Diwali falls on Sunday, 8 November this year, and if you grew up in an Indian home you already know the rule: something new goes on before the diyas are lit.
Nobody wrote that rule down. Your mother just made sure there was a new suit folded on the bed. In a lot of families the Diwali outfit was the one big clothes purchase of the year, bought weeks ahead and saved for that night. The idea is simple. New clothes mark a fresh start, and you dress well because you are inviting Lakshmi into a clean, lit, cared-for home.
This Diwali outfit guide covers the 2026 dates, what the traditional Diwali colours mean, and what to wear on each of the five days. We make hand block printed clothing with artisans in Bagru, outside Jaipur, so you will see a few pieces from our Diwali collection of festive ethnic wear along the way. We will also explain why cotton block print outfits make sense for a festival that starts in early November heat and ends in a smoky, crowded living room.
Diwali 2026 dates
The festival runs from Friday 6 November to Wednesday 11 November in India. Lakshmi Puja is on the evening of Sunday 8 November.
| Day | Festival | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dhanteras | Fri, 6 Nov |
| 2 | Choti Diwali (Naraka Chaturdashi) | Sun, 8 Nov (morning) |
| 3 | Lakshmi Puja, main Diwali | Sun, 8 Nov (evening) |
| 4 | Govardhan Puja | Tue, 10 Nov |
| 5 | Bhai Dooj | Wed, 11 Nov |
This year Choti Diwali and Lakshmi Puja land on the same day, and there is a gap on Monday 9 November. Some panchangs, and most calendars outside India, put Choti Diwali on 7 November and Bhai Dooj on 10 November instead, so check the one your family follows.
The Lakshmi Puja muhurat sits in Pradosh Kaal, just after sunset. Dekho Panchang gives Delhi a window of 5:47 to 7:13 pm, with other cities shifting by up to half an hour. Plan to be dressed by 5:30.
Diwali colours and what they mean for your outfit
Red, yellow and gold are the classic Diwali colours, and they are all tied to Lakshmi and prosperity. You do not have to follow this strictly. Plenty of families just wear whatever is newest. But if you are picking a colour, here is what each one is usually read as.
| Colour | What it stands for | Best day to wear it |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow and gold | Prosperity, sunlight, a good start | Dhanteras |
| Red and maroon | Shakti, good winning over evil, marriage and luck | Lakshmi Puja night |
| Orange and marigold | The flowers on every doorway, warmth | Dhanteras or Lakshmi Puja |
| Pink | Joy, a softer festive look than red | Bhai Dooj |
| Indigo and deep blue | A calm evening colour for people who skip warm shades | Card parties, Govardhan Puja |
| Green | New growth, harvest | Govardhan Puja |
| White and ivory | Purity, a quiet morning puja look | Choti Diwali morning |
What about black? Older relatives may frown at it on the main night, since black is linked with mourning and bad luck in many homes. For a card party or a dinner with friends, though, black with a bright print looks festive and nobody will blink.
Diwali outfit ideas for each day of the festival
Dhanteras, Friday 6 November
Dhanteras is a shopping day. You will be in and out of jewellers and steel shops, so wear something festive that still lets you walk around for hours. Yellow is the obvious pick.
Our Yellow Rapid Buti Cotton Anarkali Set has small hand-stamped butis on cotton and comes with a Kota doriya dupatta. If you want more flare, the Orange Rapid Jaal Anarkali Sharara Set is the marigold version. Add gold jhumkas and you are done.
Choti Diwali morning, Sunday 8 November
This is the oil-bath, last-minute-cleaning, rangoli-on-the-floor part of the day. You will be crouching, cooking and running to the market for one more packet of diyas. Pick something soft that you do not mind getting a little haldi on.
A cotton mulmul short kurti over wide pants is ideal. Try the Rustic Red Fadat Buti Mulmul Short Kurti with our Beige and Black Bagru Stripe Flared Pants, or browse all our block print short kurtis. The Indigo Dabu Katha Co-Ord Set works too if you like a matched set.
Lakshmi Puja, Sunday 8 November evening
This is the Diwali dress everyone will photograph, so go for red. A full anarkali suit with a dupatta still feels the most traditional for the puja itself. All of these come from our cotton anarkali suit collection.
- Red Rapid Buti Cotton Anarkali Set: classic red with a Kota doriya dupatta.
- Rustic Red Ajrakh Butti Anarkali Suit Set: an 18-kali anarkali in a deeper, earthier red.
- Red Rayon Kalamkari Jaal Sharara Set: a sharara with a black chiffon dupatta, for anyone who wants a bit more drama.
One practical note. Polyester and nylon can melt and stick to skin if a spark lands on them. Cotton still burns, but it does not melt. If you are lighting diyas or standing near phuljhadis, wear cotton and pin your dupatta back rather than letting a loose net one trail.
Govardhan Puja and card parties, Tuesday 10 November
By now you have been dressing up for days. This is the time for something easier, or for the darker colours you held back on puja night.
The Indigo Ajrakh Modal Skirt Top Set is light, drapes well and works for an evening of teen patti. If you want to try black, the Black Kalamkari Cotton Anarkali Suit Set has enough print and lace that it reads as festive. Our Kalamkari co-ord sets are another easy option for a relaxed Diwali party look.
Bhai Dooj, Wednesday 11 November
Bhai Dooj is a family lunch with tilak and sweets. Pink is a nice change after five days of red and gold. Our Pink Rapid Jaal Cotton Anarkali Set fits the mood.
For a Diwali outfit for men, a block printed shirt over plain trousers or a dhoti is enough. The Red Elephant Kalamkari Cotton Shirt and the Indigo Butta Cotton Shirt both look good in family photos without trying too hard. We wrote more about why Bagru print shirts for men look slightly different every time, or you can see the full men's ethnic wear collection.
Gifting
If you are still stuck on Diwali gifts for relatives, a hand block printed dupatta fits everyone. The Red Kalamkari Cotton Mulmul Dupatta and the Red Ajrakh Putai Modal Dupatta are both Diwali-red. The rest are in our block print dupatta collection.
Why hand block print ethnic wear belongs at Diwali
Bagru is a printing village about 30 km south of Jaipur, and the Chhipa families there have been stamping cloth by hand for over 400 years. A single floral motif usually needs three hand-carved sheesham blocks: one for the outline (rekh), one to fill the background (gadh) and one for the fine detail (datta). The printer lines each one up by eye, row after row. That is why no two of our kurtas are exactly alike. We go deeper into this in the story behind Bagru hand block printing.
The colours used to come entirely from the land around the village. Pomegranate rind, turmeric, indigo, madder root and rusted iron soaked with jaggery for black. Some of this has given way to modern dyes over the years, and we would rather say that plainly than pretend otherwise. But the palette is still the same earthy red, mustard, indigo and black, which happen to be Diwali colours already. If you are not sure which print you are looking at, here is how to tell Bagru, Kalamkari and Ajrakh prints apart.
There is also a plain practical reason. Diwali 2026 starts in the first week of November, when afternoons in most of India are still warm. Then you spend the evening in a room full of people, diyas and incense. Cotton breathes, you can wash it at home, and it looks better on the tenth wear than the first. A heavy synthetic lehenga you wear once a year does not do any of that.
We work with 10 to 15 artisans in Bagru. When you buy a block printed outfit for Diwali, from us or from any brand that works directly with printers, a real share of that money goes back to a family that has been doing this for generations. We like that a festival about prosperity can spread some of it around.
Looking after your block prints after Diwali
Natural and hand-applied dyes need a little care, especially in the first few washes.
- Wash the first two or three times on their own, in cold water, by hand.
- Use a mild detergent and skip bleach entirely.
- Dry in the shade, inside out. Strong sun fades indigo and red fastest.
- If you get oil or ghee on it during puja, dab a little dish soap on the spot before washing.
- Iron on the reverse side while the fabric is still slightly damp.
Before you go
Order by the last week of October if you want your outfit in hand before Dhanteras on 6 November. Couriers get slow in the final week before Diwali, and we would hate for your Lakshmi Puja outfit to be sitting in a warehouse.
Shop the full edit of Diwali outfits and festive ethnic wear, or start with our best sellers. Happy Diwali from all of us in Jaipur.