Essentials for child's wardrobe?

[overweightcat]

Currently aiming to declutter DCs drawers in prep of going back to school.

DC1 will be at school (year1) FT and DC2 is still a toddler so I know more or less what I need there.

For DC1 I find his drawers bursting at the seams but seem to actually be missing clothes that just go together and look nice and neat. Some of it has holes so will be the first to go and some just looks a bit worn and old (also some hand me downs which is probably why).

Obviously mon-fri he's at school but will be getting changed when he gets home where it doesn't really matter what he wears as long as it's comfy, so that just leaves weekends and any birthday parties / in law visits / days out.

I'm most likely going to want to buy a few items for him as well as amongst others he's recently torn his last pair of jeans

I'd love a few tips or links to nice and not extortionately priced clothes (see reason above^^) and more importantly an idea of the quantity of clothes that is reasonable for him.
Realistically - how many tshirts/long sleeved tops / hoodies / joggers / jeans and so on should I have for a child that's at ft school?
I'm chronically terrible at this and always keep things because I think they're nice whereas in reality they either never get picked out of the drawer or when they are I end up swapping it for something else because it just does not go with anything at all.

Any tips really appreciated.

In my house it's about 2 or 3 pairs of trousers, about 6 t shirts, 2 jumpers, 3 pairs of shorts. One smart/party outfit. All of the tops and bottoms interchange to match together.

If I like say some heavily patterned leggings then I buy a top at the same time from the same shop to check it matches, otherwise it won't get worn.

Maybe do a big clear out then reassess? I find school kids need a lot less clothes than preschoolers.

what does the DC like to wear? is he more comfy in jeans or joggers?does he feel the cold or not? perhaps tweak things accordingly. For instance, I was often buying jeans/nice trousers for DD but she's much happier in leggings and shorts, so all the nice stuff was never getting worn. And every time I put her in a cardigan, its off again 2 seconds later, whereas DS feels the cold a lot more and is happy to wear a hoody or jumper.

Also, I buy about twice many pairs of joggers and jeans for DS as seems sensible, because he destroys them. In the last couple of years I think he's worn the knees out of pretty much ever pair I've bought.

I have a DD, I reckon you could get away with two pairs jeans, two pairs joggers and a pair of chinos plus a multipack of shorts, then one shirt to go with the chinos, five short sleeve tshirts and three long sleeve ones, and two or three zip up hoodies. Trousers, shorts and hoodies all in neutralish colours, save brights and patterns for the tshirts. If it weren't for half term you would need even less.

3 x trousers, 3 x shorts (dc2(9) & 4(5) wear them year round). 1-2 x jogging bottoms. 3-5x short sleeve tee, 3-5x long sleeve tee, 3-4 x jumpers. 3-4 pairs of pyjamas.

This is pretty much what my 3 boys & 2 girls have. I wash daily. They do have a couple of extra smarter bits. I paired down to roughly this amount 2 years ago as they all had so many clothes due to older cousins passing items down etc that it was getting out of hand. Now, if clothes get passed down they look through it & switch out any bits they'd like to change & I pass on again. Up to the age of 2/3 I find 5 of everything easiest (Dc5 was/is a grubby child)

This reminds me that I need to do my thrice yearly sort out of DD's bottoms. I suspect none of her jeans or leggings are long enough now.

The best clothes I've had, that aren't gifts from expensive brands, are from Tu. They're on a par with Next.

I know he'll be at school but you'll have 2 weeks at Christmas and 2 weeks at easter. DS is a toddler but has 2 pairs of dungarees, about 7 pairs of trousers, 3 shorts. Maybe 15 t-shirts in a mix of long and short sleeve. 10 pairs socks. One pair trainers, one pair shoes, one pair wellies. A shirt for smarter wear. And then a few bits like a swimsuit, sunhat, wooly hat, puddle suit.

I have FINALLY achieved a nice manageable wardrobe for my DC, he's 3.

Lindex leggings in lots of colours and patterns, a handful of plain coloured lindex tee shirts, black, navy, white, khaki, black converse trainers

A few hoodies from Zara, and a few pairs of Zara jeans

Oh, plus about 5 cardis my mum has knitted! And a couple of hooded zip sweatshirts.

I have 2 dc of about the same ages. Ds (5) has a couple of pairs of jeans, pair of cords or chinos for smarter wear and about 3 pairs of joggers plus about 4 pairs of shorts all in navy, greys, neutral colours. Then he has a bunch of bright / fun T-shirt’s (I just add as I see them but normally supermarket buys or next) 1 shirt for parties, 2 hoodies and a couple of jumpers (plain & nicer prints). 1 gilet, 1 rain coat and one smart thick coat. That pretty much covers him for all occasions!

I second the suggestion for Tu at Sainsbury’s for good boys clothes. I also like Morrison’s just for fun boys t-shirts and H&M do good basics in nice colours to mix and match. I also look out for next years sizes in John Lewis & boden sales.

This is my annual checklist:
Sorry for lack of spacing; it's from a spreadsheet.

Underwear
6 Pyjamas
10 underpants
6 vests
10 socks
1 dressing gown
2 short pyjamas
1 swim shorts/nappy
1 sun suit
1 swim cap

Daywear (first number is for toddler, second number for school age son )

2 cords 1
2 chinos 2
2 dungarees X
2 joggers 2
3 chino shorts 2
3 jersey shorts 2
8 long sleeved tops 5
3 t-shirts 2
3 short sleeved shirts 2
2 cardigan/jumper 1

Outerwear
2 hoodie
1 winter coat
1 rain dungarees
1 raincoat
1 jacket
2 knitted hat
1 scarf
2 knitted gloves
1 winter shoes
1 wellies
1 slippers
1 sandals
1 canvas shoes
1 jelly shoes
1 sunglasses
2 sunhats (straw/cloth)

Posted too soon. I have to have a list like that or I end up with nothing they can wear. I'm rubbish at shopping without a plan. I tend to buy the trousers and shorts first and then a top for each one and keep them as a pair. Then I buy all the stuff that needs to go ok with all the outfits like multipacks of socks, a cardi, coat, shoes etc. so I know what colours to go for or what styles will and won't work. Then when it comes to underpants, pyjamas, swimming stuff, dressing gown, slippers etc, MiL and my mum often buy them some for birthday presents as they like choosing some clothes for them and those things are often fun with pictures or patterns related to the boys' interests like dinosaurs, space, Peppa Pig etc. and don't need other stuff to work well as an outfit, so I know they won't go to wsste. I buy mostly second hand unused stuff as it's less expensive for stuff that lasts really well for handing down and is in nice fabrics as synthetics seem to annoy DS2's eczema.

My DS is 3 so probably still in the ‘comfort over smart’ phase but I love H&M for the basics like t-shirts. Size up though definitely because they’re small made I think.
We have something like
3 ‘nice’ joggers
3 scruffy joggers
3 canvas style trousers
3 jogger Jean (I love these)
15 t shirts, some long sleeve, mostly short.
3 sweatshirts
5 Hooded jumpers.
2 smart shorts, linen material
3 jersey shorts
A couple of shirts for birthday party’s that I tend to throw on over a t shirt rather than button him into.
I also tend to buy in outfits, I favour various blue/grey shades on the bottom because of the ease of finding matching tops. I don’t think he has any patterned bottoms!