Kids Camouflage is back.

The print has been growing in popularity for kids over the past few years, and camo cargo pants have gone from novelty to classic status.

Kids are seeing it from street fashion, more of a cool-kids point of view, It's very savvy from a fashion standpoint. Kids gravitate toward things that feel real, and it feels like something easy to wear. ... This trend is one kids can have fun with, and there's something funny about a 6-month-old in army clothes, tutu and graphic T combination.

Age appropriateness is easy to address in camouflage because, while sticking to the authentic pattern, the spirit conveyed by color, style and other embellishment makes it clear that children's clothing isn't trying to mimic modern military uniforms.

Boys' shorts and pants most often get the camo treatment, and camo-covered baseball caps are hot-sellers. Camo is the boys' equivalent of, say, the embroidered butterfly for girls.

Boys want to wear them with a solid shirt or a clean stripe. Boys are limited, but girls always have flowers, hearts, butterflies and whatever the trendy print of the season is. Boys don't get that. They get plaid. Camouflage can be an alternative to that.

Girls usually get their camo with a splash of lilac or pink, boys like theirs brown or gray in the fall and winter, but like a bright blue in the spring or summer, says design director Emma Stevens. The pattern is a favorite on cargo shorts, soft twill trousers and an anorak jacket.

The look grows up into capris and miniskirts, among other silhouettes, for tween and teen girls, says Sonya Cosentini, style adviser for T.J. Maxx and Marshalls. It works for both the younger market and for the teen set.

"Camouflage is a print that you don't always see on the shelves, but it's a trend that makes it's way back every year in a different way. This year, that way is absolutely in the details, and we will continue to see that into the fall fashion season," Cosentini says.

The print is a direct complement to the from-the-runway military look that's hot this season in every market — from womenswear to infant clothes.

There's also an implied durability, and the back-to-school catalogs, for example, are full of camo-clothed kids running, jumping and playing in the autumn leaves.

Mini Boden and especially Johnnie B. also are going big with pea coats and oilcloth military jackets, which look great with jeans, Stevens says. Those jackets, however, might be a little too much with camo.

Children's clothing has to appeal to two audiences: the kids who wear it and the moms who typically shell out the cash.

Military works as a trend because of its classic heritage and comfort, and it's understandable for both mom and kid.

One other selling point to mom: Camo is pretty good at masking dirt and stains.