Summer Wardrobe for Kids

I did a post this past fall about a warm winter wardrobe for kids, detailing the list of clothing that I acquire for my children each fall.  It got some great responses and I was asked to do a follow up with a summer wardrobe as well.

I try to keep pretty exactly one week's worth of clothing for each child in the house, year round.  I always inventory just before time for the seasons to change.  I've developed the following list to use as a guideline when making sure the kids have enough clothing every year, without having too much or spending a fortune.

  

Each child should have:

1 Lightweight Sweater or Jacket

7 Shorts or 3-4 Wool Shorties (if still diapered)

4-5 Short Sleeve T Shirts

4-5 Tank Tops (for girls) in light weight fabric or Button Up Cotton Shirts (for boys)

2-4 Sundresses and Coordinating Bloomers for girls

7-10 Pair Underpants

2 Pair Jeans for cool days

5-7 Pair Pajamas, several being cotton nightgowns for hotter nights

1 Pair Rain Boots, optional

1 Pair Sandals - You could have a nice pair for away from home times and a pair for at home play, but my children tend to be barefoot at home.

1 Bathing Suit - even if you don't foresee being at a pool, this is handy for the sprinkler, or an unexpected invitation to go swimming.

To keep the costs low, I tend to buy fairly gender neutral clothing, and save it for the smaller children. Walter tends to be 1 size behind Sofi, so he often ends up with her clothes from the year before. I make most of Sofi's sundresses and I try to make them sized so that they will last 2 years. They sometimes get extra life as longer shirts after she has outgrown them as dresses.

I try to pick a palette to work from that all of the clothing works with.  At this point, the kids have got favorite colors that they tend to build around anyway. I aim for basic pieces without a lot of logos or pictures. That way, most shirts will match most pants, and our odds of having crazy toddler outfits is pretty low.