Fashion in the Wizarding World

[Puffskein]

The Wizarding World, just like the Muggle world, has its own fads and fashions. Some examples I've noticed:

- toads are not fashionable pets when Harry starts at Hogwarts
- wizarding children have taken to wearing Muggle clothes when not at school
- different makes of broomstick go in and out of fashion rapidly
- many adult characters have Latin, mythological, or otherwise unusual names, whereas the children we know have Muggle-sounding names (with the obvious exception of Draco). I assume that unusual names have gone out of fashion.

Can anyone think of any other examples?

[Knight]

Well I wouldn't say that brooms go out of fashion, they are just rendered obsolete by more advanced models.

Your comments have made me consider the possibility that there may have been an explosion in muggle/wizard marriage and breeding in the very recent past. Consider muggle clothes. Even the Weasley children (an "old" wizarding family) wear muggle clothes quite regularly but their parents do not. Wearing clothes is not something you would just forget how to do which leads me to believe that it is a recent development. And as you said most of the children we've meant have fairly regular names. While many of the older generation have names like Albus, Severus, Remus, Sirius, Minerva. Though we still meet some "old folks" with common names like Arthur, James, Molly, Rita. Even Voldemort had the ho hum name of Tom. So there we see the beginning of the integration of the wizard world into the muggle one. By the time Harry's generation rolls around, it would seem that the vast majority of the wizard world has adopted muggle ways. About the only way I can explain this massive sociological shift is if there was a sudden increase in relationships between the two peoples. Interesting.

Anyway, other fashion trends? Um, I dunno.

- Draco said dress robes with frills went out of fashion sometime in the mid 1800's or something like that.

[Fuchsia]

The brooms are like computers. There seems to be a new and faster model everyday.

What Knight says makes sense. Marrying a muggle would make muggle names much more common.
And the muggles who attend Hogwarts may pass on their fashions.

They have the same hairstyles (I think?) and similar products to straighten hair and such.

[CareBear]

I agree.

Muggles who would come could pass it on and then there would be a somewhat "normal" fashion at Hogwarts. I really don't understand, the castle is old and so are the traditions and everything but why dont they dress like muggles? They see mugggles every summer and you would think that some of their fashion statements would be picked up but I guess not. To tell you the truth I like they style at Hogwarts, their style is different and it wouldn't be Hogwarts without it. ;)

[Qeomash]

As for picking up Muggle styles, just look at Bill Weasly. Is that a punk rocker or what?

I do agree that there are perhaps a new surge of Muggle Borns/Marriages coming into the wizarding world. I wondered about the Muggle clothing, especially in the movie. Ron was only wearing robes during classes, while otherwise he was in muggle clothes.

If there are indeed more Muggles entering the Wizarding World, I see why the Malfoys are so smug.

[ronweasleyismyhero]

Originally posted by Qeomash
As for picking up Muggle styles, just look at Bill Weasly. Is that a punk rocker or what?


LOL that cracked me up =)

[DogStar87]

This may sound way out-there but I like to compare owls to cell phones. Just about every Muggle-kid would like a cell phone to be able to make calls the way a witch or wizard would like their own owl to deliver messages. The wealthier kids have their own owls, just as richer kids at my high school have cell phones. Hogwarts students can use school owls, but must pay to do so, and of course using their own owl would be preferable just as a Muggle kid would rather use a cell phone than a pay phone.

[lanifiel]

Good call DogStar87 thats exactly what its like! Nice analogy...

[Fuchsia]

Just so long as no one downloads annoying hooting/ring tones for the Owls. That would get annoying. :)

[dorcasderr]

At school the students wear robes, under which they wear the school uniform, which parallels British Muggle school tradition...at least as far as the uniform is concerned. In addition to Muggle-born students influencing the fashion in the Wizarding world, there are some wizards who actually live in the Muggle world and probably ALL of them have contact with Muggles at one time or another. Remember, the wizards are more aware of the Muggle world than the Muggle world is of them. So change in Muggle fashion probably does not go unobserved. The wizards, however, seem to have more freedom in their choice of which era...or eras they wish to dress in. Remember the scenes in Diagon Alley...some folk seem to be in nineteenth century dress, some in Medieval, some in modern. People seem to have more scope for creative expression in dress than we in the Muggle world do. Pity, that....

[hedwigs_keeper]

Originally posted by Qeomash
I wondered about the Muggle clothing, especially in the movie. Ron was only wearing robes during classes, while otherwise he was in muggle clothes.

So I wasn't the only one who noticed that? :p I thought in the first movie they wore their robes most of the time...or maybe I need to re-watch it again, I'd better stop now, I'm getting off topic....

[violet]

Well, I know that the girls wear dresses, becasue Ron thought his dress robe was a dress of Ginny's. But then, why didn't the girls wear dresses (instead of dress robes) to the christmas ball?! Confusing.

[EvilMeghan]

Maybe they just refer to any wizard-made clothing as robes...just to disinguish them from muggle clothing...

[Bixie]

Originally posted by Dorcesperr
"At school the students wear robes, under which they wear the school uniform, which parallels British Muggle school tradition...at least as far as the uniform is concerned."

Woah - what school are you thinking of. I know a lot of the posh private schools have old style uniforms - Eton, Harrow and the like - but I'm not aware of any that wear robes/gowns over uniform either as everyday or even special occasions.

The only time I have come across it was when my brother was at Uni and they had a dinner once a week where they had to wear their academic gown - and even then I think it was only the School of Law it related to.

[EvilMeghan]

I think Dorcesperr meant that the uniform under the robes parallels the British Muggle school uniform, not the uniform AND robe.

[Bixie]

Doh! :banghead: - (sorry, long day, not paying attention)

[Xander]

well there was also tat band ... the 'wierd sisters' ?
that were supposed to be really popular, and the
wizarding radio .. so there probably is like a whole
wizarding culture with their own slang and everything

[Dedalus]

Originally posted by dorcasderr
At school the students wear robes, under which they wear the school uniform, which parallels British Muggle school tradition...at least as far as the uniform is concerned.
The uniform only existed in the film. In the books it's just plain black robes an a pointy wizard's hat.

[martinnyg]

Originally posted by Dedalus
The uniform only existed in the film. In the books it's just plain black robes an a pointy wizard's hat.

Do they really wear a hat every day ? Then i like the movies version better where they don't wear hats. It would just look stupid if they ran around with pointy hats on.

[Dedalus]

I guess they don't have wear them indoors all the time. That would just be mean! Especially in Summer! But formally, yeah, I guess they do have to wear the hats. Which I guess would include feasts, since it's described the great hall as "a sea of black pointed hats". I think that's the same for normal school uniforms that require hats ... ?

[Ava]

Originally posted by martinnyg (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=156583#post156583))
Do they really wear a hat every day ? Then i like the movies version better where they don't wear hats. It would just look stupid if they ran around with pointy hats on.


The hats are so plain, they should start some new fashion statement by updating the look of their hats --- like Neville's grandma and her vulture hat. hee hee.:clappy:

[Sirius Black]

Of course they don't wear hats all the time, just to the main feasts and all. And pobably the older people wear hats like Neville's grandmother which is old fashioned.

[Wild Rose]

I think Hogwarts is modelled on one of the old British schools. We still have the houses at mine (its rather old fashioned), with the house cup at the end of the year. The most digusting uniform- a brown blazer, would you believe? And until about 20 years ago, there were hats. I've seen them. Seen them, and thanked every deity I know I wasn't born 20 years earlier!
I think thats the way Hogwarts is set up. An old English Grammar .

@-'-,-----------------

[dorcasderr]

That's what it looked like to me too. And as for the uniform under the robes not being mentioned in the books...that's true they're not. But the movie makers have the author of the book to consult with and surely SHE would know.

[Dedalus]

Originally posted by dorcasderr (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=168993#post168993))
That's what it looked like to me too. And as for the uniform under the robes not being mentioned in the books...that's true they're not. But the movie makers have the author of the book to consult with and surely SHE would know.

She never mentioned a muggle school uniform on the Hogwarts school uniform list, at the start of the first year, nor any references to them throughout the books. Just black robes, black cloak and a black hat. So I'm sure it wasn't meant that way. J.K. Rowling wasn't the film's director (or a costume designer), whatever else she may have guided them with.

But I'm not saying it's not right ... it's just an artistic detail by the people who designed the costumes. Which is a good thing! I really do love the costumes. I was just mentioning as a passing detail that the typical school uniform wasn't used in the books.

[Qeomash]

Originally posted by Sirius Black (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=168219#post168219))
Of course they don't wear hats all the time, just to the main feasts and all. And pobably the older people wear hats like Neville's grandmother which is old fashioned.


Acutally, they may wear them all the time. I recall in one of the books (not sure on the book or the circumstances) where Harry throws something and it nocks off Pavarati's hat--In the middle of Flitwick's class.

[Severely Snapped]

Regarding the names of the characters...I wonder if it is an indication of the "blood purity" of the individual rather than a generational trend? Which would indicate that Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin are all of "higher", more pure-blooded stock than, say, Harry Potter or Seamus Finnegan? I wonder.

The most obvious proof of this would be, as said, Draco Malfoy. And the exception to prove the rule would be those pure-blood, Muggle-loving Weasleys!

[dobbygirl]

The Muggle world is a lot larger than the wizard world, so I would imagine that the wizard world would be more influenced by the muggle world than vice versa. Also, like someone else said, the wizards know about muggles, but most muggles don't know about wizards.

I'm really interested in their music. It's talked about a little bit during GoF, but not gone into detail. Are the Weird Sisters a rock band? Or is the music they play more like classical or folk? From the way they dress, it souncs like they're more likely to play rock and roll, but you never know. You think with the influence of the Muggle's that rock and roll would eventually start influencing the wizard world.

[Sirius Black]

Originally posted by Qeomash (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=169237#post169237))
Acutally, they may wear them all the time. I recall in one of the books (not sure on the book or the circumstances) where Harry throws something and it nocks off Pavarati's hat--In the middle of Flitwick's class.


But in the movie, they certainly didn't. Maybe's it's in their school uniform. But she never mentions it, she always mentions the cloak, but never the hat. Well, I hope they don't wear hats, it'd look so ugly and it'd be so hot under it all the time.

[dorcasderr]

I also wonder about the fashionability of wizard's "collectibles", such as action figures which were available at theQuidditch World Cup and otrher paraphernalia of this variety.

[Snowangel]

I've wondered about a lot of these things. I've wondered about the music, for instance. Is it similar to muggle music? Do they play their intruments in the same way that muggles do or do they use magic? Also, do they pay attention to muggle culture? Do they have something analogous to movies?

Also, if they don't wear uniforms under their robes, what do they wear under them? Nothing? Underwear only? I have a hard time imagining this, for some reason? Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

Oh, well. None of this is too important to know.

[MadMagic]

I think that the movie makers made a very good decision on putting uniforms under the robes. They remind me of my old school uniform, and I really think it makes them look nice. Also it would be kind of strange for them to wear their hats all the time. To me they look like dunce caps (the things they used to make you wear when you were bad and had to stand in the corner).

[zora_domina]

I suspect that even though the books indicate they do wear their hats all the time, the movie makers realized immediately how incredibly STUPID people look wearing them... Most likely why people nowadays don't wear hats every day - we don't find men tipping their hats to ladies because they don't WEAR them. In the Victorian era, a man without a hat was ... lower than dirt. It's a status/social thing. But for movies? It's more convienent and they didn't have to keep making new ones - just the ones for the few scenes where they had to wear them. Down boy - good budget! :)

I'd also wonder about the trends in Muggle versus Mage housing. Here we have a house like the Weasleys tent for the Quidditch World Cup which obviously is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside ... you could make twisting staircases that lead god knows where, adding a wing here and there... where as a Muggle home is just as mundane as its inhabitants.

I wonder if Victorian houses tried to reflect this loss of magic. Ever look at a floorplan of one? HAH! (why I love them so much there are none. almost all of them were free-format, unique floor plans... duplicated only rarely... yeah!)

--zora

[Dedalus]

Originally posted by Snowangel (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=171191#post171191))
Also, if they don't wear uniforms under their robes, what do they wear under them? Nothing? Underwear only? I have a hard time imagining this, for some reason? Wouldn't that be uncomfortable?

Well we know some wizards don't ... what about old Archie, eh? And other wizards seemed not to grasp the concept of trousers ;)

[dorcasderr]

I imagine what the witch or wizard wears depends on where they live. The ones such as Voldemort's mother, who lived in a Muggle village, must conform to a certain extent to Muggle fashion, or else where would come the surprise when their spouse discovered their magical abilities?

[Jedi Wizard]

One thing that's always confused me is the robe. I've always imagined it as an open robe (like the movies or Jedi robes) but some of my friends imagine it more of a closed robe (like stereotypical angel robes). Though I have a hard time imagining that, it is supported in GOF--otherwise good old Archie would have bought a bathrobe instead of a dress. To add to the confusion, the illustrations of GOF (American) show Harry in a movie-style robe.

Oh, and I imagined the Weird Sisters as a punk-rock type band.

[Dedalus]

Originally posted by Jedi Wizard (original post (http://www.cosforums.com/a/showthread.php?postid=172078#post172078))
One thing that's always confused me is the robe. I've always imagined it as an open robe (like the movies or Jedi robes) but some of my friends imagine it more of a closed robe (like stereotypical angel robes). Though I have a hard time imagining that, it is supported in GOF--otherwise good old Archie would have bought a bathrobe instead of a dress. To add to the confusion, the illustrations of GOF (American) show Harry in a movie-style robe.

Here's a J.K. Rowling drawing of a wizard in robes (albeit Quidditch robes) ...
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/dpolshaw/quidditchrobes.jpg

[Cat]

I hope that little man in the picture is wearing underwear. Flashing is bound to be an illegal Quidditch move.

Though, come to think of it, it would help Cho Chang win against Harry.

[Snowangel]

Whenever I hear the word "robes" I always picture choir robes. This is probably why I've always thought that they seemed like odd choices for everyday wear.

[EvilMeghan]

I felt the robes were closed robes, but with a hood...I don't know why the hood...

Dedalus - where'd you get that JKR sketch? Is there a website with more somewhere? That would be really cool!

[cerdinalz]

poor hogwarts students. they have uniforms. no sense of style for them

[mrsweasley]

I kind of envisioned graduation gowns as the type of robes they'd wear. Maybe wearing them open is casual. I think the school uniforms fit in. Everyone would look the same for classes and such, but I had envisioned them as more casual in the Griffandor common room, for example with more muggle clothes. And they'd only keep the robes closed for special functions. I don't know about the hats, though. Maybe for special events as well. I've wondered about the dress robes too. GoF has some pretty detailed descriptions of them.
I imagine the guys would have long pants under theirs and girls some sort of long dress with the robe as the outer garment. Or maybe they're closed with lots of pleats and folds. And I'm thinking velvet is the dominant fabric of the dress robes. I suppose they'd have dorky dress hats, too, for a ball. Do wizard girls wear pantyhose?

[Bouncing_Ferret]

Ok, I did a search, but didn't find anything, so I hope this thread's alright... Anyhow!

Obviously wizards and witches wear cloaks. Sometimes pointy hats, depending on the occasion. But what other fashions are prevalent in the magical world?

From what we've seen in the movies, especially the Diagon Alley bit in PoA, fashion in the wizarding world seems to be quite changeable - from nineteenth century hats and coats and so forth, to the modern stuff worn by the Hogwarts kids. As can be seen in GoF at the world cup match, some wizards aren't very good at dressing in muggle clothes, even though families like the Weasleys use lots of what can be considered very normal items of clothing, such as the Christmas jumpers.

I'd just like to hear some people's views on what wizards and witches actually like to wear, and from what era the fashions are from?

[indigoeyes]

Hi bouncing ferret! Well since the wizarding wears muggle clothes only for the purpose of disguise it obviously doesn't have a very good fashion sense! However their wizarding dresses have quite a variety and style - the dress robes during the yule ball are a good example...

[HammerTime!]

I find it very wierd that the wizards have no "culture", as we know it. They have only one pop band, they read only spell books, history books or books about quidditch. The only paintings they have are old portraits. That's not cool at all! What about literature? What about contemporary art?
It seems wrong that all they ever do is memorize and practice spells. It seems like they hardly ever think creatively. How can a society exist like that?

[Cat]

How can a society exist like that?

Obsessively?

No, I think they do have other interests. There is a lot of interest in Quidditch and I don't see why that doesn't count. We obviously don't have a huge list of magical fiction because because Hogwarts is a school, and as such tends to be full of books about studying magic.

We haven't heard of many bands, but we know they exist. And I'm sure the Hobgoblins (?) have a different sound to Celestina Warbeck.

There are probably lots of different magical trends and fashion styles. Unfortunately, Harry's stuck with a school uniform at the moment.

[persian85033]

What I'd like to know is about "robes"? How are they supposed to go in or out of style? And how are they supposed to be different?

[mweasley]

It seems to me that the clothing under the robes may be optional. Remember Snape? When James turned him upside down in Snape's memory, everyone got to see his old, gray underwear. So apparently, it's up to the person, just what they wear.
Kim

[nissateegan]

It seems to me that the clothing under the robes may be optional. Remember Snape? When James turned him upside down in Snape's memory, everyone got to see his old, gray underwear. So apparently, it's up to the person, just what they wear.
Kim

I wanted to point out Snape too. Its' pretty obvious from that scene that the robes are closed (or at least they were in the past) becuase everyone would have been able to see his underwear without him being turned upside-down. That was also the first time (if I'm remembering correctly that we ever heard anything about what goes under the robes.

[koli]

Aspect of culture they probably have lots of books, good authors that wrote good fiction etc. Because so many book shops in diagon alley and flourish and blotts is at least i get the impression it is filled with books. certainly it cannot be filled with just textbooks upon textbooks. musically there is the weird sisters there has to be more bands or musical people.

"fashion" of course there was always robes and it was focused on a lot in the first book how they dressed abnormal and strange, bright colors like purple and green. I never really understood their clothes. Because they said they dressed up in muggle clothing sometimes. but i find it weird that they woudln't just normally dress in muggle clothes it seems a lot more simple. It's not liek they just wear robes and some underwear. Muggle clothing can't be that difficult, in GOF how some of the wizards were being difficult with discuising themselves as muggles. Eh that part of the book bothers me kind of, but it is such a minor part it really doesn't matter. oh i'll stop rambling... yet again

[Bouncing_Ferret]

What I'd like to know is about "robes"? How are they supposed to go in or out of style? And how are they supposed to be different?

I think that just because most wizards and witches generally wear robes doesn't mean that fashion doesn't change in the magical world. I mean there are all the different colours, of course, and there must be numerous different styles as well. It's exactly the same as looking at muggle clothing - everyone's been wearing trousers and shirts or dresses for years, yet they still keep changing, don't they?

There are many possibilities for changing preferences in robes. One year, people may only wear robes with small collars and long sleeves, while the year after that, hemlines go up a few inches, and lace is added to the neckline. This season, wizards might prefer lilacs and swamp greens, while next year midnight blue will be the new black! See? There are tons of different directions fashion in the magical world could take. It's just because we're not used to robes, it takes us longer to notice differences that to wizards would be considered very obvious! :)

My thoughts, anyhow! :D

[Furienna]

I think the robes are closed though. I never pictured them being open like dressing gowns.