"I used to buy clothes every time I saw something cute, and my son still had nothing to wear on a school morning," admits Ritika Sharma, a Bengaluru-based parent. "Once I started thinking about the wardrobe as a whole instead of one outfit at a time, everything got easier."

This is a common trap. It is easy to fill a child’s cupboard with pieces that look adorable on the hanger but never quite come together into a real outfit. A wardrobe that works is one where almost everything can be mixed, matched and layered, so getting dressed takes a minute instead of a battle. The good news is that building one is mostly about planning, not spending more.