Dec 07 2008
Costuming: Harry Potter Costumes
Although Halloween has passed, and the next Harry Potter movie is still months away, now is the time of year to start working on a Harry Potter costume for your next convention. In fact, the best time for putting together a Harry Potter costume is as far away from Halloween and movie releases as possible. If you try to find a Hogwartz student robe near a big release, you will quickly discover you are too late to get one in time.
One of the great things about doing a Harry Potter costume is that you have a lot of options. If you’re an adult, there are plenty of male and female adult characters with distinctive looks that you can dress up as. If you’re a young adult, teen, or child, you have even more choices of characters to choose from.
Hogwartz Student Uniforms
The most common costume, for younger and older HP fans alike, is the Hogwartz school uniform. Fortunately, there are a few high quality sellers of robes, sweaters, patches, scarves, etc. to meet your needs. For robes and house sweaters, I highly recommend Whimsic Alley. I’ve personally owned a sweater and robe from them, and was quite impressed with the quality and price of the garments (a W.A. robe is featured in the photo). For scarves and Quidditch sweaters, I recommend Alivan’s.
The place to go for ties is Wizard Ties, an Internet fan favorite for their quality silk HP colored ties. If you’re looking for a house patch (most likely for a robe), the best place is still eBay (although I would recommend Intergalactic Trading Company’s eBay store.) If you’re going to dress as a female student, you’ll also need a skirt. FrankBee.com actually carries a Prisoner of Azkaban style skirt (Kick-Pleat School Uniform Skirt Style #34 in charcoal grey).
If you’re determined to make your robes yourself, there are quite a few online guides available. Servant’s of the Light’s website, for example, offers a list of patterns you can adapt to create the robes, along with written instructions (and diagrams). If you want to make your own skirt, you’ll want to pick up Simplicity 5351 skirt F, which will work with a few modifications for movie accuracy.
Adult Character Costumes
There are a few pre-made adult Harry Potter costumes you can purchase online. For example, you can get a Deluxe Death Eater costume for $36.99 (there’s a female version as well), or a Voldemort costume for $34.99. If you’re looking for a nice Snape replica costume, check out this site.
If you don’t like the pre-made costumes and want to make your own, you may need to spend some time examining screen shots, and looking at patterns you can adapt and change to make them work. Some character suggestions for “do-it-yourself” costumes: Dumbledore, Hagrid, Sirius Black, Mrs. Weasley, Lupin (don’t forget his telltale scars), McGonagall, Tonks, and Umbridge (and I have seen some GREAT Umbridge costumes at conventions).
Finishing Touches and Accessories
One way to achieve a more realistic and move accurate look, is to consider using a wig for your costume. A great wig source is WOWWigs.com, which comes recommended by quite a few HP costumers. If you’re going to be a Death Eater, or Professor Snape, you’ll definitely want to get a temporary Dark Mark tattoo. Of course, you could always consider getting a REAL one, like a friend of mine that I met at Dragon*con a few years back. If you’re dressing as Hermione, don’t forget a Time Turner. I don’t think I even need to mention what accessories are needed for Harry Potter himself, right?
Of course, every good wizard needs a special wand, and Alivan’s is absolutely the best place for one. They have a stunning collection and wide variety that any fan would appreciate. They also have brooms available, which is another classic HP accessory, especially if you’ll be doing a Quidditch uniform.
However you decide to put together your costume, there are endless online resources available to you (more than I could ever hope to link in one blog entry). With some searching and effort, you can create a fantastic Harry Potter convention costume.
