Winter Capsule Wardrobe For Toddler Boy (18-24 month)

winter capsule wardrobe for kids

A winter capsule wardrobe is functional and fun to build. I first started building my son a capsule wardrobe when he was 6 month old. Those of you following my series in the past know I am a big fan of the trend. It saves me time as a mom and every look for my son is stylish and put together.

If you don’t know about capsule wardrobes they are basically wardrobes built with select pieces between 12-33 in number that can be styled together to give cohesive looks every time.

In the last capsule I stuck with neutral colors, this time I wanted to add some fun colors and prints. My son is growing up and is beginning to get excited about dressing himself. Bold colors and cute prints make the process fun for him. Though I love dinosaur, car and monster prints for boys. I don’t like to restrict his wardrobe choices to these specifc prints. You will see that his clothes are a mix of neutrals, few fun character prints and then some unique trendy pieces.

Winter Capsule Wardrobe Essentials

Before I get into the details of the clothes, I want to list what is needed for his 18-24 month capsule wardrobe.

Since he is on the tall and lean side, most of his 12-18 month tees and onesies still fit him quite well. Investing in good quality pieces helps with getting good use out of clothes in such cases. Carrying forward these pieces of clothes reduced a lot of shopping for me.

I like adding layers for styling my son in Indian winters. Especially through the transitional weather of October heat through to cold December and January months.

His wardrobe is a mix of lighter cotton tees, half sleeved and full sleeved tees, long sleeved onesies and shirts, jackets, short pants, denims, joggers etc. This way I can mix and match according to the weather and still have different looks for him.

winter capsule wardrobe toddler

Onesies

For the winter’s I stuck mostly with long sleeved onesies for Little A. Onesies are a great option for nightwear paired with loose pants. I bought my son 8 Onesies for the coming season. My go to brand for onesies is H&M, they have a line called Conscious clothing, that is an organic cotton line. H&M always runs deals on this collection like buy 2 get 1 free. A great option when you want to stock up for the coming season.

Mommy shopping tip: H&M has a rack at the back of the kids clothing section with “Clearance Pieces”. I always find good deals there. Be sure to check this rack the next time you shop at H&M. Some sets are priced as low as Rupees 350.

Tees

This time I didn’t buy a lot of tees as we have many in good condition from my last capsule. Also we get gifted tees from time to time. That’s why I bought 6 tees for the winter capsule wardrobe. The color palette was a mix of neutrals, whites and these two cute cartoon  tees I found on an Amazon.com sale.

Mommy shopping tip: First get yourself an Amazon prime, Firstcry.com and Hopscotch.com membership. Then keep an eye out for deals on kids clothing. I find some great deals on kids clothing on Amazon, both the cartoon tees were on flash sale, I bought them for less than Rupees 150. Sometimes brands like GAP and Mothercare go on flat 50% off too!!

Pants

Toddler years are rough on the clothes. We get a lot of wear out of pants. I bought Little A 7 pants – 2 shorts, 1 black denim, 4 jogger pants. This variety allows me to style different looks for him based on our activity for the day. For bottom wear I tend to stick with darker shades since they get dirty so quickly.
Mommy shopping tip: For clothes like pants that require frequent purchasing because of wear and tear I buy from export surplus clothing stores like MyFaktory. MyFaktory is a facebook group run by a mommyprenur that brings quality clothes from international brands at affordable prices. I shop here regularly for Little A and love the quality of the clothes and the fact that I am helping support another hard working mom.

Sweat Shirts


Layering with sweatshirts is one of my favorite styling look for my son. I bought 2 sweatshirts for the coming winters, they can be worn just as or with a shirt inside for a semi formal look.

Jackets


Where we live winters don’t get very cold, so I bought Little A one organic cotton winter jacket, one black denim shirt and another thick plaid shirt that can be used as outerwear. To get an idea on how I plan to style the sweatshirt and jackets for layered looks, you can check my post on autumn looks for toddler boys.

Occasion Wear

Winter Capsule Wardrobe - Occasion wear
This time I bought him one formal bow tie set and another simple organic cotton kurta as occasion wear. I also use shirt and denim as a semi formal look for Little A at birthday parties or smaller events. We have a few shirts gifted this time so didn’t buy any extras.

Socks

H&M organic cotton socks are my go to for my son, we have 6 pairs in white, blue and grey. Colors that can easily match any outfit.

Shoes

In the last capsule he had white sneakers. Since its winters I switched to dark coloured shoes. 1 pair of black shoes and 1 pair of brown boots.

Outfit Ideas

How To Build A Toddler Capsule Wardrobe: Tips And Tricks

Toddler Capsule Wardrobe

Recently I did a post on how I built a toddler capsule wardrobe. It was followed by requests to do a post for a girls capsule wardrobe. Capsule wardrobe works on the simple idea that you choose limited pieces of clothing that can be easily mixed and matched. Reusing clothes over and over again yet looking refreshingly different with each combination.

This time around, I decided to do a post on tips on building a toddler capsule wardrobe. Be it girl or boy.

Points to consider before starting

Before you begin shopping for your toddler’s wardrobe you need to consider points like age, is your toddler home all day? or going to daycare/school? What does your toddler like wearing? his/her favorite color, your laundry routine and season of the year.

These points will help you decide on the perfect number and type of clothes needed for your situation.

Color Palette

Either opt for neutral colors or solid bold colors that can mix and match easily.

Prints

Choose a few key pieces like tees or leggings in prints of your choice. Just make sure that they can be matched with the rest of the wardrobe.

Bottom wear & Jackets

It’s best to stick to dark solid colors for jackets, pants, leggings, skirts and shorts. These colors don’t show stains easily. Black, navy, tan are great colors for bottom wear for both girls and boys. They can match with all the printed tees in the capsule.

Shoes

Black, navy and white shoes are best bets as they are easy to mix and match.

Material

Most important point here is to select sturdy and good quality materials. You want these limited items of clothes to last long. Don’t compromise on price if you know it’s a good quality clothing item that will last rough wear.

Accessories

Headbands, socks and other accessories can be where you can experiment with other quirky details in print since the rest of the wardrobe is going to match seamlessly. These quirky elements can be picked keeping in mind your child’s character.

Stick to a few select brands

Brands usually create collections of clothing with an assigned color palette. Coordinating pieces can be easily found within a brand’s collection.This will help you as a busy mom saving time and effort. You don’t have to go from shop to shop looking for different things to match your chosen color palette.

I did this when I shopped for my son. At the time, I liked that H&M had neutral colors as a running theme and GAP had some good basic clothes in solid colors. So I went with it and bought most of his wardrobe pieces from these stores.

Here is a sample girls capsule wardrobe to get an idea how a capsule looks like.
Capsule Wardrobe Toddler

  1. Turquoise tee by Disney 
  2. Grey long sleeved tee by Fox
  3. Pink long sleeved tee by Fox
  4. Grey short sleeved tee by Fox
  5. Purple short sleeved tee by Mothercare
  6. Black and white stripes tee by Mothercare
  7. Pink top by GAP
  8. Turquoise bodysuit by GAP
  9. Denim shirt by GAP
  10. Denim Skirt by Fox
  11. Pink bodysuit by GAP 
  12. Pink gingham dress by Mothercare
  13. Pink and red stripe bodysuit by GAP
  14. Pink sequin dress by Miniklub
  15. Denim pull on jeggings by GAP
  16. Navy leggings by GAP
  17. Grey leggings by GAP
  18. Navy bubble shorts by GAP
  19. Pink sneakers by Carters
  20. White sandals by Clarks
  21. Brown booties by Carters

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How I Built My Toddler’s Capsule Wardrobe

baby boy with hat covering face-capsule wardrobe for toddlers

When it comes to fashion I always had a more classic type of style. A classic and timeless wardrobe is easy to manage. You can mix and match different pieces to create new looks every time. I applied the same logic when it came to choosing pieces for my son.

We got a lot of gifted clothing to last us the initial few months. Being the frugal mama that I am, I didn’t bother buying more clothes for Little A. Infact he got his first proper sets of clothing from mom and dad at six months. We could easily manage with all the clothing that was gifted, filling in the gaps where needed.

Once the baby fashion department was in my hand, I was constantly trying my best to get my money’s worth and have something stylish for my son at the same time. I didn’t mind spending a little extra if the clothing item would last long.

It took me a while to research different baby clothing brands. At this stage in mommyhood, I know what I like and how to go about getting the best wardrobe for our son.

What is a capsule wardrobe?

A capsule wardrobe is a collection of a few essential items of clothing that don’t go out of fashion and can be easily mixed and matched.

Usually one limits the number of items in your capsule wardrobe to 12-33.

The intention behind a capsule wardrobe is to buy less, own less and make use of clothing until it wears out.

If you think about it, kids clothing is a perfect fit for capsule wardrobes. They grow out of clothes pretty fast, so it makes sense to buy a few sturdy items that you get good wear out of.

How I went about it?

I started by building my son’s capsule wardrobe for the 12-18 month range. A six month range felt like a good starting point for the capsule. This period falls in the summer season in India [March-August], so the clothes had to be summer friendly.

I kept in mind my son’s build (he is on the tall and lean side) and any clothing gifts that we would get. We also carry forward a few clothes from 9-12 month range, since he is lean.

Another important point to note here is that I wash clothes every other day. I don’t have a specific day of the week to do my laundry, I prefer doing it alternate days. This helps me buy less and constantly rotate our clothes.

Color Scheme

I stuck to neutral colors like grey and brown, along with blue and white. These are versatile colors to create cohesive looks.

What does he wear?

For casual wear I dress him up in tees or onesies paired with pants. And for formal wear I either dress him up in shirts and trousers or kurta’s.

At home; I dress him in sleeveless vests, or light cotton onesies, along with few sets of pyjamas for nights. My favorite brands for light summer vests are Zero and Mothercare. Mothercare vests are especially good as they withstand my frequent washing routine.

Now come all the pictures!! You can see what I bought for my son and how I plan to team them.

Tees

Currently we have 10 short sleeve tees and 3 long sleeve tees for the next 6 months. Also, we do get clothing gifts from family time to time. Boys usually receive blue colored clothing as gifts. That’s why; it’s a smart idea to include a little bit of blue color to the capsule. I have selected the colors to be as neutral as possible adding a blue or yellow in the mix.

Toddler tees on display part of capsule wardrobe for toddler
From top left to right:

  1. Carter’s tee part of three piece set
  2. Neutral brown tee [Gifted]
  3. H&M grey island print tee
  4. Green scooter patch tee [Gifted]
  5. Mothercare exploration print tee
  6. Neutral teddy bear patch tee [Gifted]
  7. GAP baseball tee
  8. MyFaktory Ninja turtles tee
  9. GAP blue tee
  10. White duck patch tee [Gifted]

Organic cotton tees part of toddler capsule wardrobe
Tees by Sense Organics, left to right:

  1. Soft green tee with patch sleeve
  2. Black and white stripe tee
  3. Purple tee with coconut tree design

Onesies

I like how onesie’s look on my little one. We have 6 onesies and each is a different style as you see in the picture. Again, 3 are full sleeved and 3 short sleeved.

It is good to have a few full sleeve options. They work for A/C conditions or outdoors in mosquito infested locations.
toddler onsies part of capsule wardrobe
From top to bottom:

  1. H&M black full sleeve onesie
  2. H&M brown stripes full sleeve onesie
  3. GAP full sleeve onesie
  4. MyFaktory grey collared onesie
  5. Carter’s dinosaur print onesie part of three piece set
  6. MyFaktory blue stripes dog patch onesie

Pants

3 pairs of Jogger’s, 1 pair of mustard color jeans and 1 pair of navy short pants.
Toddler Pants part of capsule wardrobe for toddlers
From left to right:

1. GAP navy trousers

2. H&M mustard colored jeans

3. Babeez white and blue stripe joggers

4. Carter’s Navy blue shorts part of three piece set

5. GAP navy stripe joggers

Formal wear

Currently for formal wear there are two outfits for him.

The suspenders outfit was his birthday look. I have used the tee and jeans from this outfit as separates too.

Other than that I bought him this romper that looks like a complete outfit on its own. Isn’t it the cutest thing you’ve seen?

There aren’t any social events coming up these next few months so I haven’t thought of buying anything more for him. I can always use the check shirts and jeans as an option too.
Semi Formal wear for toddlers part of Capsule wardrobe for toddlers
From left to right:

  1. Sucre d’ orge suspenders set
  2. Mothercare romper

Shirts

Little A has two shirts. We use these for semi-formal events. Checks on shirts are such a classic style.
Shirts for toddlers part of capsule wardrobe
From left to right:

  1. Old navy blue check shirt [Gifted]
  2. MyFaktory blue check shirt

Socks and Shoes

On our recent trip to H&M we bought him two packs of organic cotton socks in white and blue. These should last the year.

In the shoes department, kept it simple with a white pair of sneakers. These can match all his outfits.

How do you style your toddler? Do you plan on setting up a capsule wardrobe too. Let me know how you went about it in the comments below.

Pediatric Nutrition Consultant | FOUNDER & EDITOR AT EASYMOMMYLIFE.COM

I’m a mom to two by day and the Editor-in-Chief of Easy Mommy Life by night. This blog is where evidence-based child nutrition meets the wonderfully messy reality of everyday family life.

Here, you’ll find practical guidance on picky eating, balanced meals, healthy kid-friendly recipes, and research-backed parenting advice - all created to help modern parents make confident choices without adding more stress to their already busy lives.

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