Loading blog content, please wait...
What Do You Put a Kid in for a Mardi Gras Parade? Purple, green, and gold layered so you can peel them off, plus shoes you'd let them run in. That's the...
Purple, green, and gold layered so you can peel them off, plus shoes you'd let them run in. That's the whole answer for a Louisiana kid at a parade, and everything else is just deciding how cute you want to get with it.
Mardi Gras 2027 lands on February 16, which means the parades before it are late-winter cold-front weather here. One morning it's 45 and foggy, by afternoon it's 68 and everybody's in short sleeves. So the outfit that actually works is the one that changes with the day without you carrying a whole suitcase.
You don't need head-to-toe purple, green, and gold to look the part. One strong piece carries the whole look. A green corduroy jumper, a gold sweater, a purple ruffle top... pick the anchor first and let the rest stay simple.
The mistake I see is trying to fit all three colors on one small body at once. On a toddler it reads as costume, not outfit. Two of the three is plenty, and the third can show up in a bow, a pair of socks, or the beads they're already going to be swimming in.
For babies, a purple or gold bubble with a coordinating bonnet does more than you'd think in photos. For bigger kids, a fun graphic tee with a king cake or a fleur de lis, tucked into denim, is easy to move in and still very on theme.
The temperature swing is the real thing to plan around, not the color scheme. Route mornings run cold and the crowd blocks the sun, then the afternoon opens up and warms fast.
A long-sleeve base with a cardigan or a light jacket over it gives you options all day. When it warms up, the layer comes off and ties around the waist or goes in the wagon. Nobody's melting down because they're sweating in a coat they can't get out of.
Tights under a dress do the same job for little girls, and they add a color you can match to the theme. Skip anything with a zipper up the back or twelve buttons. You'll be adjusting this outfit standing on a curb, so it needs to be quick.
This is where a lot of cute parade outfits fall apart. The route is long, the curbs are uneven, and half the day your kid is either up on your shoulders or darting for a bead that landed in the grass.
Closed-toe and broken-in beats brand-new and stiff every time. Sneakers, boots, or a sturdy sandal with a back strap all work. Save the delicate flats and the shoes you're worried about scuffing for a sit-down event, because this is not that.
If you're near the Youngsville route or heading into Lafayette for one of the bigger krewes, count on some walking to and from wherever you parked. Shoes decide whether the last hour is fun or a fight.
Kids catch a shocking amount of stuff, and it all ends up in your hands by noon if you didn't plan for it. A little crossbody bag or a bucket clipped to the wagon changes the whole day.
A drawstring bag they can wear works too, and it doubles as a spot to stash the cardigan once they've shed it. Beads pile up fast, so having a home for them keeps small hands free to catch more.
Once the outfit works, the fun part is the finishing touches. A purple, green, and gold bow. A fleur de lis on a tee.
Suspenders in king cake colors for a little boy who thinks he's too big for a themed shirt.
Beads are a given, but I'd keep them off the youngest ones during the actual catching and let them wear the collection after. A simple bonnet or headband ties a baby's look together in every photo without anything going over the head that could bother them.
If you want the pieces to do double duty, this is where a boutique earns its keep. A lot of what we stock at Littles Boutique in these colors reads as regular winter clothes the other eleven months of the year, so that green jumper or gold sweater isn't a one-day purchase. You'll pull it back out long after the beads are packed away.
If you want the shortcut, here's how the pieces stack for a typical cool-morning, warm-afternoon parade day:
That covers the weather, the walking, and the catching, which is really all a parade day asks of an outfit.
The cutest outfit in the world doesn't help if the kid is miserable in it. Scratchy tags, a too-tight waistband, or a sweater that's warm at 8 a.m. and a furnace by 11 will turn a fun morning south fast.
Soft knits, adjustable waists, and layers they can lose are what let a kid actually enjoy the parade. And a kid who's comfortable is the one grinning up at the floats when you get the photo you'll want to keep.
You know your little one better than any list does. Build around the colors, plan for the swing in temperature, and put them in shoes they can run in. Everything after that is just how much you want to lean into the fun of it.