10 Small Details About “Harry Potter” Costumes That Are Often Overlooked

The Harry Potter saga became one of the most successful cinematic events in history. The world created by the writer J.K. Rowling managed to come to life on the big screen thanks to the hard work of dozens of people. They made sure to respect Rowling’s vision as much as possible. Especially when creating the costumes, that were key to highlighting the personality of each character and gave that magical touch to the world that has fascinated young and old.

At Bright Side, we have compiled some of the most peculiar stories behind the iconic costumes of the Harry Potter franchise, from the important symbolism in the smallest details to changes that the actors themselves gave their garments to provide them with a unique touch.

1. Harry Potter’s contact lenses

The books about the most famous wizard in the world describe Harry’s eyes as green (like his mother’s). Initially, it was intended that actor Daniel Radcliffe would wear green contact lenses, as he has blue eyes, but the idea was discarded because they hurt his eyes. Thus, the plot was changed so that Harry Potter would have blue eyes.

2. Goodbye to uniforms

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban brought with it many changes: a new director (Alfonso Cuarón), the main characters no longer looked like children, and costume designer Jany Temime joined the production. For this film, Temime decided that the main trio should wear clothes they would “wear on a normal day,” so she left behind the classic Hogwarts school uniform to show that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were teenagers.

3. Bellatrix’s clothing became very popular.

Temime said that Voldemort’s right-hand woman, Bellatrix Lestrange, became her favorite character when designing her outfit. It was also the one that caused her the most problems, as she needed her to have a “shabby” look. However, the great commitment of actress Helena Bonham Carter made everything easier.

Bellatrix was such a hit with Harry Potter fans that, at a convention, Temime was asked to create a line of clothing inspired by the dark character.

4. Hermione’s delicate gown

In the fourth installment of the saga, another one of the most iconic scenes took place — the Christmas ball. In this scene, we can see a very different facet of the magical world and even the main characters. Hermione’s dress, which Temime herself describes as that of a “doll,” tries to precisely show that Hermione can be very delicate underneath her “rough” exterior.

5. Luna’s peculiar earrings

When Evanna Lynch was accepted for the role of Luna Lovegood, her passion for the Harry Potter saga soon became public. In order to portray the eccentric girl from the Ravenclaw house, Lynch worked closely with Temime. Their goal was to design clothes that her character would really wear to show her strange personality. She helped design jewelry for Luna Lovegood.

6. Ginny Weasley and her passion for fashion

Temime revealed that most actors just put on their costumes and have no opinion on anything. However, the exception to this was Bonnie Wright, the actress who plays Ron’s younger sister, Ginny Weasley. Bonnie is the daughter of 2 well-known jewelers, so she inherited their fashion sense, which she put to good use in the film.

7. Dolores Umbridge and pink

One of the most hated characters in the Harry Potter saga is undoubtedly Dolores Umbridge. This antagonist stands out from the rest because she doesn’t wear dark colors or shabby clothes. On the contrary, she wears “adorable” shades of pink and has a love for cats, which was reflected in a scarf that, Temime revealed, was one of her favorite accessories and one of the most contrasting with Umbridge’s unpleasant personality.

8. Very expensive uniforms

Temime wanted the Hogwarts uniforms to be of the highest quality, so she spared no expense in designing them. Only the ties were made of the finest silk, which made the uniforms the most expensive of the saga.

9. The Battle of Hogwarts required many changes of clothing.

In the last film of the franchise, we can see the whole school fighting against Lord Voldemort’s followers. For the designers and dressmakers, this scene was complete chaos since they had to show the wear and tear of the clothes due to the battle, tearing between 10 and 15 sets of clothes a day during the 4 months that it took to film the scene.

10. Voldemort’s clothing and its connection to Horcruxes

In the sixth installment of the saga, it is revealed that “The Dark Lord” had divided his soul into 7 parts, called Horcruxes. However, what few people noticed is that Voldemort’s robe wore out every time a Horcrux was destroyed, so his clothes went from a deep dark to a dusty gray that, for the sake of redundancy, ended up turning to dust.

Is there any garment from this franchise that you’d like to wear in your daily life? Share it in the comments.