There are a ton of reasons to have a Hogwarts costume. It can be worn to movie events, costume parties, Halloween, even the Harry Potter Theme Park! It can sound a bit daunting to assemble, especially if the person putting it together isn't a die-hard Potter fan. The following instructions are guide-lines and are not the end-all, be-all Hogwarts Uniform. The uniforms in the movies are very specific, but in an economy like this, simple can be better. The following costume can be worn by anyone and will be easily recognizable as a uniform worn by the students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Basic Necessities of a Hogwarts Uniform
Every student at Hogwarts, male and female alike, wears a plain, white, button up, long-sleeved shirt. These are easy to come across in just about any store, from mass merchandisers to department stores. Girls all wear a gray, knee-length pleated skirt and boys wear gray pants. Both wear black shoes.
Be aware that the uniform changes in the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The gray of the skirts and pants gets darker and becomes more of a charcoal gray. In the first two movies, girls wear knee-high gray socks; in the later movies they wear black tights. There is no need to get any of the items in this section from a specialty shop; they are all easy to get from just about anywhere.
The Hogwarts Houses
The next aspects of the uniform depend on the Hogwarts House that the person wearing the costume wants to be in. Hogwarts has four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Every house is represented by a primary color and an accent color. Scarlet with gold accents for Gryffindor, green and silver for Slytherin, and yellow and black for Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw's primary color is blue, however the accent color changes. In the books Ravenclaw is represented by blue and bronze, but in the movies their colors are blue and silver.
The colors also change based on the movie. In the first two movies the colors are brighter and happier. Look for butter yellow for Hufflepuff and a grass green for Slytherin. In the later movies the colors become darker. Slytherin is more of a forest green, Hufflepuff becomes dark yellow.
Hogwarts Sweaters
Every student has a knit gray (the same color as the skirt/pants) v-neck sweater. Like the skirts and pants, the sweaters become a darker gray in the third movie. Each sweater is accented by the house colors. The first two movies have accents on the neckline with two stripes of the main color with an accent color between them. For example, Slytherin sweaters would have a pair of green stripes with gray between them on the neckline. In the later movies the pattern reverses and goes accent, main, accent, and the pattern moves to the cuffs and the bottom of the sweater. A Gryffindor sweater would have yellow, red, yellow around the cuffs and the bottom. Some students in the later movies wear vests (with the house color along the bottom) and button up cardigans.
The easiest way to get the house sweater is to buy it. There are a number of online retailers that sell them. If there is a lot of time and the person making the costume is a knitter, there are patterns available for the sweaters as well. There is another option for people who can't wait for delivery and don't have time to make it. Purchase a sweater that meets the criteria and get thin yarn in the correct colors. Find someone savvy with a needle and have her sew the house color pattern into the sweater. Take the time to google for Hogwarts Uniform and look for pictures to see where to put the stripes.
Hogwarts House Ties
The hardcore fan will want an official tie and can't go wrong with Alivan's. The ties change in the movies as well. The first two movies feature bright ties with thick stripes. Shoppers will find bright reds and yellows for Gryffindor. The later ties are mostly the primary house color cut by thinner stripes in the accent color. The colors are darker as well. The bright Gryffindor red becomes a deeper scarlet and the yellow gets darker too.
For the not-picky, it's perfectly fine to buy ties. Just be sure to get them in the right colors! The ties from the earlier movies may be easier to find, but any ties with thin contrasting stripes in the right colors will work for the later movies. Once again, be sure to google image search to get an idea of what the ties look like. Some ties have house patches on them with the house logo. In the movies ties with logos seem to be a personal preference.
Put the Costume on and go to Hogwarts
That's it! You now have a basic Hogwarts uniform. It's easy to recognize and fans will know what house it represents just by the tie and the stripes on the sweater. Hogwarts students wear black robes as well, but those can be harder to get and bulky. Stick with this basic set and you'll be able to walk the halls of Hogwarts without getting stopped for a uniform violation.
Remember, all of the mentioned items can be purchased (with a bit of modifying in the case of sweaters) just by a simple trip to the department store! No matter how close the reason for wearing a costume gets, it's possible to throw one together without having to order anything special.
Katie Ouderkirk - Katie Ouderkirk started working at a barn when she was ten. As the years went on she worked at a number of different barns, two zoos, and ...
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