An important part of any important festival or an event is dressing up and Chinese New Year is no different.
Among all the festivals, the Chinese New Year is quite a significant one with festivities lined up for days and preparations made well in advance to make the Chinese New Year celebrations grand and special for everyone participating in it.
The festival being a traditional and auspicious one, every detail is being intricately planned and all necessary arrangements are done up much before the arrival of the day. Even the outfit is being thought of well before the day so that people can look the best when they celebrate the onset of a New Year and bid adieu to an old one.
Shopping for costumes
Chinese New Year Costumes are integral part of celebration and fun associated with the ushering in of the New Year and proper attention is given to make sure that they are n tune with the mood that marks this festivity. People go out for shopping to traditional shops much before the celebration begins to find costumes that can match their personality and enhance their beauty on the special traditional holiday. Choosing the costume to ring in the New Year is also quite a big thing for many people as they do not wish to end up making a fashion faux pas, look ugly and invite negative vibes on the auspicious Chinese New Year day.
New clothes to welcome the New Year
Dressing up in new clothes is the major norm followed by people when observing the Chinese New Year. It is believed that new clothes also bring a sense of freshness, new energy and new confidence. Since New Year signifies new beginnings and hence everyone comes out in new Chinese New Year outfits to welcome the big festive day. Bright colors are highly preferred by revelers and local people welcoming the Chinese New Year as bright tones are believed in bring in cheer, happiness and attract all the bright things of life.
Red colored outfits the most preferred one
The color red seems to be the top favorite of people when it comes to choosing the right outfit to welcome the Chinese New Year. It is believed by locals following the Chinese Lunar Calendar that red color can ward of dangers cast by evil forces and spirits. Bad fortune can be avoided by wearing red colored outfit on the traditional festival day. A wardrobe of every celebrator is filled with a few or at leas one red dress that can be especially worn during the New Year. Therefore, it is not uncommon to see people everywhere donning dazzling red-colored costumes everywhere. The spectacle of red-dress donning people everywhere gives a feeling that the entire city has been painted in the bright color.
Gi pao – Traditional Chinese Female Costume
A lot of people do not prefer buying new clothes but they try and fit into the traditional Chinese outfits to ring in the Chinese New Year. Gi pao (or cheongsam) is the traditional Chinese outfit worn by females on the New Year. During the time, when this traditional Chinese female costume for women first got introduced, it was a loose piece of clothing that can cover a women’s body but over time and with modernization of fashion trends, it got tailored to evolve as a more fitting dress. A modernized version of gi pao comes with short sleeves and a short hemline but still has conventional patterns.
Chang pao – Traditional Chinese Make Costume
While the females dress up in qi pao/cheongsam, the males are not left behind. They come out wearing the traditional costumecalled the chang pao (or changsan). It is a formal uniform that was worn earlier by males to official events and parties. It was in vogue before the Westernized suit took over.
Chinese New Year costumes are wisely chosen to create unique impact despite having a dominant touch of the red color. These can be really complex outfits and one may not be able to manage them on ordinary days of the year and hence it is often saved for the major festival- Chinese New Year. The elegance, classic style and bright ness that traditional Chinese costumes reflect make dressing up for the occasion so much more fun. It is not just specially tailored new clothes that people wear but they also get hairstyles and makeovers to appear fully fresh and to maintain the sanctity when they ring in the New Year in grand style.
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