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On Lux | Cardigan, Blouse, bloomers (similar), leggings, socks, shoes On Poppy | Cardigan (thrifted), Dress (similar), leggings, socks, shoes How to Make a Capsule Wardrobe for your Kids — When I started exploring capsule collections and minimizing my kids […]
On Lux | Cardigan, Blouse, bloomers (similar), leggings, socks, shoes
On Poppy | Cardigan (thrifted), Dress (similar), leggings, socks, shoes
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When I started exploring capsule collections and minimizing my kids wardrobes I did a lot of organizing, research, and reflecting on what works for each kid. This one blog post became a huge project and had so many different aspects to it so I decided to share different parts of my research into a capsule wardrobe series. The first step is minimizing your kids wardrobe which you can read about here. The next step that I thought would be helpful for others is how to make a capsule wardrobe or a new set of colour-coordinated seasonal additions.
I realized that a capsule wardrobe made of under 20 items was impractical for my kids. In the fall Lux will be attending a school with uniforms so she can have a capsule wardrobe then but for Spring and Summer she needs more clothes to have fun and get dirty in. Spring is in full bloom here and both girls get mud all over their beautiful new pastel leggings and stockings daily so they need multiple layering items. Also, anything with long sleeves got food, markers, etc. all over their sleeves so they needed more than two cardigans and two long-sleeve tops. Getting dirty is what kids do but with a capsule wardrobe this means doing laundry everyday which is not what I want to do. I also wanted to invest in some good quality clothing that didn’t wear out as quickly as the fast-fashion items or hard-worn second hand clothing we’ve bought in the past. In an effort to cut down on their wardrobes I minimized what we had and tried to buy intentionally, mainly from small brands and second hand items that were in excellent shape. I created a capsule collection for each girl or a set of colour-coordinated seasonal additions. These are a set of new clothes for the season that all coordinate to make several outfits within the capsule. They would also be useful for traveling or if your child(ren) split time between two places. I’m doing a capsule collection for our summer where we will be at a cottage for over a month.
One of the reasons why I love a capsule collection is that it allows my child the independence they crave to be able to pick out what to wear and the clothes coordinate to make a great outfit.
Floral Tank Top
White Henley Top
Sleeveless Blouse in Grey (Lux is wearing this in rose)
Floral Dress
Evie Playsuit in Purple (Poppy owns in Rose)
Dark Purple Cable Cardigan
Floral Cardigan (On Lux)
“Simple” Cardigan in Fawn (Lux owns in brown)
Floral Leggings
Dark Purple Leggings
Purple Bloomer Shorts
Ribbed Tights
Start with your kid’s favourite colour, or in our case, a colour that is close and also easily available. Lux loves red but it’s a hard colour to find for girls and to coordinate within a wardrobe without using a lot of black (which I don’t like). So for this spring/summer season I bought mostly pink items but almost everything had a very feminine detail which she loves. Lux is in a girly stage and loves princesses, unicorns, mermaids etc. so special details like frills, flowers, ruffles, and bows also appeal to her.
Choose two main colours and up to three neutral colours. It’s helpful to stay within the same colour family (ie pinks, blues, etc.) or colours you like to mix together. In the above example you’ll see I mixed purples including a “fawn” colour (cardigan) which is a warm pink.
For neutrals choose 2-3 that will work with your main colours. I don’t mind mixing warm and cool neutrals (above we have grey and oatmeal/cream) but if you want to stay in one that will be helpful for your capsule. Some examples are bright white and cool grey (cool), or brown and cream (warm). This can be tricky depending on the brand’s way of editing photos. Make sure to read descriptions and try to find many pictures and examples of the item you’re interested in. A good place to look is on the brand’s instagram and see the tagged photos for customer photos.
For the main capsule collection for my four-year old, Lux, I chose the colours: pink, and burgundy, then brown, cream, and bright white for neutrals. It’s also a good idea to use variations (ie. light brown, dark brown) and get the same type of colours. For example the pink items I got for Lux are a vintage, soft warm pink. I made the mistake of getting baby pink stockings and they don’t look good together. (I made up for this lack of red and glitter by letting her wear whatever she wants to bed which are bright pyjama dresses and unicorn socks.) This also came about after searching for new items and finding some irresistible pieces I knew she would love and wear a lot. For us these first items were a cream cotton muslin dress (the softest fabric ever) and vintage pink ruffle top from PonPonia, brown simple cardigan (gender neutral) and pink ruffle sweater from Jamie Kay.
For my two-year-old, Poppy, the colours that naturally stood out/took charge was brown, green, and navy. If I bought new items for Poppy I wanted to keep them mostly gender neutral so that baby boy could wear them too. She isn’t picky with what she wears yet so I chose pretty but neutral colours. Green is a big trend in fashion and home decor this year so I started with that and then found some great brown and navy pieces that worked alongside. She does have a pop of pink in her wardrobe because it’s my favourite colour and she’s asked to wear it a couple times so I thought it would be fun to incorporate. I’m a little less strict with Poppy’s wardrobe because she has mostly hand-me-downs that don’t coordinate perfectly because we are just starting the capsule wardrobe now. One great pink piece I’m excited for Poppy to wear is the Charlie Jumper from Nest & Nurture. This comes in neutral colours too but I chose pink because I think Poppy will be able to wear this for a long time. They have it modeled on a toddler with the pants rolled up and I’ve also seen it at a more capri-length on an older kid so I think this will grow well with her.
I love patterns and find them very kid-friendly as they hide messes well. For the example capsule above I used two different florals. For our own capsule we used florals and a red-based rainbow plaid pattern from Dôen. Adding pattern adds interest to an outfit that can easily be bland within a capsule. If you want to use more than one pattern choose from the same brand to keep things coordinated as they usually coordinate their prints.
This step is also generally helpful for organizing your closet. If you group clothing by type- tops, cardigans, dresses – it makes it easier to put outfits together. To stay organized make a list of each category you want to buy for and fill in what you have and in what colour or pattern. If you’re a visual person like me taking pictures is helpful (TIP: you can save them in an album in your phone photos for easy reference). If you’re working from what you have you’ll see a pattern emerge whether it’s colour or pattern and you can purchase what you need from there.
For Spring & Summer our categories for a capsule wardrobe are
To make sure the capsule wardrobe is coordinated, buy one colour and pattern for each category using your colour scheme as a guide. So for the example above there are three cardigans: purple, a light pink/purple, and a pattern. You could also add the oatmeal colour depending on how big you want the capsule, the season, or if your child wears a lot of cardigans.
This isn’t a strict rule. For example for the capsule above I have mostly light tops and mostly purple bottoms. This works as long as you keep track of what you’re buying and making sure it will work together. What you don’t want is entire categories in one colour, ie. all pink tops or all pink cardigans. Your outfits will end up looking the same.
Dôen uses very light cotton fabric that my daughters have layered over under-shirts and with cardigans for the colder months. The dresses they own also tuck into shorts and under pinafore dresses very easily for variety. When it’s very hot the dresses work well on their own to keep them sheltered from the sun but the fabric is so light they’re never too hot.
Another brand that has great layering pieces is Primary. This basics brand has different fits for kids including “slim” which works well for my thin toddler. We were happy to receive the slim jersey t-shirt and pyjama tops in white which work perfectly underneath pinafore dresses and rompers and tuck into bloomers without any annoying extra fabric. Get 20% off your first Primary order with code AFF20PCT!
I have an entire blog post about how I minimized my kid’s wardrobes. Part of it was testing out the capsule as the items arrived. By slowly integrating items I found out what we loved and what else we needed. I also made a lot of mistakes which helped me make this blog post. We figured out what didn’t serve the wardrobe anymore and what we could phase out going forward including colours, styles, etc. One of the examples I have is black leggings. As soon as the girls started wearing pastel leggings I was hooked. We aren’t throwing away or donating all of our black leggings just yet but we decreased how many we had and I’ve stopped buying them.
The absolute best way to keep colours consistent and coordinated is to buy from one or two brands. Most small brands have colour stories for the season so they use the same colours, fabrics and prints throughout their seasonal line. This is really possible with brands that sell everything from socks and tights to outerwear. Some brands to consider are Jamie Kay, Childhoods clothing, Petit Vilains, Nest & Nurture, Primary, and Petit Bateau.
This can turn crazy really quickly but I’ve learned so much from Lux picking out her own clothes. She’s made some surprisingly amazing outfit combinations within her capsule! As time goes on and you have a more complete capsule you’ll see that it’s full of items that both you and your kids love and that coordinate! This is one of the best results of having a capsule wardrobe!
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