With six kids, I’ve become pretty experienced at seasonal clothing swaps and organizing wardrobes. The youngest ones are always the trickiest when it comes to their clothes. I decided to switch my kids over to a capsule wardrobe, but creating one for a baby was definitely the most challenging.
A capsule wardrobe essentially consists of versatile pieces that can all mix and match. It’s a great concept, but when it comes to babies and toddlers, you have a few extra things to consider:
Creating a baby or toddler capsule wardrobe is definitely doable with a bit of creativity, even though it might not work for everyone. If you received lots of cute outfits at a baby shower, wear them! But if you have more than you need, think about returning or donating some to make space for the clothes you really love.
Since babies grow quickly, I saved updating their wardrobe for last, using what I had until they outgrew it. After being handed down through four girls, most of the clothes were worn out, so when I did buy new things, I made sure they were practical and useful.
This approach works best from about six months onward. For babies under six months, I preferred kimono-style bodysuits and sleepers that didn’t require pulling over the head. I kept everything in one drawer, dressing her in onesies or sleepers depending on the weather. You can see my list of essential baby gear and clothing here.
My aim with capsule wardrobes was to have just enough clothes to do laundry once a week. The baby’s wardrobe needed some adjustments, but eventually, it fit our plan. My little one actually prefers wearing just a onesie on warm days, so I could have reduced the amount of pants and shorts even more.
One of the benefits of capsule wardrobes is the ease of layering. If clothes still fit, it’s simple to add warmer layers and shoes as the weather changes. For my baby’s fall and winter wardrobe, this meant just adding a jacket, some sweaters, and warmer shoes.
I sourced most of the baby clothes secondhand or from consignment shops because they outgrow them so quickly! I invested in a few sets of organic onesies and sleepers for the first months, and some key staples after she turned one.
Like my older kids’ wardrobes, I got the additional items from three main places. Here’s a closer look at her wardrobe:
She has a mix of bodysuits and onesies from Hanna Andersson (HA) and Primary. HA offers organic options, but Primary is more affordable. Featured are:
Top row from left to right: Primary bodysuits in petal, grape, raspberry, heather gray, and pool.
Bottom row from left to right: Primary baby dress in raspberry, gray dress from ThredUP, teal stripe dress from HA, flower dress from HA, green dress from HA. (I know the green dress isn’t in the color palette, but it’s a complete outfit and looks great with her strawberry blonde hair.)
She does have a couple more dresses for special occasions, but these are her go-to pieces.
Top row from left to right: Primary baby sweatpants in charcoal, HA jeggings, HA leggings in flowers and gray, Primary baby shorts in aqua and charcoal.
Bottom row from left to right: Lots of warm socks for nighttime, HA swimsuit, HA rash guard, Primary short PJs in raspberry, Primary cardigan in heather gray.
Not pictured: Additional organic PJs and sleepers from Hanna Andersson.
Pared down, the baby’s capsule wardrobe was the hardest among all my kids. The shift was necessary since the clothes I had were pretty much unusable after three other kids. This is the system that worked for us, and yours might be different. Start with what you have, reduce what you don’t need, and only buy essentials. The biggest perk, aside from less laundry, is how much more organized everything is!
How do you manage clothes for babies and toddlers? Got any great tips or experience with a capsule wardrobe for kids? I’d love to hear about it!
