NEW YORK - Denim is easy, denim is durable - and that makes denim a potentially sensible and stylish choice for some of the toughest customers around: babies and toddlers.

"Denim makes so much sense for everyone," says Jennifer Giangualano, senior vice president of design for BabyGap. "You've got your jeans, jean jacket, overalls. It's what you build everything else around and then you layer it up."

Yet, young children - or at least their parents - don't do as much denim as everyone else seems to. There's a misconception that denim has to be hard or rough, but that's not the case, says Giangualano, who is helping to launch 1969 BabyGap Premium Denim this season.

Don't look for cutesy embroidered flowers or trucks, though. "These are on trend but tiny," Giangualano says. "We think it's the cutest thing in the world."

True Religion, Rock & Republic, Joe's Jeans and 7 for All Mankind are among the other premium denim brands with pint-size products.

Giangualano says the core of Gap's collection is a straight-leg, dark-wash jeans. Certain modifications have been made to the garment - such as toughter-than-usual knees for crawling and a stretchier fabric so it's easy to pull bottoms down to change a diaper - but the look is modeled after adult looks.

"We want you to pull them out again when the kid is 15 and you say, 'Oh, how cute.' We want people to keep them as a keepsake."