Mardi Gras is a festive occasion that calls for letting go of your inhibitions and acting as wild as you want. It also calls for some specific clothing to make the celebration comfortable, safe and fun.

Mardi Gras colors

The traditional Mardi Gras colors are gold, purple and green. You’ll see this theme everywhere when you go to a Mardi Gras celebration. For this reason, many Mardi Gras goers like to wear clothing in those colors. You might choose a casual outfit such as a pair of purple pants, a green T-shirt and a gold jacket or gold necklace to represent these colors. You might also choose a Mardi Gras costume that embodies the spirit of Mardi Gras as well as the traditional colors.

Comfortable Clothing

One of the most important things to remember is that your close will probably get quite dirty during Mardi Gras. The trash and dirt that is left in the streets during the celebration is legendary. You will be wading through trash throughout the celebration and you may even have food thrown at you. Don’t wear anything that is very expensive or that you don’t want to get dirty, stained or torn.

Many people choose very casual, inexpensive clothing for this reason. Others make a yearly stop at the thrift store to buy inexpensive clothing that can be thrown away after Mardi Gras over. However you get your Mardi Gras clothing, make sure it is comfortable and easy to move it. You may be jumping for beads, you may be jumping over something dirty in the street or you may want to run alongside a parade float. Make sure your pants are not too tight for these activities and are not loose enough to catch on something and get you injured.

Leave the expensive jewelry at home. It may very well be stolen in the crowds, particularly at night. For Mardi Gras, accessorize with giant plastic beads. Even before Mardi Gras starts, you can buy lots of Mardi Gras beads at any souvenir shop. And once the parades start, you should be able to catch them from the floats. Wear as many Mardi Gras beads as you can for the ultimate Mardi Gras experience.

Shoes

There are two schools of thought on Mardi Gras shoes. The first is that you should wear very tough boots because your feet will get stepped on and you will be wading through garbage. A strong pair of boots will make sure that your toes come through just fine and the dirt in the street doesn’t touch you. However, the garbage can be hard on a pair of boots and they may end up ruined.

The other school of thought is to buy the cheapest pair of shoes you can and then to throw them away after the celebration is over. Whenever shoes you choose, they should be a dark color so that the stains aren’t as obvious. Even if you are keeping the shoes, you may not want to look at dirty, stained shoes all night.