5 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 5 ways to decorate yourself for carnival season. Read on (and view photos) of my favorite items.

Earrings from Eclectic Duo

1. 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. Prepare yourself for a lot of compliments when you wear them, though.

Socks from Tabio, tennis from RueLaLa

2 & 3. Fun Socks and Jazzy Shoes

I’ve lumped two of the five items together because they go together. Although you can separate them, I know, I happen to be wearing them on the same day and thought they looked cute. 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. On the same sock!! The socks are really high quality and made in Japan. These socks are fantastic for tennis shoes, loafers, and walking around your house.

The shoes are fun. I bought these on closeout through RueLaLa. I actually bought two pairs. I have my size, which is too small, and the size above, which fits perfectly. Shame on me for not knowing by now that I need a size up in tennis shoes. The gold spoke to me. I imagined myself walking up St. Charles Avenue in those damn things, with some type of purple and green accents. Fun fact: I can also use them for St. Patty’s Day with green! Twoferone buying over here. Or twofertwo since I had to buy two pairs to get it right. Anyone have a small foot??

Mardi Gras Headband

4. 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! My design is just one of many. You can purchase these headbands at so many places. I prefer to patron the smaller shops in my city, and the ones who won’t rip me off.

Old Jumper Shirt that I Still Love

5. 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. Maybe I’m getting old.

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. 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 5 easy to decorate yourself for carnival season, and we’ll see you at da Mardi Gras!