Ways to Decorate Yourself for Carnival Season

Carnival season can be short or it can be long, but no matter what, when January 6th hits, it’s time to break out that purple, green, and gold. January 6th is a big date for us here in New Orleans. It’s called a myriad of things: Epiphany, King’s Day, the start of the king cake diet, and the most wonderful time of the year. Whatever you want to call it, it’s correct. I like to kick off this part of the year with a king cake party. I buy several king cakes and invite a bunch of fun-loving people over and we indulge in food, libations, and most importantly, king cake. Back to the title of my article, though. I love sporting our beloved colors around town during the season, and I have several ways to decorate yourself for carnival season. Read on (and view photos) of my favorite items.

Earrings from Eclectic Duo

Earrings

Pierced or unpierced ears: you are in luck. Eclectic Duo, a jewelry company I found while perusing the Christmas Market at the Deutsches Haus this year, has extremely cute and festive jewelry. I zeroed in on the Christmas tree earrings and the king cake earrings, and I was set for my next two seasons in New Orleans. As I fact-check myself, I see that she also sells other fun things, like apparel, and I like her prices. I love rocking my king cake earrings around town as one of the ways to decorate yourself for carnival season. Prepare yourself for a lot of compliments when you wear them, though.

Socks from Tabio, tennis from RueLaLa

Fun Socks and Jazzy Shoes

I’ve lumped two of the items of ways to decorate yourself for carnival season together because they go together. Socks and shoes. I got the socks in Paris from a little shop that I love called Tabio. I went a little nuts when I was there and not only bought the purple ones, I bought some that had purple, green, and gold. It was meant to be! The socks are really high quality and made in Japan. These socks are fantastic for tennis shoes, loafers, and walking around your house. As far as shoes go, a cute pair of gold tennis shoes will do the trick. I have two pairs: the ones pictured and a glittery pair I got from J. Crew Factory on closeout. The combination is a winner for the Mardi Gras season.

Mardi Gras Headband

Headband

I’m iffy on headbands. I have a sensitive head, which I absolutely cannot stand about myself. I want to wear so many head ornaments but struggle to keep them on because they give me a headache. I bought one over at Alice and Amelia, and I have enjoyed wearing it. It’s not too tight, and hey, if it were, I’d just give it away. It was not really expensive but it is super cute and one of many adorable ways to decorate yourself for carnival season! My headband design is just one of many. You can purchase these headbands at so many places, including here.. I prefer to patron the smaller shops in my city, and the ones who don't overcharge for said items.

Old Jumper Shirt that I Still Love

Shirt/Sweatshirt

I got this old thing years ago. It is still in fashion (this style is not sold anymore in the hoodie format), as Mardi Gras apparel does not go out of fashion around these parts. I’ve had the nerve to wear it outside of the season, and no one has said boo to me. I would guess because most people have no clue what it means outside of New Orleans. IYKYK. We secretly love our favorite colors here, and accept when people want to adorn it. We do not accept eating king cake out of season, but wearing the colors out of season is totally fine. I love a good Mardi Gras specific shirt or sweatshirt, but I won’t lie. I like wearing a nice shirt and accenting it with all my other accessories as one of my preferred ways to decorate yourself for carnival season. Maybe I’m getting old.

Fun for the Route!

Decorated Sunglasses

Sunglasses are part of my everyday life since I have very light eyes and I don't want to accumulate more wrinkles than I have to at this stage of my life. When I found these adorable sunglasses that I couldn't live without, I knew it would be a perfect addition to my recommendations on ways to decorate yourself for carnival season. The store where I bought them, Phina, is full of festive and fun items for all of the special New Orleans occasions. They sometimes only get items for a season or a batch, which is how I acquired these sunglasses. Keep an eye out if you love them because they may just get some in at any point in the season. So worth it!

Find Your Style and Join the Party We Call Home

If you don’t live in New Orleans, you might want to jump into the festivities anyway. We love receiving pictures of decorated houses all over the country and world. If you’re not part of the Beyond Bourbon St community on Facebook, join! And definitely listen to the podcast. I am a sponsor and partner of the community through my boutique real estate company Liz Wood Realty, where I specialize in helping people purchase homes in New Orleans from out of state. Sharing our Mardi Gras enthusiasm is part of our culture in New Orleans, and giving you ideas of how to join into this madness we call home is inviting you into it. As we love to say here: we don’t hide the crazy, we parade it down the street. So get with one of these easy ways to decorate yourself for carnival season, and we’ll see you at da Mardi Gras!

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