A Quidditch costume reference

The Cosplay community has embraced Harry Potter with exuberance and enthusiasm. When I started looking into Harry Potter costumes I came across almost everything, from Luna Lovegood in her lion’s head (priceless) to a golden snitch and Moaning Myrtle (with toilet seat!).

Of course, there was always a huge variety of Quidditch costumes, from the storebought to the painstakingly handcrafted. There seem to be several Quidditch camps – those who prefer the original first-year robes to Krum’s from the World Cup or practice robes from year 6.

And if you didn’t know there are multiple Quidditch costume styles, you’re not alone. I only figured it out once I started planning my own costume. Here’s what I’ve found so far:

Years 1 & 2

For the first 2 years (Philosopher’s Stone and the Chamber of Secrets) the Quidditch robes looked a lot like the general robes, with the exception of being in house colors. They were lined in the house accent color, with brown leather ties to match the brown leather pads worn by all teams. Don’t forget to add in your house sweater and socks to complete the ensemble!

Years 3 – 6

Jany Temime became the new head costume designer in year 3 (Prisoner of Azkaban) and gave the robes a sportier overhaul. Featuring performance fabrics, sporty stripes, and big jersey numbers, these costumes are more detailed than their predecessors. These robes lost the contrast lining as well, but keep the house sweater and socks in the mix. The Gryffindor robes show a star underneath the numbers on sleeves and back – but Slytherin has a snake in its place. All Gryffindor players have the star on their robes, so it doesn’t seem to denote position.

Let’s Talk Numbers

There’s some debate in the Harry Potter fandom about whether or not the numbers are chosen by specific players or signify specific positions on the team.

2019 Update: “Harry Potter: The Character Vault” puts this debate to rest. Numbers were added to the Quidditch costume when new head costume designer Jany Temime was hired on for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. “Each number tells which position you are playing, whether you’re a Beater or Seeker or a Keeper. In tryouts, you put on the number of the position you want.”

Malfoy, Harry, and Krum were all given the number 7 as seekers for their teams. My best guess as to which numbers are which position is as follows:

1. Keeper (Ron – Half-Blood Prince)
2. Beater
3. Beater
4. Chaser (has a quaffle in Half-Blood Prince)
5. Chaser (Fred or George)
6. Chaser (Ginny)
7. Seeker (Harry, Draco, Krum)

Year 6 Tryouts

Year 6 brought a third costume variant for tryouts. Although the half-jersey-half-robe seems to cut players off at an awkward spot, I have a great fondness for the tryout scene. Who can forget Ginny telling everyone to ‘shut it’ or Hermione casting Confundus on McLaggen so he doesn’t take Ron’s Keeper spot? All teams have the same gray pants/top under their house robes for practice – you’ll notice the stripe down the sleeves and pant legs features all 4 house colors.

The Gear

The Quidditch gear is, to me, a huge part of the costume. It’s what makes it obvious that you’re on the team instead of walking around in house colors to represent. In most cases, the gear is made of brown leather. You can use black as well if you’re going for a year 6 Slytherin costume or as Krum in the World Cup tournament. The gloves are a bit different depending on the year, but the other pieces seem constant throughout the series.

And a gigantic graphic

I spent a few quite pleasant evenings putting all of the above into one huge, long, somewhat fabulous graphic. I’m not sure if Ron would say “bloody brilliant” but that’s what I’m picturing right now as I pat myself on the back. That counts, right?

Oh, and if you’re looking for more Harry Potter stuff, check out my posts on Where to find Quidditch in the Harry Potter Movies, How to Crochet a Slytherin Scarf, download the Nimbus 2000 symbol, DIY Quidditch Gear (with pattern), or Making the Nimbus 2000 (with broom handle template).