E-Paper
Fortune will favour the bold this Chinese New Year: Your dressing guide to call in maximum luck
Calling in luck from the cosmos for the year ahead can be as simple as picking the right colours to wear tomorrow
2026 is the year of the fire horse or Bing Wu. As per Chinese astrology, metaphysics and the 60-year calendar cycle (which has incidentally reset this year), the cycle of Bing Wu brings a definitive sense of momentum, independence and rebellion. It's energies are aligned with honouring and embodying spectacle as a necessary reflection of the calendar's Yang energy.
Tomorrow, February 17, the world will officially exit the tumultuous year of the snake, and step foot into the year of the fire horse. And sartorially speaking, there is a right and a wrong way to go about it. And we have just the guide for you to help you start the Lunar New Year, on the right foot (and in the right shades).
The Do's
A rule of thumb to follow is to definitively have something red and gold on you, even if the vibrant shades don't dominate your OOTD. Red is seen as incredibly auspicious in Chinese culture and symbolises luck, happiness and prosperity. Gold on the other hand, is seen as a marker of stable prosperity being passed down generations and hence makes the perfect choice for accents to compliment your red-first look.
Also carrying the same energy for this year, are the colours burgundy, purple - and even pink. The same holds true for silver. Though if we had to rank options here, red and gold would win hands down.
The Don'ts
You may want to balance out the bright red in your fit with a trusty neutral. But just for tomorrow, steer clear of any blacks or whites. In Chinese culture, black is associated with funerals and mourning while white symbolises loss and sadness. The logic behind avoiding these colours for the New Year then, becomes obvious.
While it is obvious that any damaged clothes are to be avoided, new shoes are an absolute no-no. The reason behind this is that the word 'shoes' sounds similar to the Mandarin word for 'evil', while it sounds like a sigh in Cantonese. Additionally, washing your hair or cutting is also strictly forbidden for tomorrow.
Are you ready to blaze into the year of the fire horse?
