The one time that I attended Mardi Gras I had no costume and felt like a magnificent opportunity to dress up had been wasted. There I was, in the midst of thousands of revelers in all types of crazy outfits and I was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Never again!
If you really want to do Mardi Gras right, and that can mean a Mardi Gras party as well as actually going to a Mardi Gras parade, you need to have something put together that is going to get some attention from the crowd. Mardi Gras is about letting go of your normal way of acting and dressing and embracing the extreme. The best way to do that is to ditch the jeans and t-shirts and put on something big, loud and memorable.
A great way to feel less inhibited at Mardi Gras is to wear a mask. A mask gives you a little bit of anonymity and can make it easier for you to let out your wild side. There are a lot of Mardi Gras masks that are made with feathers, sequins, glitter and bright colors that will both get you plenty of attention and hide who it is that’s jumping and diving for beads.
If you really want to dress up for Mardi Gras, make sure that your costume elements are in the green, purple and gold, these are the traditional colors of the event. I saw countless people wearing things in these colors and felt silly that I hadn’t known to wear them. You can pair a Mardi Gras mask with other flashy items in these colors, or you can go all out and get a complete Mardi Gras costume. These usually have a dressy or royal theme to them.
Another way to do it is to wear a crown. I’m a big fan of tiaras and crowns, but I usually like to wear silver ones. The Mardi Gras crowns are either gold or are in the three Mardi Gras colors, and they always look regal and elegant while looking wild at the same time.
Masks are such a big part of Mardi Gras that you can also use them in your decorations if you’re having a Mardi Gras party. Many people hang them from their balconies or placed them on their front doors during the week of the celebration. Even if you aren’t going to Mardi Gras this year, a little bit of the wild, uninhibited spirit of it can be with you with a couple of masks and a crown. That’s all you need to host a party where revelers can find their wild sides.