The Magnificent 8 are Celebrating the Year of the Dragon
As we are quickly approaching the start of the Chinese New Year, I thought it might be fun for my group of magnificently ageless friends to style outfits for the Year of the Dragon. Preparations for the new year begin on February 2 and last until New Year’s Eve on February 9. This first week is known as Little Year. February 10 marks the official beginning of the Chinese New Year with the Spring Festival lasting until February 20. Finally, arrangements begin on February 21 for the Lantern Festival which is held on February 24.
Although I was the one who suggested the Year of the Dragon as our style challenge, I admittedly had no idea whatsoever how one would dress to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year, especially when one is not Chinese. But I have long been fascinated with Eastern cultures and religions so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to also educate myself more about the Chinese zodiac.
I knew a little already because long ago I had planned a full leg tattoo that had a whole Chinese zodiac theme. The tattoo idea included a Rat holding a Tiger Lily with a Dragon sleeping inside the petals of the lily. My mother was born in the Year of the Rat and my father was born in the Year of the Dragon. I was born under the Tiger sign and lilies are my favorite flower. But alas, this tattoo never came to be because with the birth of my children, my tattoo budget quickly disappeared!
But clearly, my clothing budget never really diminished. However, despite having a closet room overflowing with options, I still didn’t know how a person is supposed to dress to celebrate the start of the Chinese New Year. So I relied on trusty old Google and found this very helpful article…Lucky Colours to Wear For Chinese New Year 2024.
And what I found was very new information to me. For example, I had no idea that each sign’s element corresponds with a specific set of colors. The elements can either correspond or counteract with each other which can lead to certain color combinations being taboo when worn during specific time periods.
In the Year of the Dragon, there are four zodiac signs (the Dragon, the Ox, the Dog, and the Rabbit) that have the potential of creating a clash in the elements which can lead to sartorial taboos. Therefore, it is important to choose the colors you wear carefully if you are one of those signs. The other zodiac signs do not have strict color taboos during the Year of the Dragon but they do each have a specific set of lucky colors. If you don’t know your Chinese zodiac sign, you can find out here.
As a Tiger, my lucky colors for the new year are purple and yellow which are both colors that represent royalty. It is an unlikely color pairing but one that really works if you commit to it. But now you may be wondering where is the yellow in my outfit. Clearly I am wearing purple and red. If you look closely, however, you will see the little yellow flowers on my red jacket.
Now let’s talk about red. In Chinese culture, red symbolizes good fortune and joy and is always a recommended color to wear as we welcome the new year. It is also a wonderful color to create a rich and bold look while also tying together my unlikely pairing of purple and yellow.
When I was creating this Year of the Dragon outfit, I wanted to incorporate luxurious fabrics for a little extra celebratory spirit. With this in mind, I reached for my old purple satin slip skirt and paired it with a red knit turtleneck that I found in a bag of clothing donated to my raggery projects. Then I topped it off with this gorgeous red silk floral blazer that I thrifted years ago. I don’t love the fit of this jacket, but I love the color and the beautiful gold floral detail that I simply cannot part with it despite its less than ideal silhouette.
Since I do love combining varying aesthetics including a little East meets West mix, I brought in some Western-inspired accessories including my gold floral cowgirl boots, my red Panama hat, and my embossed leather belt. My new purple Teddy Blake bag was perfect with this skirt. My jewelry includes my red wooden flying phoenix earrings, my yoga girl pendant, and a new wooden beaded necklace that Jeff and Archie picked out for my wedding anniversary gift.
The necklace was such a wonderful surprise because I had picked it up and held in my hands at least 3 different times when I visited my favorite flea market. But for some reason, I always put it back. I think my energy must have been all over it because apparently Archie picked it up immediately and said, “Mom would love this necklace!” Boy, was he right.
In fact, I love this whole outfit. While this color combination is one that I may have never considered wearing a decade ago, I am really embracing the boldness that comes with surviving nearly 50 years in this crazy ole world. There is a certain sense of entitlement that comes with quinquagenarian status, don’t you think? For example, I will wear whatever the heck I want boldly, with confidence, and with zero f*cks given! Happy New Year!
The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from 20’s to 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence.
Every quarter, we choose a theme and each create an outfit that suits our own personal tastes and fashion choices and we post them on the last Wednesday of every third month. So be sure to go check out everyone’s posts for lots of style inspiration at any age!
Let me introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8 so you can see what they are wearing to celebrate the Year of the Dragon. You can click on each individual link to see how my beautiful friends have interpreted this theme.
- Grace of Graceful Rags
- Mica of Away from the Blue
- Roxanne of Glass of Glam
- Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
- Rena of Fine Whatever
- Eugenia of Age of Grace
- Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style
- Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style
Will you be celebrating the Year of the Dragon?
Be sure to join us again on April 24, 2024, for our next collaboration when we will be styling Pantone’s color of the year, Peach Fuzz, with an eye on agelessness.
Keeping it on the edge,
Shelbee
Joining these Fabulous Link Parties.
Outfit Details: Jacket, Turtleneck, and Beaded Necklace-Preloved / Skirt-Target / Boots-Country Outfitter / Hat-Wona Trading / Yoga Necklace-Rainbow Zen / Earrings-Big Earrings / Tights and Belt-Old / Bag-Teddy Blake
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
14 Comments
jodie filogomo
I guess I should have researched the topic more, as I didn’t know about the specific colors. But this outfit is truly magnificent, and your son gets kudos for the necklace, LOL.
XOOX
Jodie
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Jodie! I love the outfits you all created for this theme even without researching the colors. The variety of approaches to each theme is really what makes this collaboration so much fun and you all did a wonderful job with it! Happy Lunar New year to you!
xoxo
Shelbee
April Stephens
Y’all are too cute and fun. I’m still not past the statement about having a whole room for clothes. Your closet is a room? Like Kim Kardashian. I now have a new long term goal. 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Oh my goodness, thanks so much April! Well, I am definitely not anything like Kim Kardashian but I do have a closet room! LOL When we moved to our current home, we downgraded from a 2,800 square foot home with huge walk-in closets to a 100 year old 1,700 square foot home with barely any closets at all. We have this one really tiny bedroom that maybe can fit a crib or a twin bed and we really did not need an extra teeny tiny spare bedroom so we hung shelves and racks all around the room and turned it into a walk-in closet. It is actually smaller than the closet I had in our previous house but it is still a whole room for my clothing and shoes! I definitely appreciate having the designated space! I hope you get a giant closet room for yourself one day, too!
xoxo
Shelbee
Patrick Weseman
Looking so very nice and you nailed the look.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Patrick! Happy Lunar New Year to you!
xoxo
Shelbee
Melissa Cuentas
I wanted to give some love to this collab, and I’ve visited and read each post, one outfit keeps getting better after the other. You all are so stylish! I loved your interpretation on this! Plus red and purple? Beautiful color combination! It looks very harmonious too. You’ve nailed it! ❤️💜
Have a beautiful day and rest of the week!
XO, Melissa
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Melissa, thank you so much for such a lovely comment! This group is so much fun. We have been doing this quarterly collaboration for five years and it is just as fun now as it was five years ago! I hope you have a beautiful brilliant day and a wonderful weekend ahead!
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
I love that you had no idea what to wear yet you came up with this luscious outfit! I love the color combinations (check my post on Thursday) as well as all the accessories…that hat is fabulous!! And, I never knew how long the Chinese New Year celebrations lasted. I find the Eastern cultures so fascinating. I’m glad Archie picked up on your energy so you received those wooden beads. They were meant to be yours and as a gift not a purchase.
I am a Rooster which means my colors are yellow and brown! I’m gonna have to work on that one!
Have a fabulous week, my friend!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Marsha, thanks so much, my friend! I really did struggle with this one. Once I settled on the color combination, I was actually pretty limited in my wardrobe with luscious fabrics in those colors. And I wanted luscious fabrics for this Lunar New Year celebration! First the jacket came to mind and I almost paired it with this red satin slip skirt which happened to be on the same hanger as the purple one! I had forgotten about the purple one so that was a lucky happenstance. I love that you are a Rooster! I was shopping at the flea market yesterday and there were all these rooster things and I spoke aloud to another customer and said, “Oh, I do love roosters!” Probably why I like you so much!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
That would have made a fabulous tattoo. Perhaps one day. Such beautiful colour combination. And I didn’t know about colours that match the sign. Want to read more about it now!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Nancy! It would have made a fabulous tattoo, but I think my tattoo days are over! I love the Chinese zodiac and all the different ways that different cultures view astrology and other things. It is fun to learn about!
Shelbee
Mica Away From The Blue
Oh I love this – may be my favourite take on the theme! The texture all works so well together and looks so luxe! 🙂 I really like these shades of red and purple together too! This was a fun theme to work with and everyone had such different ideas! Thanks for suggesting it 🙂
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Mica! This was a really fun theme. I love how everyone really went in totally different directions with our interpretations. That’s what makes these group challenges so much fun for me. We always end up with a really great mix of unique outfits and perspectives. I adore all of you magnificent ladies so much! Thanks for being part of this group.
xoxo
Shelbee