Ethan's new Autumn / Winter '14 wardrobe

There's one thing I love buying more than buying clothes for myself - buying clothes for Ethan. I always thought clothes shopping for a boy would be less fun and more limiting but thanks to some fantastic high street stores and imaginative launches for the new season, there's so much choice out there.

From cable-knit cardigans and parkas to long-sleeve graphic tees and character design slippers and wellies, I am in love with the latest clothes for boys. Autumn is my favourite season anyway and I head over heels for the new palette of colours - mustards, teals, maroon and navy - that seem to be dominating for children and adults alike.

In particular, I am LOVING the new season drops for children from Next. I've confessed before that I would very much like to live in Next and slowly but surely, I think our family is starting to resemble a Next catalogue, with many a trinket or cushion around our home sourced from there and all three of us having quite a few Next pieces hanging in our wardrobes.

When it comes to kids clothes, Next has got it nailed in my opinion. The quality is fantastic and the clothes wash really well, there is such a broad range of choice - not just blues for boys and pinks for girls - and the prices are for the most part really reasonable when you consider point one.

As we're entering a new season and as it won't be long until Ethan needs 18 month to 2 year clothing, I decided to get his complete new wardrobe in one go. My thinking was that a) I could get everything he would need, b) everything would coordinate nicely having been bought at the same time, and c) I would avoid overspending or buying more than he would need.

So far, this theory has worked for when Ethan has gone up a size in clothing.

In the early days, Ethan just had too many clothes. I couldn't resist buying them and friends and relatives couldn't either, so he had too much to wear in too little time. You can read about my baby clothes top tips here (this just so happens to be my most popular post, so hopefully you'll find it useful!) but the main thing I've learnt is to plan what he really needs and to work to this.

At his current stage and for the seasons ahead, I've worked to the following:

I know I'll pick up other things as the months go on but I'm pleased that I have most things sorted, all folded away inside his clothes cupboard ready to replace his current clothes in a few weeks time.

Here are some of the pieces I've bought from Next and yes, you may spot a recurring theme. As you may know, hubs and I chose dinosaurs as the theme for Ethan's playroom and now, we can't resist buying anything dinosaur related. Next has some really lovely dinosaur and monster inspired clothes at the moment, from comic-book style character designs through to more traditional prints and suffice to say, I could have bought it all!

Photos sourced from Next

And here's a look at some of the other essential items I picked up from Very and George at Asda, which for me offers unbeatable value and again, such a brilliant range to choose from. We always find what we need at George and particularly when it comes to casual / nursery wear, you can't complain.

I can't wait to see Ethan in all his new clothes. As I say, I love the current colours and styles and he's growing up so fast, he's going to look very grown-up this Autumn / Winter.