Number of various clothing items for an 11 year old girl?

[PoetryLover]

I posted this in Frugality and Finances. I'm not sure why? I think I was overtired or something, but I think it belongs here:



My 11 year old DSD is coming to live with us full time in a couple months. I'm not exactly sure what she is bringing in the way of clothing. I'm assuming that we'll need to buy some things, but that she should have plenty of most things. I know we need to buy her boots and possibly a warmer coat. We plan to homeschool her, so she doesn't need tons of school clothes, but I do want her to have some nicer clothes, while not breaking the bank. When she arrives, I'll know more what she has and go from there. What I'd like to know right now is from a decluttering/minimalist perspective, what amount of each garment you need for a preteen? We endure harsh New England winters and enjoy nice summers. I don't want to provide just the bare minimum, but I do want to make sure that what she has is adequate. We'll be operating from a limited budget, so that's one reason I'm thinking "minimally." I plan to do her laundry 1-2 times per week. Please also include, shoes, undergarments, PJs and outer clothing in your list. Thanks in advance!

[ollyoxenfree]

Hmm, you have to consider seasonality, which means she'll need a little more than she would in a temperate climate.

Here's a suggested list, with [] for optional items:

Outerwear:

Parka and snowpants
[Cloth winter dress coat]
Windbreaker/Raincoat
Hats, Scarves, Gloves (at least 2 of each, because inevitably they get wet and need to dry before the kid has to go outside again]
Sun hat
Sunglasses

Shoes:

Snow boots
Sneakers
Loafers or casual shoes
[Dress shoes]
Sandals (DD wears inexpensive flipflops mostly, but she has strong feet so support isn't an issue)
[Rain boots]

Undergarments

1 pr. long underwear (top and bottom)
10 pr. underpants
[3 pr. undershirts or camisoles] (can always layer t-shirts instead)
10 pr. socks - 5 athletic and 5 "regular"
2 pr. pyjamas (In summer, dd often just wears a XL t-shirt)


Clothes

5 t-shirts
2 or 3 long-sleeve t-shirts
[2 or 3 turtlenecks] (my kids won't wear them, but I think they are great)
1 dress blouse
1 knit sweater
2 fleece sweatshirts/hoodies
2 pr. blue jeans
2 pr. yoga pants (also work as pj's)
1 pr. cotton or linen pants
3 pr. shorts
1 skirt/dress/dress pants
1 bathing suit (2 if you swim a lot), rashguard shirt and boardshorts


DD is 14 and she has quite a bit more than this, including lots of accessories (scarves, hats, bags - oh, the bags and purses!!) and shoes and jackets/coats and dress clothes (skirts and dresses for social occasions - weddings, school formals, Christmas parties etc.). She gets hand-me-downs and also likes to buy vintage clothes and re-sew them. So for us, despite the amount of clothes, she's fairly frugal. It's the de-cluttering that we have to manage more.

Don't forget the gear that comes with extra-curricular activities. At age 11, DD was playing soccer, hockey and danced, so she had training sneakers, soccer cleats and shin pads, skates, ballet slippers, jazz shoes, and tap shoes, aside from her regular sneakers, boots, sandals, dress shoes etc. She also had her soccer uniform, full set of hockey equipment (pads, socks, jerseys etc.), and dance leotards etc.

[IsaFrench]

for basics I would say....

enough underwear and socks to last between two washes and still have a spare one or two

5 or so pairs of pants or skirts for winter and 5 or so long sleeves cotton tops with a 3 or 4 sweat-shirts or woollen cardigans

adequate clothing/shoes for outdoor in the winter
one pair of slippers

(for the summer needs, wait until you know her style/precise needs a bit more)

two sets of bed linens, one on the bed, one put away in her room so that it's always easy to find when changing the bed

2 color coded (her own color, so that if she's responsible for putting it back on a hook/to hang flat at her designated place to dry between showers/baths) bath towels (the spare/clean one put away in her room together with her spare set of bed linen)

2 or 3 choices of night dresses or pyjamas, plus maybe a warm dressing gown depending on what temperature it is inside in the winter

if she has long hair, a basket or transparent pretty bag for putting brush, comb, elastic band etc ....

anything extra could be presents from family at birthdays or Christmas ....or a reward for doing X, Y, Z ....