Walmart’s Back-to-School Closet Challenge

According to Walmart’s “Class of 2012 Back-to-School Survey,” moms identified back-to-school clothes, shoes, and backpacks as their children’s three most important purchases for the new school year.

To make it easier for families, Walmart is not only offering a large selection of affordable back-to-school apparel from boys’ Faded Glory tees and Wrangler striped polos to girls’ LEI skinny jeans and Hello Kitty dresses but a new online “Back to School Closet Creator” for shoppers to see how other parents are mixing and matching and saving on apparel this season.

Using the online closet, I was challenged to create FIVE back-to-school outfits for $75.

Since every great wardrobe starts with solid, practical foundation pieces, I chose to build my fictional boys closet with the basics (age range starts at 5-6).  Walmart actually carries a ton of graphic tees, sweatshirts, and accessories of popular children’s cartoon characters (Mickey Mouse, Cars, Sesame Street, etc.) that my Bubba would go crazy for but I prefer a more polished look for school so I instead chose a colorful mix of T- and polo shirts for the transition from summer to fall, and good-quality bottoms that can easily be mixed and matched and built upon as the seasons change throughout the year.

In total, the “Back to School Closet Creator” helped me create sixteen possible outfit combinations with the 8 pieces I selected within my $75 budget.  I’m also able to share my custom closet on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter for feedback and inspiration.

Another benefit is Walmart’s Satisfaction Guarantee:  if for some reason you’re unhappy with any apparel item, you can simply return it within 90 days for a full refund.  That certainly inspires confidence in the quality and customer service.

Think you can create 5 days worth of outfits with $75?  Try it out for yourself and please let me know what you come up with.  I’m always on the lookout for style inspiration!

{I was not compensated for this post.  I did receive a Walmart gift card to kick-start our back-to-school shopping.  All opinions expressed herein are my own.}