This is the third year I’ll be taking a “capsule wardrobe” approach when shopping for clothes for my children. The plan is for their clothes to last from September to roughly March or April. I might buy something fun for the holidays, but other than that what I buy for the fall/winter is what they’ll rotate through for about 6-7 months. Because of this, the clothes need to be durable and able to withstand many washes. Everything I’m buying for them is linked at the end of this post.
I’ve said this before, but it’s a little more of a challenge to incorporate this concept for babies since they grow so fast. This is my first ‘collection’ I’m putting together for G, so we’ll see how it goes since she just turned one and is growing way faster than A.
When I first made the shift in how I approached kids clothing, it felt like I was spending way more money on clothes because I was buying higher quality clothes that lasted 7 months as opposed to 7 weeks. In the long run I always end up spending less because I’m not doing impulse buys while shopping online or during a Target run. I think my biggest piece of advice when thinking about capsule wardrobes is figuring out what you actually need for the season, what your kids will actually wear a lot, and what will last.
What I Buy
Last winter A had two pairs of jeans, three sweatpants, five sweatshirts, and 4 t-shirts. This worked really well for him, and we’re doing around the same amount of items this winter. C and I care about where the clothes come from, and try really, really hard to not shop fast fashion for our children. Of course, we make exceptions here and there and are not perfect at this. But the goal is to have a majority of what they wear come from companies that have sustainable and ethical approaches.
For shoes, A will have a pair of gym shoes and a pair of nice boots. I got G some Freshly Picked moccasins (she is currently wearing A’s Freshly Picked moccasins from when he was a baby) and she was gifted a pair of slip on walkers for her birthday. I find that having a pair of play shoes and ‘nice’ shoes works well for my kids.
Where I Shop
I have a decent list of shops I check out for clothes for my kids. Noble is where I always turn to first. A and G have so many things from Noble – they’re probably my favorite shop. Childhood’s Clothing has quite possibly the worst online user experience, BUT their clothes are really well made and last FOREVER! Winter Water Factory is another online store I’ll frequent – especially when they have sales. Primary Kids makes the best jeans, in my opinion. Wee Mondine has the sweetest clothes. Maisonette has a wide variety of options at different price points. They also have an excellent selection of pretty much anything that is kid related. Hanna Andersson has all the fun and bright clothes with lots of different graphic tees and sweatshirts.
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A’s Capsule Wardrobe:
Up until this point A didn’t really care about his clothes, but he’s since expressed so much joy if a shirt has something fun printed on the front. While I love neutral tones, knowing how much my kiddo loves wearing a shirt with a gigantic rocket ship on the front has made me throw in a few very colorful (somewhat obnoxious) clothes into the mix. A will also be attending a forest school this year, so he got a rain jacket + pants set as well.
SHOES: Stan Smith Sneakers; Zimmerman Milo Boot
SWEATERS: Colorblock Crewneck from Hanna Andersson // Blue Hoodie from Winter Water Factory // Grey Crewneck, Blue Crewneck, Waves Crewneck from Childhoods Clothing
TEES & SHIRTS: Mountain Tee, Forest Tee, Rocket Tee, Button Down Shirt from Hanna Andersson
RAIN SET: Rain Jacket and Rain Pants from Noble
JEANS: Dark Wash Slim Jeans and Light Wash Slim Jeans from Primary Kids
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G’s Capsule Wardrobe:
As for G, I recently discovered an awesome woman-run shop on Etsy that makes adorable clothes at an affordable price. I snagged some off of her shop for G’s birthday last month, and they’re going to be great for her to wear in the colder months. We’ll see how they hold up over the months. Overall, I’m buying her far less clothes than A because she has been the lucky recipient of many hand-me-downs from close friends.
SHOES: Freshly Picked Moccasins // Alex & Nova Mesh Walkers
PANTS: Baby Jeans from Primary Kids // Gold Leggings and Blue Leggings from Winter Water Factory // White Tights from Wee Mondine
SWEATERS: Green Sweatshirt from Winter Water Factory // Sweaters and Sweater+Pants Set from Etsy Shop
ROMPER & ONESIES: White Onesies from Honest Baby // Corduroy Romper from Wee Mondine
Note: if you buy something through one of the links provided, I may make an affiliate commission at no cost to you.
