Chúc mừng năm mới! from your Vietnamese blogger!

It is the Chinese year of the “yang” starting Feb 19 2015 to Feb 7 2016. You’ve probably heard it as the year of the Sheep, Ram or Goat, but that’s because in Mandarin, the word for all three and some other hoofed animals is “yang”. Additional descriptors to “yang” identify them more specifically.

There is an additional descriptor to the Chinese year and that’s an element. This year is the year of the Wooden yang. Things associated with wood are lucky for this year.

So what does this Chinese year hold for fashion?

China’s top feng shui master Chen Shuaifu advises black and blue to be lucky colours for the year. Black should be especially good because it is a power colour in both Chinese and Western culture. It doesn’t have the funeral connotation in Chinese culture, though. That’d be white, and the blame the Chinese put on increasing divorce rates of brides getting married in Western style white. 🙂

Sheep produces wool, so that will be lucky, too. Wool doesn’t go out of style for its practicality, but maybe consider garments in wool that is not traditionally done in wool. Wool dresses are examples, though I don’t necessarily mean yarn wool. On that thought, knitted and yarn garments will be lucky this year.

The wood element suggests wooden notions like buttons, and fabrics that can be traced back to wood like bamboo and cotton. Mix, use traditionally or non-traditionally, it shouldn’t matter. The wood element is enhanced in years of the wood phase of the elemental cycle. Elemental phases come in two years spreads and this is the second of two years for wood.

Now, despite what I had said about non-traditional uses, styles and/or garments, the year of the Yang is not one to be taking risks! Risks generally warned of are about money, love and work, with all being harder to come by so more failures, whether loss or inability to attain if there were nothing material to lose, so to speak, like a little pride if turned down for a date. In that sense, don’t take risks like spending lots of money on expensive bamboo fabrics for garments you’re still trying out. But as for designs, I wouldn’t be a complete sheep about it and make generic looking stuff. Go buy those. No risks involved there! Just maybe be selective about where your wear your risky garments, that could be risky only because the colour may be wrong for a social group, like white suit in the financial sector group.

So black, blue, wool, wood and safe are your key words. Their associations to fabrics, notions, and whatever else you use to design fashion are your guidelines.

I wish you all the best for the Chinese New Year of the Sheep, Ram and Goat. Here’s what you can expect for matters other than fashion.