How to Make a Fall and Winter Capsule Wardrobe for Kids
Kids clothes. Oh so cute! Finding the right amount of clothing can be intimidating sometimes. Which often leads to overspending and a lot of extra laundry! Check out this step-by-step guide to only getting what your kids will need with a fall and winter capsule wardrobe for kids.
Kids hit growth spurts so much that they don’t stay in the same size for a while. I’m lucky if I can make it through the winter months to the next season and they stay in the same size. So don’t spend your time, money, and energy on unnecessary items for your kids’ wardrobe.
Why create a fall and winter capsule wardrobe for your kids’ clothes?
1. Less Laundry
Wash all your clothes in one load of laundry? Only one laundry basket to fold. Say wha?? Yes, it’s possible!! With a kids’ capsule wardrobe, it’s possible to cut down days’ worth of clothes in your laundry routine by multiple loads a week. Now I don’t know who would say no to that. Does anyone like doing laundry? …I didn’t think so.
2. Kids can dress themselves
They can do it so easily…and match! This is such a huge bonus to having a capsule wardrobe for your kids, especially your young ones. Each item is curated to go with all of the other items in your kids’ closet so no more worries of kids walking down the stairs in the embarrassment of them not matching, mixed with that proud moment of your child dressing themselves.
3. More affordable way to dress your kids
Which gives you extra money in your pocket! Don’t spend extra money where it doesn’t need to be spent. It is hard enough to afford to put groceries in our pantry these days. Let’s not spend money buying unnecessary clothing items that your child may or may not wear before they grow out of it. This can also be more affordable if you want to invest in nicer clothing brands like Hanna Anderson, Gap, and H&M. By only buying a few quality items can save you loads of money, especially when you are buying for multiple kids as well.
Where to shop for your fall and winter capsule wardrobe for kids
First, create a master list of clothing items. Your color scheme, how many pairs of shoes, everyday wear, and formal wear, based on your lifestyle and the events that take place in your child’s life, such as church, play, school, etc. This is the best way to start shopping and to prevent unnecessary purchases like duplicates.
Small Businesses
You can find some good deals from small businesses and Etsy shops that will last long enough to pass along to younger siblings. This has been a hit-or-miss experience for me. Etsy is a great place to shop if you are looking for good quality natural fiber fabrics such as 100% cotton, linen, wool, and cashmere. My favorite girls’ dresses come from Goldebelle sold at a small boutique called Florence Adams, which I will link here.
Thrift Stores or Garage Sales
You can find a lot of staple pieces and clothes in good condition from these places. They do seem to take the longest to look for, but most of the time you can score some very great deals, you just aren’t always guaranteed what you need when going thrifting or garage sailing.
Facebook Marketplace
The good news is you can shop this wherever you live! No worries about not having it in your area. Simply search which size and/or brand you are looking for and see what locals have that you might be looking for! Sometimes finding Buy/Sell/Trade Groups on Facebook can be very helpful too, if you are okay with being in more groups. I know I am in and out of groups so much.
Sharing Places
These may not be everywhere, but in the past 2 towns I lived in there happened to be one in each place! If you have not heard of one it’s a place where you can bring your clothes you are no longer using and you can pick up some things you need. Basically like a mini thrift store…but free! If you don’t have anything to donate, no worries! They have a donation box where you can place a small donation there.
Kid’s Seasonal Consignment Sales
Hop on Facebook and see when and where they’re at! I have gone to these the past few years and they have cut down on so much time and money for me! Make sure to walk into it with a list!! It’s easy to get overwhelmed if you don’t and spend way too much money on unnecessary items. On the flip side, you may even find items to check off of your personal list or someone else’s list. The point is, to know what you are going in there looking for. There will be a lot to see.
Clearance Racks
-Places like Old Navy, Walmart, H&M, and even Hanna Andersson are great places to find a bulk amount of clothes for cheap. Especially if you shop ahead for the next upcoming season. I rarely buy used anymore due to the time and effort it takes to find simple shirts, leggings, and dresses for my daughters especially. I have had good luck looking online and in-store on clearance racks and finding just those small staple pieces for a dollar or just a few dollars.
Online Second-Hand Shopping
Places like eBay, Poshmark, and Thred Up are great places to find items exactly what you are searching for. I love being able to find items of clothing exactly what I am looking for at these places. For example, I love Hunter Boots for my kids and these are good places to search and find the exact color and size I need. Another buy I like to find is an Old Navy utility jacket that I think is the perfect transitional jacket for Spring and Fall, but it was discontinued by Old Navy. So I searched these places and was able to find jackets from 18 months to size 6. So needless to say I am set on jackets for a while for all the ages of our kids with my favorite toddler jacket.
How to plan for getting new clothes for your fall and winter capsule wardrobe for kids
1. Go through what you have from last year
Maybe some items still fit. I have a bin for kids’ clothing that I pack away with sizes they still might fit into when the season comes back around. This depends on the type of clothing. Usually, coats, hats, gloves, sweaters, and snow pants can get a few years out of them. Occasionally I buy items that are sized up so I can use them more than once for the same child, because why not?
2. Pick a color palette
Don’t overcomplicate this…and don’t forget to add some of your child’s favorite colors. Make it a mix of solid colors and neutral colors for staples and bottoms. This will help you make the wardrobe more versatile and will make it simpler to piece together. But make sure to have fun with this as well. Let the clothing you choose show some personality in your child.
3. Make a list of what Types of Clothes you need
This will be your child’s winter wardrobe. Now that you’ve seen what you already had, and picked out what colors you want. Now you make the list! See below.
What to get for your child’s wardrobe
Here comes the fun! Now that you have your style, color, and items established, let’s jump in. I recommend looking at the second-hand options to shop first, and then clearance, and then last resort the full price, brand new items.
Underwear
6-8 pairs of socks – Do yourself a favor and get all matching socks. No more blue and green toed socks
12-pack of underwear – I highly recommend getting 100% cotton if you don’t/can’t find organic natural fabrics. Google can tell you why.
3 pairs of pajamas – This is enough to rotate out and wash. May even be able to get away with less depending on the age.
Tops
1 cardigan
2 pullover sweaters
3 long sleeve shirt
Bottoms (for boys)
2 pairs jeans
1 khaki pants
3 pairs of sweat/athletic pants
Bottoms (for little girls)
3 pairs of leggings
2 black and/or denim skirts
3 dresses
Footwear
Pair of boots (snow boots)
tennis shoe
rain boots
Outerwear
1 thick jacket
1 thin jacket
2 stocking hats
1 pair mittens
1 pair of snow gloves
Optional:
Formal (for girls)
This might be for church, special events, weddings, funerals, holidays
2 formal long sleeve dress
1 pair tights
Formal shoe or boot
Formal (for boys)
This might be for church, special events, weddings, funerals, holidays
pullover vest or sweater
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I hope you enjoyed this post to make a fall and winter capsule wardrobe for your kids this year. It truly will simplify your life and make it such a breeze to get your child’s clothes ready for the day. Whether they dress themselves or you still dress them. I hope that the love of this simplicity will encourage you to simplify other areas in your home and lifestyle as well. Being a busy mom and living life with kids really can cause heavy frustration and hardship which can be fixed in many simple ways.
Interested in a capsule wardrobe for yourself? Check out this post here on how to do so!
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