I don’t know about you, but we fight two frequent battles at my home: my kids wanting to wear things that don’t match, and my kids having a closet full of clothes they don’t wear. Each year, we seem to buy so many items of clothing, and some of them are outgrown before they are even worn. This causes us to waste money and waste space, as you are storing clothes you clearly didn’t need.
Enter the capsule wardrobe.
Capsule wardrobes are not new. If you do a Pinterest search, you will find hundreds of blog posts and graphics about capsule wardrobes. Since kids outgrow clothing at an alarming rate, it makes sense to spend less on more versatile pieces. Capsule wardrobes involve spending less, less clutter, and more outfit choices. So how do you create a capsule wardrobe?
1. Take stock of what you have.
Clear out your child’s dresser and closet. Make three piles- one to keep, one to donate, and one to throw away. If clothes are stained or too worn, throw them away. Don’t donate anything you wouldn’t buy from the thrift store yourself. Once you have finalized your “keep” pile, look at what items you have, what items you need, and what colors you have.
2. Decide what you need
Think about your lives, your kids’ activities, and the climate where you live. We are in the mid-atlantic, and it gets hot here in the summer. We go to school and church and are in dance class. Therefore, they will need church clothes, work out clothes and enough outfits for the school week. We try to follow the 4-6 rule: have four to six pairs of pants- two pairs of jeans, one pair of dark colored pants and one pair of light colored pants; four to six dresses (sundresses are OK because you can wear a jacket or sweater over them); two skirts, four pairs of shorts, two swimsuits, 4 to 6 long sleeve shirts, 4 to 6 short sleeved shirts, three sweaters, one casual jacket and one dressy jacket. Don’t forget about underwear and socks.
3. Choose a color scheme
What colors do you already have? What colors do your kids absolutely love? What colors look best on them? My little blonde, blue eyed girls look great in blue, green, and hot pink. They also love wearing these colors. I make sure to include plenty of neutral colored pieces to tie the wardrobe together. Children’s boutiques often stick with a color scheme when they release new seasonal lines. This makes color scheming your child’s capsule wardrobe easy! Retailers like Gymboree and Carter’s are known for this.
4. Hand-me-downs and thrift stores are your friend!
I have two daughters and while I don’t save everything from my older child’s wardrobe, I do save gently worn items and big items like coats. If you don’t mind second hand items, you can save some big bucks reusing items from other children, or thrift shopping. We love ThredUp online consignment shop!
I’ve created an infographic for you. Feel free to print this off and use it as a checklist.
Here is a sample capsule wardrobe for my littlest child:
The above clothing items are all from OshKosh. Except for the romper, do you see how each piece coordinates and can be worn together? You only have a few clothing pieces, but you can create several different outfits from the pieces. All of the items go together so there is little chance of her creating a “Tacky Day” outfit that doesn’t match. How many different combinations do you see that will go together and be cute?
Feel free to hop online and start creating your own capsule wardrobe! Have fun and happy shopping!