Karwa Chauth carries one of the strongest colour conventions in the Indian festive calendar. Red, and its close relatives, are the expected register, and the reason is not arbitrary: red is the colour of marriage, of auspiciousness and of celebration across most Indian traditions, and this is a festival built on all three.

The convention is worth respecting. The challenge is that it produces a room in which everyone is wearing approximately the same colour.

Work within the family, not away from it

Red is not one colour. It is a family, and moving within it lets you keep the tradition entirely intact while looking distinctly like yourself.

• Maroon and wine. Deeper, more sophisticated, and considerably more flattering on most Indian skin tones than a bright primary red. Wine in particular photographs beautifully under evening light.
• Rust and terracotta. Warm, earthy, unmistakably in the red family, and a genuinely different look from what most of the room will be wearing.
• Rani pink and magenta. Traditional, festive and long-established in Indian dress, while reading as clearly distinct from red.
• Deep coral. Warm and soft, and particularly good on warm undertones that struggle with a blue-based red.
• Red with gold, red with ivory, red with deep green. Combining red rather than wearing it alone changes the whole character of the outfit.

Match the shade to your undertone. Warm skin tones look best in orange-based reds, rust and coral. Cool skin tones look best in blue-based reds, wine, cherry and magenta. Getting this right matters more than the specific garment.

What to actually wear

The saree remains the most traditional choice, and for many families it is the expected one. A silk or a good silk-blend saree in a red or maroon, with gold zari, is the classic image of the festival and it earns that status.

A heavy Anarkali or a lehenga is entirely appropriate and considerably easier to manage across a long evening, particularly if you are moving between homes or attending a gathering.

A well-made suit set in a rich red with proper embroidery is a perfectly respectful choice, and it is the practical option for anyone who will be on their feet all day.

The register is formal. This is an evening occasion with a ceremony at its centre, and it is one of the few days in the year when heavy embellishment, real jewellery and silk are exactly right rather than excessive.

Jewellery and the small details

Karwa Chauth is a day where the details carry meaning, and they are worth attending to.

• Red and gold bangles or a chooda, if that is your family tradition.
• Mehendi, applied a day or two before rather than on the morning itself, so it has time to darken.
• A maang tikka or a bindi, which sit exactly right with the formality of the day.
• Gold jewellery generally, which is the traditional metal for the occasion and which sits naturally with red.

The practical considerations nobody mentions

This is a fasting day, and it is a long one. It runs from before sunrise to moonrise, and the outfit has to survive all of it.

• Comfort matters more than usual. A garment that is uncomfortably tight at nine in the morning will be intolerable by eight in the evening, particularly after a day without food or water.
• Consider changing. There is no rule requiring you to wear the ceremonial outfit for eighteen hours. Wear something comfortable through the day and change into the full outfit before the evening ceremony.
• Watch the footwear. You will be standing, walking between homes and possibly on a terrace waiting for the moon. Heels are a decision you will regret at the fourteenth hour.
• Diyas and thalis mean open flame. Pin your dupatta, keep sleeves close to the arm, and be conscious of trailing fabric around lit lamps. This is a practical safety point, not a stylistic one.
• Makeup should be set to last. A long day, an emotional ceremony and evening photographs are a demanding combination. Choose products accordingly.

The point of the day

The photographs from Karwa Chauth are among the most looked-at of anyone's year, which is why the effort is worth making. But the outfit is in service of the occasion rather than the reverse. Wear the tradition, wear the shade of it that genuinely suits you, and choose something you can comfortably stand in for eighteen hours.

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