Capsule wardrobe sounds very fancy, in fact it isn’t so. It only means that you have a few pieces of carefully selected clothes that are simple to mix and match.
My daughter’s clothes all fit into one drawer in the changing table. Of course, when you are only one, your clothes are so tiny so it might not mean anything that her clothes take so little space.
Adding to that, I am constantly replacing her clothes, not so much adding. Because of how fast they grow, from sustainability perspective it is important to buy less in each size.
But how many items does a kid need?
Of course it depends on the activity and whether your child goes to school or child care. I would say as a start, this is what you need per season:
10 tops,
6 bottoms,
For girls you might want to add a dress and deduct one top and bottom for each dress,
1-2 warm sweaters for winter, wool or fleece,
Rainwear,
Outerwear, winter jacket, snowsuit or windbreaker,
3 pair of shoes (boots, trainers, sandals depending on the season),
Swimwear,
6 pair of socks,
2 hats, 2 pair of mittens,
When you are building a wardrobe for your kids, it is important to chose well items that can mix and match, think shopping outfits not items. For my oldest child, buying clothes for her came a hobby but often I ended up with tops that didn’t mix with anything making her wardrobe far too big.
Guide to shopping
But what to bear in mind when building a wardrobe for you kids.
While there might not be one single way of shopping for our kids, we recommend to keep the following factors in mind: stylish, comfort, simplicity and sustainability.
Stylish
The clothes need to look good. No matter if we want to think otherwise, the clothes speak for us. As an adult, we dress according the occasion because we want to make the right impression. Even if we want to believe otherwise, our kids are no exception. This is something to ponder, when we choose clothes for them. Our clothes tell a story, it is up to you what that story you want to tell. Today neutral, unisex clothing has become very popular. Personally, I tend to dress my youngest one in basic, yet stylish clothes without any reference to princesses or Disney characters.
Comfort
Kids like to play. Kids should play, play is important. Therefore, being comfortable is one of the core of children’s clothing. Have you tried to go down a slide in an ankle long ballerina skirt with a crown on your head? Or tight, skinny jeans and a shirt?
The clothes also need to be easy to put on and they also need to stay on. If you have a skinny child, you don’t want their leggings to drop down when they run around.
My go to is organic cotton or similar sustainable material that feel good on the skin and has a fit that allows free movements.
Simplicity
It needs to be easy to shop and dress kids. Unfortunately, children’s clothing has a great variation in size. Not only between brands, but between fits for the same brands. Raise hands if you love taking your four year old to a clothe shop to try on clothes! Guess it is not many parents' dream.
Decide on the main style and color and pick items that mixes with the other items in the wardrobe. Choose simple fits and patterns, but perhaps add 2-3 items that pop up the wardrobe, something fun that add spice to the outfits.
Sustainability
The most sustainable item is already in your wardrobe. Think reuse and hand me down! When shopping for new clothes, bear in mind both how the garment was made, the material and whether it is good enough quality to reuse. With my first child, I used to shop a lot in the affordable shops on the high street, they offer super cute clothes. Unfortunately, they don’t last the season and when you have fewer items in the wardrobe, you need to buy better clothes (you need to wash them more often). Clothes should be robust enough to be worn by at least 2 rounds of kids. Having said that, my son’s trousers always get a hole on the knee, luckily that has been rather fashionable lately to have torn jeans.
Example of the capsule wardrobe
Below is an example of a capsule wardrobe. This is approximately 1 large Wool PICK and two medium PICKS.
Top left, Dalmatian sweat shirt from Daily Brat (45 CHF), checked dress from Serendipity organics (76 CHF), Slim Tee from Serendipity organics (33.90 CHF), Velour pants from Serendipity organics (36.90), texture cardigan from Serendipity organics (67.90 CHF), Amour sweat shirt from Daily Brat (45 CHF), Kaya Blouse from Konges sloejd (33.90 CHF), Estragon sweat from Poudre organics (36.90 CHF), Pants (69 CHF) and wooly sweater (79 CHF) both from FUB kids, Hoody from Poudre organics (68 CHF), Gauze pantalons from Poudre organic (32.90 CHF), Rainbow Alpaca sweater from Oeuf (129 CHF), rose sweatpants from Daily Brat (45 CHF), Denim bloomer from Poudre organics (29 CHF), rose socks from Konges sloejd (6.90 CHF).
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