How To Build A Practical Capsule Wardrobe For Kids.

Keeping your kids clothes under control can become a real struggle, especially when you have more than one child. It can be easy to become overwhelmed with heaps of unwashed laundry and piles of kids clothes. In this post, we discuss how to create a capsule wardrobe for kids to keep your kid’s clothes organised and their outfits stylish.

What exactly is a capsule wardrobe for kids?

A capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing which can be all be worn together and which never go out of fashion. These essential items can be worn throughout all the seasons and for most occasions. A capsule wardrobe for kids works on the same principal and allows us to create stylish outfits for our kids without breaking the bank!

The benefits of creating a capsule wardrobe for kids.

Having a  kid’s capsule wardrobe  is a perfect solution to a few common problems

  • Prevents having to declutter clothes which have never been worn.
  • Prevents mismatched outfits.
  • Helps to ease the process of getting dressed.
  • Frees up  closet and drawer space
  • Prevents ill-fitting clothes
  • Prevents itchy and inappropriate clothing
  • Prevents duplicate items.

I faced all these problems with my kid’s clothes and a few more too.

For example, If my spouse were in charge of getting my daughter dressed, the ensemble of clothes he would dress her in would quite literally make me cringe.

I soon realised that this was because my daughter had a bulging wardrobe, full of beautiful clothes; however, nothing she had would go together to make an outfit.

It frustrated me that most of her clothes were unworn by the time she had grown out of them.

I decided that I needed to pare everything back to create a uniform way to deal with her clothes.

I also thought that I’d like her to get dressed by herself and still look ok to go out!

How To Create A Capsule Wardrobe For Kids

  1. Choose a three neutral colours for essential items.

    Choosing and sticking to three neutral colours for all your child’s essential items is the key to creating a stylish capsule wardrobe for kids. It will allow you to create many many outfits using fewer clothes and will keep your child’s closet organised and clutter-free.
    essential items would include:
    Trousers and leggings
    t-shirts
    vests

    neutral colours would include:
    greys
    black
    navy blue
    plumb
    light blue
    brown
    camel

  2. Choose one accent colour

    This can be as bright as you like and is going to be the key to adding some colour into your child’s wardrobe. ask your child what their favourite colour is and incorporate that as your chosen accent colour.
    to learn more about choosing an accent colour for your child’s capsule wardrobe read this post

    You now have three neutral colours and one accent colour to choose from when choosing which clothes to keep.

  3. Go through the clothes your child already has in their wardrobe

    Donate anything which does not fall within the four colours you have chosen.
    Donate anything which is uncomfortable or doesn’t fit well.
    Donate anything that your child refuses to wear.

  4. Choose which trousers and bottoms to keep

    If you stick to a neutral colour palette when choosing trousers and bottoms it will be much easier to create outfits with the other items in your child’s wardrobe. You can then go a bit edgier with colour and style when you choose your child’s tops.

    Try to keep:

    One pair of black jeans
    One pair of dark jeans
    One pair of  white jeans
    One pair of slouchy jeans
    One pair of  white leggings
    One pair of black leggings.
    A few pairs of shorts

    If you are creating a boys capsule wardrobe keep the jeans style and colours simple.

    Donate all other mismatched bottoms or trousers

  5. Choose which essential tops to keep

    These are the tops that are going to be the essential building blocks to your child’s wardrobe.


    One black cardigan or jumper
    One black t-shirt
    One slouchy black top
    Two plain white t-shirts
    Two long-sleeved t-shirts in neutral colours

  6. Choose some clothes and accessories in your chosen accent colour

    Choosing some tops in your chosen accent colour allows you to add a bit of colour to your child’s wardrobe without limiting the number of outfits you can create. You can add patterns here as long as the pattern stays within your four chosen colours.

    Dresses
    Tops
    Cardigans
    Shoes
    Bags
    Scarves
    Skirts
    Jumpers
    oots
    Jackets
    T-shirts
    Shorts

  7. Make sure you are not keeping anything that doesn’t fit within the four colour rule.

    donate anything which will hinder your efforts to create your child’s minimal wardrobe, don’t be tempted to keep random items , or you may find yourself shopping for more items to match!

  8. If you find that your child’s minimalist closet has lots of gaps, make a list of what you need and take it with you next time you shop.

    Follow the rules below when shopping for new items for your child’s capsule wardrobe.

 

Brights

I’ve included an example here of how bright colours would work together, work using bright yellow and turquoise as the accent colours.  Brights are a great way to add a bit of fun to your kid’s capsule wardrobe without it looking too dull!

 
 
 
 
 
 

The key to creating a capsule wardrobe for kids is to follow these rules when shopping.

  •  First, take a list of the critical items that are missing in your child’s wardrobe and don’t be tempted to buy anything that you don’t need, concentrate on building up the things that are missing. A list will help when creating outfits that go together.
  • Remember to shop within your chosen colour scheme including shoes, bags, hats and all other accessories.
  • Remember, patterns are ok as long as they don’t contain colours other than your chosen colour pallet, this will make sure that they will match every other item in your child’s wardrobe to create many more fabulous outfits.
  • Due to every item in your child’s closet working well together, you should not need to buy many clothes
  • You will be able to create many more outfits than you could before starting your kid’s capsule wardrobe.

You can mix it up a little and be versatile, why not try an edgier version of the red theme.

Here is an example which shows how well pale blue and bright red work well together to form the accent colours.

 
So there you are, with a few wardrobe staples and an eye for well-chosen
colors, you can have fun creating your kid’s capsule wardrobe. You’ll probably find most of the basics and a few accent colours in among their closet already, so all you need to do now is declutter then fill in the gaps!
 
 

Frequently asked Q&A

Where are the best places to shop for capsule wardrobe clothes for kids?

Try to build your capsule wardrobe for kids from the clothes they already have in their closet. This will save you heaps of money buying new items, when the whole exercise is to reduce the number of clothes your child has. when you do go shopping to fill in the gaps in their closet choose good quality clothing which will withstand plenty of wear and tear and chose clothes which are comfortable and practical for your child to wear in any situation.

What are tips for arranging a kids wardrobe?

Keep everything simple, don’t overstuff drawers and cupboards. Make it as easy as possible for your kids to get dressed in the morning by making sure everything they need is within their reach. put the items they don’t need very often on higher shelves. Organise a large basket for them to keep their shoes in within reach. Hang coats , jackets and dressing up clothes on pegs on the door fitted at a height that they can reach rather than cluttering up the closet. have a drawer dedicated to sports kits and store everything they need for each sport together including socks, towels trunks etc in the sports drawer.

What are the essentials in a capsule wardrobe?

There are several items you will need to start a basic capsule wardrobe to find out what they are read this post.

What are some good tips for a toddler boy capsule wardrobe?

A toddler wardrobe needs to be able to withstand a lot of wear and tear as toddlers like to crawl, tumble and climb for the beat part of the day. A toddler boys wardrobe needs to focus on hard wearing jeans , that are elasticated at the waist to enable you to remove quickly when potty training or changing nappies. Chosing items which are good to layer are essential for a boys capsule wardrobe as toddlers do get quite sweaty! Chose clothes that can transition into a toddler summer wardrobe, this will save you money in the long run as children often grow out of their clothes quicker than they wear them out, so having fewer clothes which are for multi uses works well in a childrens wardrobes

How do I build a girls capsule wardrobe?

Knowing how to build a child’s wardrobe can be quite a minefield especially when it comes to building a closet for girls. the biggest tip when building a girls wardrobe is to stick to the basic four colour rule when choosing a primary capsule wardrobe.
Try to use girls summer clothes all year round, for instance denim shorts can be paired with a pair of thick wooly tights, a slouchy jumper ballet flats for a stylish capsule wardrobe girl fall outfit.
Make your girls capsule wardrobe as versatile as possible by choosing good quality primary clothing such as leggings and t-shirts in a neutral colour palette, then adding a splash of colour with accessories.

Will my child have enough clothes in a minimalist child wardrobe?

When creating a capsule closet for kids, think about the clothes your child wears every day. If your child comes home from school and puts his pyjamas on straight away you won’t need 20 pairs of jeans, however if you are potty training your toddler then 20 pairs of jogging bottoms might be a great idea for your primary kids clothes. if you live in a cold climate you wont need many kids summer clothes.
don’t choose a childrens white wardrobe color palette if your kids love to play outdoor in all weather. chose your kids primary clothing well and they will always have enough to wear!

How can I convince my daughter to have a tween capsule wardrobe ?

Explain that she will have a clothes capsule of outfits which are comfortable, stylish and up to date. try to focus on the positive such as choosing her colour palette together and letting her decide what to keep and what to donate rather than on how few clothes she will have
in her tween wardrobe. there are some amazing 12 year old clothes for girls and you can have fun creating new outfits together.

Why should black be part of every wardrobe?

It isn’t a hard and fast rule that black should be part of every wardrobe, however black is a very versatile colour which can be paired with many other clothes. For example if you buy your child purple and yellow patterned leggings it would be much harder to pair them with the other clothes in your child’s wardrobe therefore your outfit choices are limited, or to get more outfits you would need to buy more tops to match. If you bought your daughter black leggings they would match just about every other item in the wardrobe and you would have many other outfit options without having to purchase any other items of clothing. to learn more about how to use colour within a capsule wardrobe for kids read this post

I hope you’re looking forward to creating your capsule wardrobe for kids and seeing your little ones looking stylish and chic!

For further reading about capsule wardrobes, you will love 

How To Start A Summer Capsule Wardrobe. 

The Minimalists

 

Pin it for later!

 
 
 
 How to start a  capsule wardrobe  for kids
 
 
 
* indicates required

 

I want my FREE checklist and weekly updates.

 
 
 

This post has contains affiliate links which give me a small fee towards the running costs of this site.


 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.