What to Wear in New Orleans in January
New Orleans in January: 17°C / 63°F afternoons, 8°C / 46°F nights, about 10 rain days, and Carnival from Twelfth Night, 6 January.
- Dark plum check shacket — purple is one of the three Carnival colours, and it is the layer for a 7:30pm parade
- Old-gold cable-knit crew — gold for Carnival, and heavy wool for a night heading to 7.8°C
- Green hooded rain shell — about 3 January days bring half an inch of rain or more
- Dark-wash straight jeans — the city's own January advice is jeans, sweaters and light jackets
- Olive knee-high rubber boots — the neutral ground turns to mud after rain
- Gold sequin beret and a gold coin belt — the tourism office tells you to dress up for the walking parades
- Open-toed shoes — the city's Mardi Gras guide says close-toed shoes, and the route gets muddy
- A heavy winter coat — afternoons still reach 17°C / 63°F
- A ladder taller than 6 feet or set at the curb — city rules cap ladders at 6 feet and 6 feet back
- Staking a spot more than 4 hours early — items placed sooner may be removed
Dress for Carnival after dark. NOAA's figures for the airport make January the coldest month in New Orleans, at 16.9°C by afternoon and 7.8°C / 46°F at night, with 5.18 inches of rain on about 10 days and about 3 nights at or below freezing. Carnival starts on Twelfth Night, 6 January, with the Joan of Arc procession stepping off at 7:30pm, more than two hours after sunset, and the parades then build on every weekend to Mardi Gras on 9 February. The city's own Mardi Gras guide spells it out: jeans and close-toed shoes, layers for night parades, waterproof footwear after rain, and the Carnival colours, purple, green and gold, encouraged. So the capsule is those colours in layers: a plum shacket, an old-gold cable knit, a green rain shell, dark jeans, rubber boots and a little more gold.
New Orleans starts its party in the coldest month of its year, after dark, often in the rain. Dress for all three, and do it in purple, green and gold.
The capsule
01Dark plum oversized check shacketPurple is one of the three Carnival colours the city's Mardi Gras guide encourages you to wear, and a dark plum shacket is the grown-up way in. Wear it open over the cable knit for a 7:30pm procession, when the night is falling towards 7.8°C, and buttoned over a tee on a 17°C / 63°F afternoon. The patch pockets hold throws you catch.
02Old-gold cable-knit wool crewGold is the third Carnival colour, and an old-gold cable knit is the warmest way to wear it. Chunky cabled wool holds heat through two hours on a curb after dark in the coldest month of the New Orleans year, and the darker gold reads as a colour rather than a costume. It also answers the king cake, which the city's guide says is usually iced in yellow, green and purple.
03Muted green hooded rain shellGreen completes the set, and a hooded shell is the right rain gear on a parade route, where an umbrella blocks the view behind you and fills a hand you want free for throws. NOAA counts about 3 January days at the airport with half an inch of rain or more. Worn over the shacket, it keeps both dry; zipped over the cable knit, it stops the wind.
04Dark-wash straight-leg jeansNew Orleans & Company's own January advice is short: "Jeans, sweaters, and light jackets are recommended." Its Mardi Gras guide says you will always be fine in jeans for a parade. Dark-wash denim takes a curb, a spilled drink and a muddy neutral ground, and a straight leg tucks into rubber boots.
05Olive-green knee-high rubber bootsThe city's Mardi Gras guide warns that the parade route, especially the neutral ground side, can get muddy, and advises waterproof footwear when it has been raining. With 5.18 inches of January rain, that is most weekends. Knee-high rubber boots take the mud and keep your jeans clean when they are tucked in.
06Small mauve leather crossbodyWear the bag across your body so both hands stay free to catch throws. A small mauve camera crossbody holds a phone, cash and a slice of king cake wrapped in a napkin, sits flat against the shacket in a crowd, and adds a soft purple next to the plum.
07Gold coin beltA belt of linked gold discs is a nod to the doubloons krewes throw, and it is the easiest way to add gold to jeans without a costume. Thread it through the jean loops and leave the shacket open so it shows under a streetlight on Chartres Street.
08Gold sequin beretNew Orleans & Company's January page says not to be afraid to dress up for the walking parades, and a sequin beret is dressing up in the smallest possible package. It keeps your head warm on a 7.8°C night, catches the streetlights, and folds flat in the crossbody for the walk home.
Day to night
Old-gold cable knit · dark jeans · rubber boots · green shell in the crossbody. A king cake from a neighbourhood bakery, since the season runs from 6 January to Mardi Gras Day, then Magazine Street at 17°C / 63°F.
Old-gold cable knit · plum shacket, open · gold coin belt · dark jeans in rubber boots · gold sequin beret · mauve crossbody. The Joan of Arc procession on Wednesday 6 January, 7:30pm sharp, with its king cake ceremony at Oscar Dunn Park across from Jackson Square; bring your own cake.
A suggested look — dark plum check shacket, old gold cable-knit crew, dark-wash jeans, olive knee-high rubber boots, gold coin belt.
What to avoid
- Open-toed shoes — the route gets muddy, and close-toed shoes are the city's advice
- A heavy winter coat — afternoons reach 16.9°C
- Assuming Carnival starts in February — it opens on 6 January
- Setting up more than 4 hours before a parade — items may be removed
- A ladder over 6 feet or at the curb — it must stand 6 feet back
Frequently asked questions
Cool, damp and the coldest month of the year. NOAA's figures for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport give January an average high of 16.9°C and a low of 7.8°C / 46°F, both the lowest of any month. Rain totals 5.18 inches on about 9.5 days; 6.7 of those bring a tenth of an inch and about 3.4 bring half an inch, so a wet day is often a real storm. About 3 nights a month fall to freezing or below, while about 9 afternoons still reach 70°F. Daylight grows from 10h 15m on 1 January to 10h 45m on the 31st.
A dark plum check shacket, an old-gold cable-knit crew, a muted green hooded rain shell, dark-wash straight jeans, olive-green knee-high rubber boots, a small mauve crossbody, a gold coin belt and a gold sequin beret. That covers a 17°C / 63°F afternoon on Magazine Street, a night parade as the air falls to 8°C / 46°F, and a rainy weekend on a muddy neutral ground. Leave open-toed shoes and the heavy winter coat at home.
Warm layers in Carnival colours and shoes for walking. The 19th Joan of Arc Procession is set for Wednesday 6 January 2027 and "starts on time at 7:30 p.m. sharp", ending around 9:30pm; the route is not yet final, but the krewe expects last year's, from Bienville and Front Streets through the French Quarter, with a king cake ceremony at Oscar Dunn Park across from Jackson Square. The krewe marches in medieval costume, and New Orleans & Company encourages visitors to dress up for the walking parades. Wear jeans, a sweater and a jacket, close-toed shoes, and something gold, and bring your own king cake: the krewe invites you to take your first bite with them.
Either, for different reasons. Early January has Twelfth Night on the 6th, when the Phunny Phorty Phellows ride the St. Charles streetcar, Société des Champs Elysée rolls along the Rampart-St. Claude line and the Joan of Arc procession crosses the Quarter. Late January has more parades: New Orleans & Company lists Chewbacchus on the 16th, Krewe du Vieux and krewedelusion on the 23rd and a run of krewes from the 29th to the 31st, though it notes that final 2027 dates and routes are still coming. Sunset also moves from about 5:10pm to 5:35pm across the month.
Colder, a little wetter and much busier. NOAA's airport figures give January 17°C / 63°F and 8°C / 46°F against December's 18°C / 64°F and 9°C / 48°F, which makes January the coldest month. Rain rises from 4.82 inches on about 9 days to 5.18 inches on about 10, and freezing nights from about 1 to about 3. Our December guide dresses you for City Park's lights, Réveillon and the Christmas Eve bonfires in tartan over silk; January is Carnival, so the palette moves to purple, green and gold, and the loafers give way to rubber boots.
Jeans, a sweater and a jacket, with Carnival colours or a costume piece once the parades start. The Joan of Arc krewe, founded in 2008 by Amy Kirk Duvoisin, marches in medieval dress through the French Quarter on Twelfth Night. Scent is part of the dressing too: Hové Parfumeur, begun in 1931 by Mrs. Alvin Hovey-King, has made perfume at 434 Chartres Street since 2011, on the same block where the procession stops to toast its royalty at 416 Chartres. Uptown, Perlis, established in 1939 by Rogers Perlis and known for its crawfish logo, trades from 6070 Magazine Street.
Sources
- NOAA — 1991–2020 climate normals, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) station
- New Orleans & Company — Guide to Mardi Gras 2027 (Carnival season 6 January – 9 February 2027) — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — When is Mardi Gras? (Tuesday 9 February 2027) — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — Mardi Gras 2027 parade schedule (final dates and routes pending) — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — Twelfth Night: the launch of Carnival season on 6 January — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — January in New Orleans — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — Mardi Gras FAQs (how to dress for parades, weather, muddy neutral ground) — accessed 2026-09-27
- New Orleans & Company — New Orleans king cakes — accessed 2026-09-27
- Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc — 19th Annual Joan of Arc Procession, Wednesday 6 January 2027, 7:30pm (parade route) — accessed 2026-09-27
- Krewe de Jeanne d'Arc — Who we are (founded 2008 by Amy Kirk Duvoisin) — accessed 2026-09-27
- NOLA Ready (City of New Orleans) — Along the parade route: rules for items, ladders and enclosures — accessed 2026-09-27
- Hové Parfumeur — About (founded 1931 by Mrs. Alvin Hovey-King; 434 Chartres Street since 2011) — accessed 2026-09-27
- Perlis Clothing — About us (established 1939 by Rogers Perlis, 6070 Magazine Street) — accessed 2026-09-27
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (monthly normals by station) — accessed 2026-09-26
