Gwen Stefani is no guest to multitasking, juggling her music career -- she's wrapping up a new album with No Doubt -- and her fashion projects, which contain the debut of the newest Harajuku Mini collection at Target next week.
But, Stefani says, it's her sons that mostly carry on her toes. Some days, running Kingston, 6, and Zuma, 4, back and forth to school, doing homework and tucking them into bed seems to take up the biggest division of her day.
"I like to be with them whenever I can, of course," the 42-year-old singer-designer says.
Her mother was very hands-on, and Stefani says that's what she's striving to do. Some of her pet memories include wearing Holly Hobbie bonnets and velvet dresses with cord collars that her mother made for her.
"Growing up, I had a really amazing mom who was really imaginative. She made material for every holiday, and I learned how to sew. ... She has really excellent style -- and I feel like my parents let me be creative -- but they'd always check my skirt length," Stefani says. "They were severe."
Stefani has been designing her LAMB line for women for nine years, so, she says, this partnership on a children's line came pretty easily because she knows the plan and manufacturing process, has more ideas than she knows what to do with, and has learned to correct her for a clear, consumer-friendly message.
Plus, how much enjoyable is it to dress up grade-school girls?
"When I first started this line up, I thought it was going to be for fewer than 5, but Target wanted me to do the bigger girls, which is a really strange age," she says. "They're so inspired by things they see, trying to find themselves, expressing themselves, they're influenced by friends, what they see on TV and the Internet. I thought it sounded like a big job but I've gotten into it."
The clothes, vacant in stores Monday, are a mix of the girlie frills and masculine silhouettes that Stefani says are staples of her own clothing.
And she's alert of being age-appropriate.
"That part is challenging," she says, "but I think we've done a excellent job."
Yet, while tween girls are willingly to take style guidance from Stefani, her boys have no problem saying "no," especially Kingston, who likes to pick his own outfits any ability he gets because he wears a uniform during school, she says.
Mommy still wins the wardrobe wars, occasionally, though.
"I do like to do a matching outfit at holiday time," she says.
