What to wear for Chinese New Year? The clue is in one of those 3 words (2024)

What to wear for Chinese New Year? You can’t go wrong with a new set of clothes that are red or gold in colour.

The key word here is new. In Chinese culture, buying and wearing new clothes to welcome the lunar new year symbolises a fresh start. New clothes are representative of a clean slate and help usher in plenty of good fortune in the coming year.

For some, the Chinese New Year holiday calls for dressing up in traditional Chinese clothing.

Men generally opt for Tang suits, which feature a distinctive stand-up collar and sophisticated button designs reminiscent of the Tang dynasty.

Women, on the other hand, are known to sport qipao or cheongsam – a form-fitting dress typical of the Qing dynasty. These form-flattering dresses are usually adorned with intricate embroidery and have a high collar.

While traditional attire holds significant cultural importance, it’s common to dress in contemporary clothing for Chinese New Year in the modern age.

Many choose to incorporate into their outfits, right down to their underwear, the colour red, which symbolises good luck and happiness in Chinese culture.

While red clothing takes centre stage during New Year festivities, other auspicious colours such as gold and yellow, which stand for wealth, prosperity, and royalty, are also popular choices.

Now that we’ve covered our New Year dos, it’s time that we move on to our don’ts.

Wearing black and white clothing is associated with grief and mourning, and are considered bad luck to wear during Chinese New Year.

Many avoid these colours so they don’t risk misfortune or causing offence to anyone around them at an auspicious time.

When it comes to hairstyles, anything goes. Just make sure you don’t wash your hair on the first day of the New Year as you plan your festive look – your good fortune could be washed away with it.

Getting a haircut during the New Year holiday is also generally discouraged, since the word “hair” sounds akin to “fortune” in Chinese. A cut could symbolise trimming your wealth for the upcoming year.

Lastly, if you’re planning on wearing new shoes it’s a good idea to buy them in advance of the festive season. For Cantonese speakers, the word “shoe” sounds like a sigh – by no means lucky as we step into a new year; buying new shoes invites reasons for sighing, so to say, and is therefore another big New Year no-no.