I’d venture that ophidiophobia, an abnormal fear of snakes, is one of the most common of phobias. The only reason the name of this particular phobia doesn’t roll off the tongue is that — save for the occasional traveling stowaway or runaway contraband pet — Hawaii’s isolation made it impossible for snakes to get here on their own. (We do share the land with Ramphotyphlops braminus, but the Hawaiian blind snake is not only harmless, it’s also no bigger than a worm and wouldn’t even scare a bird.)

The Year of the Snake is the perfect time to seek out fellow snake people, said to be wise and soft-spoken, skilled communicators.

If you can’t pick up on Parseltongue, look for visible evidence of compatibility in the form of serpentine prints and patterns gracing an individual’s clothing and accessories.

But those who wouldn’t touch a live snake might also be leery about snake as a fashion statement. As with any animal print, avoid head-to-toe snake prints. Slithering about in an excess of reptilian skin or prints puts you at risk of looking like a refugee from an alien B-horror film or 1980s hair-metal band, or worse, like a snake that swallowed a human.

Here are a few looks for celebrating the dawn of the Year of the Snake.