Baby tees are exactly what they sound like: close-fitting, short T-shirts that look like they’re made for young children, but are most often worn by female teens and 20-somethings.

The style was born as a reaction to the oversized silhouettes of the 1980s. After years of dropped shoulders, shoulder pads and baggy tees, fashion veered toward form-fitting looks, like skinny jeans and crop tops – and, of course, the baby tee.

Bella + Canvas recently added a line of baby tees to its collection.

In the 1990s, French women would shop at children’s clothing stores and buy youth-sized T-shirts. Celebrities including Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Kate Moss eventually latched onto the trend. Paparazzi pics of these stars wearing cropped mini T-shirts with their midriffs exposed graced the front pages of every gossip magazine of the era.

As our fascination with ’90s and Y2K-era fashion grows, the baby tee is making a comeback.

“The baby tee is really about two things: It’s about the fabric and about an overall shrunken fit,” says Andrea Routzahn, chief merchant at Top 40 supplier alphabroder (asi/34063). But, she adds, “Like anything, no trend is ever exact” when it comes back into fashion.

The 2023 version of the baby tee is made from a higher-quality fabric and designed to fit all shapes and sizes.

Fashion-forward apparel supplier Bella + Canvas (asi/39590) recently added a line of baby tees to its collection, but notes in its marketing that “unlike their Y2K predecessors,” these shrunken silhouettes “are created for everyone under the sun.” The tees are made from a soft, ribbed cotton that has a lot of stretch.

“I think the great thing about this baby-tee fabric is that it is ribbed so it does offer that stretch to fit a lot of different bodies,” says Victoria Thomas, director of marketing for Bella + Canvas.

The other difference with the 2023 iteration of the baby tee is the range of colors being used. “There’s a color assortment that gives a nod to the ’90s, like sort of powder blue and baby pink,” Thomas says. “But there’s also more energetic colors that we’re seeing a lot of right now, like this brighter Kelly green.”

In general, the baby tee works well in youth-focused markets.

It’s “going to be the most fashion-forward customer,” Routzahn explains. “This is not a trend that’s going to work for office or business.” Instead, think yoga studios, band merch or travel resorts, she says.

Thomas concurs that a lot of music merch is being produced on baby tees. Other markets to consider, she adds, are restaurant uniforms, sororities and collegiate bookstores.

As far as decoration for baby tees, Thomas and Routzahn agree that screen printing is the best option. Another “super-’90s” option could be a “sort of bedazzled, rhinestone heat transfer,” Thomas says, though she notes that the stretchy ribbed fabric can make certain types of decoration techniques more challenging than others. She adds that Bella + Canvas offers printing recommendations for various fabrics on its website.

The baby tee will never replace the basic jersey crewneck, but for a certain type of client, it could add just the right amount of fashionable fun to a branded merch collection.

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