A hazy, warm morning in August I finalized my purchases for the children's fall and winter wardrobe's. It may seem early but winter can come suddenly in the north and my children did not even have coats that fit anymore. I enjoy having things planned and know that I am prepared. I do not like the feeling of flying by the seat of my pants. There are enough unknowns in life that I like to mitigate any of them that I can, and when it comes to my family having what they need in the clothing department there is nothing that makes me feel so good and accomplished. Next to nourishing their bodies, I thrill as a Mother to know that they are well clothed.
My opinions on what the children need have changed slightly over the years as well as depending on where we live and the needs of our current lifestyle. I think it's important to be realistic about what you need and use whether that is less than you think you need or more than you want to need. I think clothing is like a lot of things in American households, there is an incredible abundance of it. Overstuffed closets, dresser drawers, and overflowing laundry baskets with "nothing to wear" being the standard in our homes.
Growing up we had 4 every day outfits that mixed and matched, 4 church outfits, and 2 pair of shoes. My mom would take my Dad's old t-shirts and sew cute bows on the neckline to make them more feminine. They were huge on us and we loved them. I remember there was nothing quite like those huge, soft t-shirts to curl up in at night.
Years ago after having my second baby and needing some new clothing, I decided to do some research into what I wanted. Previously I had been very haphazard and sporadic in my clothing shopping for myself. This time I discovered a capsule wardrobe, project 333, and other minimalism topics when it came to clothing. I wrote down a list for staple items that I found online. I don't remember where it was from or even what all was on it. I wish I did as a recent search of capsule wardrobes have turned up a much more complicated system than what I had found years ago. Anyways, I wrote my list down and it was the first time that I had the money to buy an entire wardrobe at once in my adult life. Usually it was a piece here or there. I went and bought things I never would have bought on my own. A black t-shirt, a gray t-shirt, and black and gray boatneck shirt, a faux leather moto jacket, black skinny jeans, regular wash skinny jeans, a chambray shirt, a jean vest, some slip on flats, a black dress. I would have gravitated towards cute prints in fun colors normally so I was unsure how this would go. Would I be bored? Would I hate it? I decided to try. I've always been basic in my style and never been into the latest fashions but looking nice and put together was also important to me and I felt like I never had anything to wear even though I had plenty of clothes.
I did a closet purge and got rid of anything that didn't fit me anymore and then hung up my new wardrobe. I have to say that I have never felt more stylish or put together. These pieces that I normally wouldn't have bought on my own became my go-to outfits that I could mix and match and always feel put together. I also noticed that because they were nondescript that I could have fewer items and no one ever noticed that I was always wearing the same things, just paired differently.
Over time I gained weight and that wardrobe no longer fit and I did not have the finances to buy an entire wardrobe again. Between pregnancies and nursing and financial straights, I wore whatever was given to me or I could find that worked and I got away from the staple items that had worked so well for me. This year with losing weight, I was dropping sizes and kept needing new clothes that fit. I didn't want to spend very much or buy a ton of clothes in a size I was going to shrink out of as I continued my weightloss journey so I decided to revisit my trusty wardrobe staples again. I couldn't find the list I had used (I wish I still had it!) but I found some that were somewhat similar and revamped it to fit my needs and wants.
Another tip is that usually these "fashion bloggers" link to very expensive items from brands I can't pronounce, but I take their suggestion and then find something similar in my price point. I have found this very wonderful because it can fit into any budget and still give the desired (or similar) result. So whether you are thrift store shopping, buying from Walmart, or have more to spend, you can essentially always find your basics to make really nice outfits if you stick to staple items and no on is the wiser. You look chic and put together and that transcends the amount you have to spend. Also, if purchasing a whole wardrobe is out of the question for you, I have found it helpful to know my staple items and purchase them one by one as I can. I keep a running list and check them off as I go. I am currently building my wardrobe back up as I am nearing the end of my weight loss journey and I am using this method to slowly add things in. It gives structure and direction and doesn't feel as aimless. I am using my personal money to purchase a new item once a month or so to add in until I get my wardrobe completed.
Sticking to neutral colors helps so much for mixing and matching and being able to create multiple outfits from a few items. I have found that having a few simple accessories helps tremendously in rounding out outfits. My pick this year has been some inexpensive gold hoops and 3 gold (not real) necklaces in different lengths that can be worn separately or together. Shoes in basic colors can help pull an outfit together as well. I needed a pair of tennis shoes this year and I found some all black ones on sale for $50 that will go well with my outfits. I also have brown leather boots and some neutral flats.
I have long thought about adopting this method for my children's clothing but I never did. Children's clothing was so cute, basic colors seemed harder to find for little ones as everything seemed to have stripes or designs of some kind. I kept their wardrobes simple and minimal but I didn't try this same approach for them. I also thought that maybe they wouldn't like it either. When I went to buy my boys t-shirts for the summer, I decided to try getting as many solid, basic t-shirts in neutral colors and pairing them with solid colored shorts. They never noticed and loved their clothing and always looked put together. It got me thinking that maybe I should try this for their wardrobes on a larger scale. I was unsure how my daughter would feel as she is the ultimate girly-girl and loves flowers and prints on her clothing.
This year when I sat down to get my lists together for what they would need for fall and winter, I decided that I was going to take the plunge and try this for the children as well this year. My list for each of them was as follows:
1 snowsuit & coat
1 pair snow boots
1 pair cowboy boots
4 shirts
4 jeans
2 church outfits (button up shirts for boys & dresses for girl)
1 pair church jeans for the boys
2 pairs pajamas
1 sweater/sweatshirt
1 package underwear
1 package socks
I didn't have to buy everything for each of them and some had jeans that still fit or sweaters/sweatshirts that would still work. I found basic t-shirts for all three children in gray, black, navy, and burgundy. They have jeans for their bottoms. I got the boys each a plain black button up and a gray button up for church and my daughter a black maxi dress and a gray maxi dress. I found over the summer that the boys really don't care about what they wear as long as it fits, is comfortable, and clean. I was most worried about my daughter and so we had a talk and went over the items I had picked out for her and my reasoning behind it. She was very excited which surprised me! We will do the same with her as I do and rely on accessories to vary the outfits. I found some cute headbands and hair clips, some new hairstyles we want to try, and some jewelry or scarves to switch it up. She is beyond happy and I'm so excited to try it out! I know from experience that they will look really cute and put together with minimal items by keeping things basic.
In trying to keep costs lower this year and get everything I needed for the children, I had to re-evaluate things. I cut the church outfits down to 2 instead of 4 like I have had in the past. I didn't buy actual pajamas for the kids as they had increased in price from $10/pair to $15/pair this year. I wasn't going to spend $90 on pajamas alone for 3 children! In searching for alternatives I found some thermal long johns for $16.98 for a 2 pack. That made it $8.49 a pair and they can be dual purpose to use for both pajamas and as layers for playing in the snow.
I think it is a fun challenge to think of alternatives to get what we need and to be creative in making our budgets work for what we need to purchase. I paid $5/shirt for the children's shirts and then I looked around for the best prices on winter gear. I found these ski jackets/snow sets for the children on sale for $80 each. I have purchased from this company before and have been impressed by their quality so I felt confident in purchasing these for the children. After price checking and knowing that I couldn't find things cheaper, let alone for the same quality, I purchased them. Maybe you don't need snow gear or maybe you don't need the same kind of quality but given that we have a solid 6 months of winter here with extreme temperatures, it is important to me that the children have warm outerwear. I was really impressed with the quality when it arrived and I am anxious to see if it lives up to my expectations. I'm not too worried : )
I would love to know how you are outfitting yourself and your family and how you are navigating increased prices. If you have any tips and tricks that you use, I'd love to hear!