Kid’s Clothes Week will be taking place February 20th-26th. This time around there is an optional capsule wardrobe theme. Will you be sewing alongside your virtual sewing pals next week?
I thought I’d offer you some inspiration on a what an Oliver + S capsule wardrobe would look like. So what is a capsule wardrobe? It’s a collection of a few essential items of clothing that are “classics”, therefore they don’t go out of fashion. It is composed of interchangeable items to maximize the number of outfits that can be created. Do this by sewing “staple” items in coordinating colors. You’ll end up with a mini wardrobe made up of really versatile pieces so you can mix and match the items to create many different outfits.
Separates work really well for this and a great place to start for ideas are the Oliver + S singles sewing patterns.
As far as fabric ideas stick with a tight color palette and reach for classic fashion fabrics. Here are my suggestions as to where to start:
The capsule wardrobe I created has blues, white, gray, black, khaki, with a little pop of pink.
1) Let’s start out with a basic white t-shirt. Every wardrobe needs one. This is the easy-to-sew School Bus T-shirt in a white solid cotton knit fabric.
2) A classic top for either a boy or girl would be a Sailboat Top in a stripe cotton knit fabric. Be sure to read Liesl’s post all about the La Mariniere.
3) A denim shirt can be layered and it goes with everything. Make a Sketchbook Shirt in a Robert Kaufman Chambray.
4) For a boxy t-shirt, make a Lunch Box Tee in a knit fabric like this.
5) This Playtime Tunic in Double Gauze Chambray Dobby by Robert Kaufman is just darling.
6) For something girly I added a Butterfly Blouse in Petal Kona Cotton.
7) What a beautiful blue Building Block Dress in Robin Egg Kona Cotton.
8) Here is a Secret Agent Trench Coat in a khaki twill. This style never goes out of fashion and could be worn for multiple seasons.
9) For a khaki bottom take the Lunch Box Culottes and sew it in a khaki twill.
10) This cute Swingset Skirt is in the Pointelle Rings fabric from The Denim Studio by AGF.
11) For a denim skirt try the Butterfly Skirt in the Indigo Shadow fabric from The Denim Studio by AGF.
12) For a comfortable and casual day a pair of Parachute Sweatpants are perfect in some Heather Grey Sweatshirt Fleece.
13) Every wardrobe needs a pair of black leggings. These are the Playtime Leggings in a black cotton spandex knit fabric.
14) Last but not least a pair of Nature Walk Yoga Pants in Blush Solid Knit.
I LOVE this post!
Thank you Rachel!!
This is super helpful! Thank you. I’m slowly learning to resist random prints. So much more satisfying to see pieces get worn over and over than sit in the closet because the one other thing they go with is in the laundry.
This looks great! Would you consider a post on a capsule wardrobe for women using your patterns? Thanks.
Absolutely, Tammy! It’s on my To Do list.
I’ve only recently looked into capsule wardrobes and it has completely reawoken my desire to sew the majority of my kids’ wardrobes again… fewer pieces with a definite vision of where I’m ending up is just what I need right now. Thanks for this post on this Rachel!
I’m a little late to the party here, but I would love to see something like this for boys for the Fall!