Newborn layette: what you really need (and what you don’t)

The layette is one of the sweetest rituals of the wait — and one of the first times you discover how full of unnecessary things the newborn world is. The truth every parent learns quickly: you need far less than it seems, but the little you do need has to be well made.

This is our essential list, built around one simple question: what actually gets used, every day, in the first months?

In short:

• The essential layette list: 7–8 bodysuits, 6–7 rompers, 2–3 front-opening cardigans, socks, 2 blankets, bibs and muslins.
• The most common mistake: too much size 0–1 month — the heart of the layette is 1–3 months.
• Only cotton against the skin, and everything washed before use with a gentle detergent.
• You don’t need: baby shoes, pieces with buttons at the back, too many “occasion” outfits in tiny sizes.

The essential first-month list

A newborn’s wardrobe revolves around very few pieces, multiplied by the number of changes:

• 7–8 cotton bodysuits, half short-sleeved and half long-sleeved depending on the season: they are the daily uniform and get changed as often as twice a day.
• 6–7 rompers: comfortable, opening at the front or along the legs for night-time changes, in soft cotton.
• 2–3 little jumpers or cardigans that open and close without going over the head.
• Socks and a couple of hats, plus a sun hat or a wool one depending on the month of birth.
• 2 blankets: one lightweight in cotton, one warmer.
• Small bibs and a few muslin cloths — the most used items on the whole list, for ever.

Sizes: the mistake everyone makes

The classic: a drawer full of size 0–1 month, worn for ten days. Newborns go up a size in weeks, not months. The sensible spread:

• Size 1 month: the bare minimum, 2–3 changes.
• Size 1–3 months: the heart of the layette.
• Size 3–6 months: a few pieces already; it will look enormous and it won’t be.

If you’re giving it as a gift to someone else, go for 6–12 months. The moment will come when everything else is too small, and that piece will be the only one ready.

Materials: this part isn’t negotiable

A newborn’s skin only half does its job: for the first months it is thinner and more permeable than an adult’s. Pieces worn against the skin should be cotton — good quality if possible, with flat seams and no scratchy labels. Synthetics trap sweat, and wool in direct contact can irritate: they go on top, never underneath.

And everything, absolutely everything, should be washed before use: a gentle cycle with a neutral soap, no perfumed fabric softener.

What you do NOT need (parents’ word on it)

• Baby shoes: lovely, and never worn. Until the first steps, socks are enough.
• Pieces with buttons at the back or a tight opening over the head: every change turns into a negotiation.
• Too many “big occasion” outfits in size 0–3: there are few occasions in the first months, and growth is fast.
• Anything that needs ironing: time for ironing, in the first months, is a memory.

The “good” piece: one, but the right one

That said, one special piece in the layette has its place — for the first family lunch, the first-month photos, the christening on the horizon. A smart bodysuit or a romper in carefully made cotton dresses a newborn without constraining them: elegance, at this age, is all in the materials.

Farway bodysuits and rompers — designed for skin in the first months, in sizes 0–12 — are in the Christening and newborn collection; everyday pieces live in the Bodysuits and rompers category.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to get the layette ready?

Between the seventh and eighth month: late enough to know the season and the measurements from the scan, early enough to do it calmly. The layette for the hospital goes into the bag from week 36.

How many changes a day do you need?

In the early days, 2–3 complete changes a day are the norm — between posseting, generous nappies and small accidents. Hence the numbers on the list: better seven bodysuits than four.

Organic cotton: is it worth it?

Against the skin, the quality of the fibre and of the dyes counts for more than the label: a good combed cotton, certified and well made up, is what makes the difference you can feel to the touch — even before the name on the certification.

If you’re giving the layette as a gift instead, we’ve gathered the new baby gift ideas that last.

The perfect layette fits in two drawers, smells of clean laundry and contains nothing that won’t be used. Everything else is tenderness — legitimate, but optional.