Create a capsule wardrobe for your child

Did you know by the time your child reaches 5 years old, they’ll have already gone through 10 different sizes of clothing?! With the help from dotte member Eri, here's our guide to creating a capsule wardrobe for your child, so you can make sure they have enough but not an excess!

A capsule wardrobe is a limited collection of clothes that can be put together in several different ways and includes everything you would normally need to wear! It’s a great way of managing the amount of clothes you have in your home, and making sure clothes get the chance to be worn and not forgotten about! 


Did you know by the time your child reaches 5 years old, they’ll have already gone through 10 different sizes of clothing?! That’s a whole lot of stuff! By creating a capsule collection for your child’s wardrobe you can be intentional about what you buy, making sure they have enough but not an excess.  We’ve all had one of those ‘I’ve got nothing to wear!’ freak outs whilst looking at a totally packed wardrobe. Often when your wardrobe is full to the brim you can’t see past the mass, and clothes get left unworn  or you find you have nothing to match it. #canrelate 


With help from our community member and capsule wardrobe enthusiast Eri (aka @dailylunax), we’ve created a guide to getting started with your kids' clothes… and you can apply the same to your own wardrobe!


First up, set a number. Start with deciding on how many items are realistic for you . Limiting your wardrobe to a specific number makes it easier at first, and you have a guideline to follow. Eri’s daughter Luna has around 40 pieces of clothing in her autumn capsule wardrobe (she’s 7!). 40 may sound like a lot, but go with a number that’s comfortable for you and your family! 


So how do you choose what makes up that number? Think about the season and style. For example, 40 items in a winter wardrobe could be made up of: 6 tops, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 leggings, 2 tracksuit bottoms, 2 dresses, 2 skirts, 3 jumpers, 3 winter tights, 2 pyjamas, 6 pairs of socks, 8 pairs of underwear, 1 waterproof winter coat, 1 lighter jacket, 1 pair of trainers, 1 pair of snazzy shoes, 1 pair of boots!

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Find a few key items that your child loves to wear, and work around that! It could be a dress that they really love, or a brown coat that goes with everything. Build around your key items, working with a colour scheme to make sure everything matches (or doesn’t… if that’s their style!). Eri's family are all about the neutral tones, so have several basics in whites, blacks and browns – to go with almost everything! Think of all the time you’ll save rifling through messy drawers trying to find something that matches. 

Find a few key items that your child loves to wear, and work around that! Build around those key items, working with a colour scheme to make sure everything matches (or doesn’t… if that’s their style!)

As parents, clothes washing comes with the territory and sadly we can’t opt-out! One of the biggest benefits of creating a capsule wardrobe for your child is that the number of clothes you’re washing decreases! There’s far less build up in the washing pile, much more room on the drying rack, and even putting away clothes is quicker. However, by having less clothes, each item will be washed more frequently. Opting for better quality kids brands that can survive  frequent washing is best. Eri goes for a mix of highstreet (Zara and H&M) as well as more high-end brands that can be sold on after! Choosing better quality materials – like cotton, linen, or extra fine merino wool – will help your clothes stand the test of washing and keep their quality. Check out dotte’s guide to long lasting kidswear here!


Another benefit of creating a capsule wardrobe is all that new found space! The reduced number of clothes certainly makes for less bedroom mess (you can thank us later) and there’s so much more extra space in your wardrobe for tidying away toys, shoes… or new hide and seek spots!


As your child grows and the seasons change, it’s time to mix up your capsule wardrobe. Eri switches hers up every 3 months, to keep things interesting! Decide which items you want to keep into the next capsule, asking yourself if they still fit, if they can be worn with the season, and if it’s been worn in the past 3 weeks. Any items that didn’t make the cut, you can pop them on dotte! 


No more stuffing several bags of clothes into the attic to deal with on a rainy day. Your reduced wardrobe is MUCH easier to face when the time comes for a clear out. Following a one in/one out policy is a good practice for keeping your capsule collection to its set number!


Once you make that shift to a capsule wardrobe, shopping for your kids becomes much more creative and considered, and you can have lots of fun finding different ways to style outfits!


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