How I Built My Toddler’s Capsule Wardrobe

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.