Harry Potter Year 5

To celebrate the release of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we attended a Harry Potter party. Knowing I would have to 'referee' an actual Quidditch match, I decided to make a deluxe Madam Hooch costume (with help from Britta Peterson).

I transformed a graduation robe ($8 at a thrift store) with white fabric and nylon "belt" material (which resembles the straps for gym bags and thus had a real "soccer" look). I cut the sleeves at an angle and put metal nuts at the tips to weigh them down so they'd hang nicely, and added a hood to the top (easier to do than you’d think). The ‘patch’ on the front is actually cut out from a Harry Potter gift bag (yes, it’s a ‘paper’ patch!)

I found the ski gloves at a thrift store ($1), bought ski goggles from the sporting goods store ($3), draped a swag whistle around my neck, tied on a black tie, turned a vest I had inside out, and wore a white shirt and black pants (all from my closet). These boots were the greatest find--they were actually on a free table outside a thrift store.

I made the broom myself from dried reeds I collected from the Oregon coast, and an awesome stick (complete with cool-looking etchings from boring bugs) that I hunted down in the Oregon forest. I used a saudering iron to burn the words "Nimbus 2000" into the wood. Price: free!

Doug's was great for Snape because at the time he was growing his hair long! The shirt was a real find--$5 for satin and velvet, where I sewed leftover ruffles on the sleeve ends. The cloak and hood are the left-over "Emperor" costume (Halloween 1984) also used for my "Death" costume (Halloween 1994). We put lots of gel in his hair to simulate "grease". Some people thought Doug looked more like "Snape" than Alan Rickman does!

Ashlyn’s costume was formed with a lot of haggling. The shirt was from the $1 thrift store, and though it was an adult’s shirt, I convinced them it was a kids’ shirt and so they gave it to me for $.50. The brooch was also from a thrift store for $2, but when I told them what it was for they gave it to me for $1. And the witches hat was at a garage sale for $1, but when I told them what it was for they gave it to me for $.25. Shows you it never hurts to ask or share your costume stories!

A note about the group shot: The Davis Enterprise newspaper was running a contest that summer for taking photos holding the Enterprise in exotic locations, and we figured, "What's more exotic than Hogwarts". We took this photo and, in photoshop, changed the Enterprise head to that in Harry Potter's world, The Daily Prophet. The photo was one of those published in the paper, though ironically very few people were able to recognize us in these costumes.

Jun 25, 2003