a beautiful…she deserves to be dressed well!!!

- Anh-Chi Nguyen on December 2nd, 2008

In my experience, shoehorning a child into a certain style is a recipe for rebellion. I am very strongly against constantly dressing children in the stereotypical dresses and trousers because it badly inhibits their sense of individuality and creativity. As parents, we have a duty to encourage our children to be whatever they dream of, and as trivial as the way we dress them may seem, it is one of the earliest things that they can have a hand in helping with, therefore, to restrict this area from the get go is shortsighted. I do not want my daughter growing up believing that she always has to be highly-groomed or dressed up. In an image-obsessed and weight-obsessed society, clothing is an important aspect. I’m not accusing Ali or her husband of being bad parents at all, but I would hope that they would allow Estela (beautiful name) to find her own style as she grows, and not insist on the dresses if she doesn’t want them.

- phoebe on December 3rd, 2008

I think its gorgeous how she dresses the baby and I would do the same. I hate seeing babies in trendy clothes and slogan t-shirts. They arent teenagers. And when it comes time and they want to choose how to dress, I would listen. But at 16 months I do not believe you are injuring your child’s psyche by dressing them how you want. Get real people.

- dickie on December 13th, 2008