What to Wear to Diwali in Singapore

Packing philosophy

Plan the evening around the storm. Meteorological Service Singapore figures for Changi put November at 31.2°C by day and 24.6°C at night, with 252mm of rain over 19 days and 22 lightning days, the most of any month, and MSS writes that "Thunderstorms, at times severe, occur in the afternoon and early evening." Deepavali is on Sunday 8 November, and Little India's bazaar on Campbell Lane opens at 7pm every night until then, which is usually after the rain. So dress in silk-cotton, which breathes at 25°C and forgives a splash, keep your shoulders and knees covered for the temples on Serangoon Road, and wear slides you can step out of at the door.

What the dress code actually is

The Hindu Endowments Board, which runs several of Singapore's Hindu temples, asks visitors to cover shoulders and knees and to remove shoes before entering. Sri Veeramakaliamman stands on Serangoon Road, inside the light-up, so a Deepavali walk passes it whether you plan to go in or not. For a guest, Indian dress is welcome at the bazaar, a friend's open house and a temple, and a saree is the most festive version of it. Buy a silk-cotton saree in Little India with its petticoat and have the blouse fitted there, and ask the shop to show you the pleats; a badly draped saree slips in a crowd. A light kurta with trousers is the easier alternative and meets the temple rule just as well. Leave a bindi or tilak unless a host or priest offers it.

The capsule

1. 
   01

   Peacock-blue silk-cotton saree, wide gold border

   Silk-cotton is the Deepavali saree for a 31°C / 88°F city: lighter than pure silk, and it forgives a shower on the walk to the bazaar. Peacock blue with a gold border reads as festive under Serangoon Road's lights. The pallu drapes over the shoulder, which covers it for the temple without a separate scarf.

2. 
   02

   Antique-gold silk saree blouse, elbow sleeves

   Elbow sleeves cover the upper arm for Sri Veeramakaliamman and still let air through at 24.6°C. Gold is the colour of the festival and lifts a blue saree without a second print. Have it fitted in Little India; a saree blouse is cut to you, not bought off a rail.

3. 
   03

   Parrot-green cotton-silk dupatta, gold border

   For the kurta alternative, or for air-conditioned malls over a saree. A dupatta over the shoulders covers them at a temple door in one movement, and parrot green is the second festival colour of the capsule. Cotton-silk dries faster than chiffon after a storm.

4. 
   04

   Tan broad-strap flat leather slides

   Shoes come off at every temple, and a slide steps off and on without your hands. A broad single strap stays on in the Campbell Lane crowd, and a flat sole keeps you steady on wet shophouse tiles. Tan goes with blue, green and gold alike.

5. 
   05

   Navy compact folding umbrella

   For the walk from the MRT through a 3pm shower, not for the storm itself: November has 22 lightning days, and when the thunder starts the answer is a shophouse arcade, not an umbrella in the open. A compact one folds into a clutch-sized space and keeps a silk-cotton saree from spotting.

6. 
   06

   Teal-peacock structured box clutch

   A hard box clutch keeps a phone and cards dry in a shower and holds its shape in a crowd. Teal matches the peacock saree, so the only other colour in the look is the gold. With no strap it goes under the arm while you eat at the bazaar.

7. 
   07

   Men's ivory long cotton kurta, band collar

   The menswear answer for a 31°C / 88°F festival night: loose ivory cotton, long sleeves for the temple, and a length that covers the knee over trousers. Ivory reads as festive in Singapore alongside the colour of the women's clothes. Wear it with the same slides, which come off at the door.

8. 
   08

   Two polished gold bangles

   Gold is the jewellery of Deepavali, and bangles are the piece a guest can wear without borrowing anything religious. Two plain polished bangles sit with a saree or a kurta set, and metal comes through a shower where fabric jewellery does not. Buy them in Little India's gold shops on the way to the bazaar.

A suggested look — peacock blue silk-cotton saree with gold border, antique gold saree blouse, gold bangles, tan leather slides.

What to avoid

• Bare shoulders or knees near a temple — HEB's rule
• Heavy silk or velvet — 25°C / 77°F nights
• An umbrella in the open in a storm — 22 lightning days
• Suede or smooth soles — wet tiles
• The bazaar after 8 November — it closes on Deepavali