Here’s How You Should Dress for the Unluckiest Day of Ghost Month

A good outfit should do three things: look intentional, feel comfortable, and keep its wearer out of supernatural business. That’s a line worth remembering on August 27, when the Hungry Ghost Festival (or Ghost Day) marks this Ghost Month’s peak. The dead are believed to move more freely among the living, including hungry souls whose attention can come with a side of misfortune. Fortunately, getting through the day may begin with something as simple as choosing the right clothes.

For the curious and the cautious, here is what should sit this one out.

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Leave the Head-to-Toe Red for Another Day

Red may be Chinese culture’s definitive lucky color, but on Ghost Day, its power supposedly works against you. The shade is believed to catch the attention of wandering spirits, making August 27 a bad time for the crimson fantasy. 

Do this instead: If abandoning red feels impossible, use it as an accent color.

Break Up the All-Black Uniform

Everyone’s safest color choice becomes spiritually questionable during Ghost Month. Black is associated with darkness and yin energy. 

Do this instead: Interrupt it with silver hardware, colored footwear, or a printed bag.

Skip the All-White Clean Girl Outfit

White’s association with death and mourning makes the immaculate all-white ensemble another risk. Break the palette before an unseen visitor gets any ideas.

Do this instead: Turn to pinstripes as the next best thing.

Give Distressed Garments the Day Off

Ripped jeans, shredded knits, and garments with conspicuous holes may be grungy, but folklore says they can blur the distinction between the living and those passing through. Ghost Day is definitely not the time to encourage a case of mistaken identity.

Do this instead: Embroidery offers texture without the tears.

Keep Your Shoulders Covered

In Taiwanese folklore, three spiritual flames protect the body: one above the head and one over each shoulder. Exposing the shoulders is believed to leave those protective points vulnerable, particularly after dark or in places heavy with yin energy. The tube top can wait. August 27 belongs to sleeves.

Do this instead: Jackets and cover-ups are your best friends.

Perhaps nothing will actually happen if you ignore every warning. Still, a little caution won’t cost you anything. Saving one outfit for another day is a small price to pay for peace of mind.

Photos: ANNE CURTIS (via Instagram), KYLIE VERZOSA (via Instagram), CHIE FILOMENO (via Instagram), KELSEY MERRITT (via Instagram), and PIA WURTZBACH-JAUNCEY (via Instagram)

Photographed by MAGIC LIWANAG, ALEXIS DAVE CO, and KIM WEE EBOL

Anya Oxyn

Senior Fashion Writer

Formerly a stylist who immersed herself intimately within the Philippine fashion circuit for over three years, Anya has refined her transformative, hands-on experience into an insightful voice for MEGA Asia as a Senior Fashion Writer.

Her editorial pursuit possesses three facets: her time as an essayist during her education at Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, her extensive experience in digital media and strategic storytelling, and her belief that fashion has a beating heart deeply intertwined with art, culture, society, and humanity itself that is worth uncovering.

Anya’s versatile pen spans a dynamic range of subjects, including emerging local designers, global luxury houses, beauty trends, film and television fashion analysis, cultural op-eds, major events, and beyond.

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