kids capsule wardrobe
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The main purposes of a capsule wardrobe are decluttering, reducing stress and saving time and money. Some might weigh in more on one reason or another, but in the end, creating a capsule wardrobe for your children leaves you more time to spend with your kids.

Things to consider before creating a capsule wardrobe

Declutter the current wardrobe – The first step is to divide bins into 4 groups, like donate, sell, trash, and keep, to help you purge clothes your kids no longer wear. Do not keep pricey items, even if they are still new, if your kids never put them on. If they are difficult to match with other clothes or hard to wash and iron, it is better to let them go whether you donate or sell. Only keep the items your children like to wear and you and you find yourselves reaching for often. 

Colour – When you start a capsule wardrobe, pick a general colour theme that each item fits into, and easily put together. Neutral colours generally make it easier to create various outfits, without getting bored too quickly.

A number of items – As much as the goal of a capsule wardrobe is to trim it down to the essential items that you appreciate and value, in order to keep the closet mess-free, young children do tend to get wet and dirty. This is especially important to keep in mind when you create a wardrobe for younger children. It is better to keep a sufficient number of items to minimize the frequency of laundry days. 

Fabric – The best fabrics for your child’s capsule wardrobe will be soft, non-irritating, comfortable, breathable, and lastly, durable enough to withstand kids’ active movements and many rounds of washing. One ot the safest choices is cotton, since it is absorbent, breathable and comfortable, and you can usually find organic, eco-friendly options.

Outfit ideas – Having a general style and colour theme for your children can help save you time. For instance, if you stay in neutral colour tones, you can limit the shopping selection, which in turn narrows down the choices and the hassle of picking out new items. The capsule wardrobe has to function as unified outfits that you can easily mix and match.

Here is a neutral colour palette to help inspire you in your colour theme choice. Neutral colours blend easily and harmoniously, which lessens the stress when it comes to putting outfits together. Also, since the colours do not stand out too much from one another, even if you frequently reuse the same items due to a smaller selection, a neutral pallette can limit how quickly kids get tired of a particular colour.

neutral tone examples

Here are a few examples of neutral-toned clothing and some outfit ideas. As you can see, the neutral colour theme helps clothes mix and match without much difficulty, unlike vividly coloured items.

neutral tone outfit example
neutral capsule wardrobe example
girl neutral tone outfit
girls outfit idea neutral tone

How many items are in a capsule wardrobe for kids?

Many articles recommend 25 to 50 items – as an example, I will share with you how many items I incorporate for one of my children’s wardrobe – a total of 42 items. I allowed a more generous amount of items so I do not put myself in the situation of having to rush to a store, if anything happens to one of the pieces. This gives me some peace of mind that I have enough time to search for a proper replacement.

Tops – 6
Bottoms – 6
Underwear and socks – 7 each 
Pajamas – 3
Shoes – 4 pairs (running shoes, formal style shoes, rain boots, winter boots – 1 pair each)
Special day (Formal outfit) -1
Outer jackets – 6 (Winter, fall, spring – 2 each)
Seasonal outfits -2 (swimsuit, snowsuit – 1 each)

How do you maintain a simple capsule wardrobe?

There are a few things to consider when you manage a capsule wardrobe for your children

  1. Storage – I like to see every single piece of my children’s clothes in one place, without putting them away by season. There are recommendations for seasonal wardrobe rotation, but personally, I like to have the different seasonal pieces on hand to layer and incorporate into my children’s outfits throughout the year. This way I can easily spot the items that I hesitate to pick out without making excuses to put them away, whether it is due to the design or a difficult fabric. Also, I have noticed that I keep less items since I started utilizing all of the pieces throughout the year, which enables me to plan ahead and purge or replace items that no longer work in the wardrobe.

  2. Visual – I like that a limited pallette allows all of the colours to easily go along harmoniously when I choose outfits, reducing the struggle of organizing items into a colour theme. Choosing neutral colours is an easy solution in this direction, but narrowing down the number of colours is another useful step for easily matching outfits. Let’s say you decided to go with gray, white, beige for one season – you can add or reduce colour choices by your preference for each new season or year.

  3. Organization – I generally prefer hanging everything, so I can take each item out without disturbing other pieces, to minimize organization hassles and easily skim through all of the clothes to select outfits. 

  4. Shopping – I like to have no more than two or three stores to compare, so that I can get used to their designs and sizes. Some store sizes run big and some small, so if you can find a good match with your child’s body shape, you can save so much time that would otherwise be spent returning items, consulting size charts, and reading reviews.

  5. Comparison – One thing most moms like to do is dress their kids in cute and lovely outfits. But going for a capsule wardrobe means incorporating a different lifestyle that focuses on simplicity and mindfulness. It might not be easy for you to let go of all those cute, colourful, lacey dresses, especially  seeing your child’s friends in ever-changing outfits. But young children generally do not focus on their outfit – they are happy as long as they are comfortable wearing it. Besides, by choosing a simpler wardrobe, you earn much more time and peace of mind that you can share with your children.

I’m a fashion lover. I enjoy experimenting with new and trendy clothing styles, and dressing my children in cute outfits is one of my passions. Will a capsule wardrobe work for me? 

To a certain extent, anyone can adopt a capsule wardrobe and make it work for their particular needs through frequent decluttering and limiting the number of items you incorporate each season. This will give you the chance to frequently purge the less-used items and choose new clothes more consciously, by enabling you to keep better track of your likes and style.

How much does it cost to make a capsule wardrobe?

It should not cost extra money to start your child’s wardrobe, since you are most likely going to reduce the number of items to simplify and have a more functional wardrobe. In the long term, you will benefit financially by selecting each piece of clothing consciously and using them to their full potential. Children tend to outgrow their sizes very quickly. If we buy too many clothes just because they are on sale or the design is irresistibly cute, then you will wind up having to let go of many items that have barely been worn, or not worn at all. 

In conclusion, there is no perfect capsule wardrobe that you can duplicate from someone else. Clothing is part of your lifestyle, which means how you manage your daily life will be the key to your child’s wardrobe – including the climate where you live and the activities you enjoy with your children.

Also keep in mind that a capsule wardrobe is never set in stone. You can always tweak it as you go to incorporate new clothes into your child’s life. The point of a capsule wardrobe is to have a clutter-free and stress-free system that saves you time and energy, and even money, in the long run. 

Do not feel guilty comparing your kid’s decluttered wardrobe to someone else’s closet full of clothes. You are focusing on creating a calm environment, and a less stressful and time-consuming life for your children and you.  A capsule wardrobe is about appreciating the items of clothes we do have and maximizing their use, by making them more adaptable to our family lifestyle.

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