What should a baby wear for a cake smash?

Keep it simple

A cake smash is exactly what it sounds like: a one-year-old, a small cake of their own, and a camera, usually at home or in a small studio set-up. The cake and the baby’s face are the stars. The outfit’s job is to look sweet in the first few clean photos, then get out of the way.

That means one simple piece, rather than layers, accessories and a full party outfit. Rompers and dungarees are the classic choices because they show off chubby arms and legs and come off quickly afterwards.

Many families now do the cake smash at home a day or two before the main party, so it doesn’t clash with guests and formal photos, and the party outfit stays clean for the day itself.

Choosing colours

Strongly coloured icing, such as red or royal blue, transfers onto skin and fabric, and food colouring can stain. Choose an outfit you won’t mind keeping as a slightly marked memento.

• Match or complement the icing. Blue icing and a sky-blue romper, or a cream cake with a cream-and-navy outfit, look planned.
• Choose one or two colours rather than a busy print, so the cake stands out.
• Avoid white with a chocolate cake unless you are happy for it to be a one-use outfit.
• Keep the background plain: a cream sheet or a pale wall makes any outfit colour look better.

Good choices

• A polo romper. The Cream & Blue Striped Car Polo Romper has wide sky-blue and navy stripes and an embroidered car, and the Sky Blue Sailboat Polo Romper has a white polo top and a sky-blue bubble bottom with sailboats. Both have snaps at the legs for quick changes.
• Dungarees. The Beige Teddy Dungarees & Striped Top Set looks charming with the striped top for the first photos, and some parents take the top off for the messy part.
• A name on the chest. Custom embroidery, from Rs 500 through custom orders, shows up clearly in close-ups.

What to leave out

Skip the embroidered kurta or party frock you want to keep. Buttercream and chocolate are hard to get out of delicate work. Leave out tight headbands, big bows and stiff collars that bother a baby who is concentrating on cake. Tutus with glitter look fun but shed onto everything, including the cake.

Socks and shoes are optional. Bare feet in a cake smash photo are part of the charm. Keep hair simple too: a clip can slip out and end up in the cake.

Setting it up at home

You don’t need a studio. A plain sheet taped to the wall, a mat on the floor and daylight from a window are enough. Put a large plastic sheet under everything, keep wipes and a towel within reach, and take photos from the baby’s eye level rather than from above. Two short sessions, one clean and one messy, usually give better pictures than one long one, because a one-year-old’s patience is short.

Before, during and after

Take the clean photos first, in the outfit, before the cake appears. Then let the smash happen. Have a towel, a warm bath and a clean outfit ready, so the baby is back to comfortable within minutes.

For the romper or dungarees, scrape off icing, rinse from the back with cold water, then wash as the care label says. Our guide on how to wash baby clothes covers the basics. For the rest of the birthday, see our post on matching a baby’s outfit to a birthday party theme.

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