There is a lot of details hidden into the world of Harry Potter – from the books to the movies, to the extra details revealed online. And there's a lot to enjoy in these facts. Yet even some fans will be surprised by some of the hidden details or facts about the costumes worn within the Harry Potter movies.
There was a huge team of people working on the costume designs shown, and even some of the actors had a say in what they were to wear. Perhaps that is why the movies had such a unique tone and feel – and what made it all so true to the novels.
Wardrobe Change
One of the most obvious wardrobe facts a fan can pick up on is the sudden change that occurred. You may notice that there's a distinct change in wardrobe between the second and third movie in the series. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and all of the Hogwarts students began dressing differently.
Suddenly, they went from dressing in Hogwarts robes all of the time, and instead began dressing in more casual (dare we say, muggle) ways. This allowed each character to get a chance to show off their personality. It also made each character – even just the background characters – a bit more distinct.
Luna's Accessories
Actress Evanna Lynch had a lot of input with her costume. And somehow that is just absolutely perfect, given that she is the one who brought Luna Lovegood to life. She handmade several pieces to contribute, and given that we can only assume that Luna herself would have made these pieces, it was a perfect fit.
The iconic radish earrings are a piece that Evanna Lynch supplied. She also made a bracelet showing a cute little hare on it. This piece made its appearance in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – during the Christmas party that Slughorn threw.
Snape's Eyes
Alan Rickman was without a doubt one of the best picks for Severus Snape. However, Rickman had a lovely shade of brown eyes, while his Snape counterpart had much darker eyes. That's because Alan Rickman actually wore contacts while filming.
The change is subtle enough, relatively speaking. His eyes never seemed to be an unnatural shade, and even the director didn't seem to always be aware of this fact. Yet this little detail made the look come together. Can you imagine Snape having comforting brown eyes? No, we can't either.
Pink is the Color of Evil
You may or may not have noticed that they changed the iconic coloring of Tonks' hair. In the books, she's always described as having bubblegum pink hair. And it truly did suit her character perfectly. However, the directors decided to change her iconic hair color to a vibrant purple instead.
Why? They wanted only one character associated with the color pink. They wanted the one and only Dolores Umbridge to be the Harry Potter character we think of when we see the color pink. And it worked.
Adding on Weight
Neville Longbottom may have been a running joke in the series – right up until he stepped up and became the hero we all adore. But they had some trouble getting Matthew Lewis to fit this role. Fans have commented on how Matthew Lewis went from dork to hunk over night, but the truth is the transition was a bit more gradual than you might imagine.
Matthew Lewis was forced to wear a fat suit and little bits behind his eyes to make them stand out more. All of this in an attempt to make him look a bit more like the way the novels make him sound. And honestly, all it did was buy them time. There was no hiding how Matthew Lewis would turn out.
The Wool Debate
There was another main change made during Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The new costume designer (Jany Temime) insisted on specific materials for each of the iconic costume bits. For example, the ties were made of real silk (because of the knot they make).
The sweaters were designed with wool in mind. It seemed like a good idea at first, but ultimately they didn't hold up to the wear and tear (and wash) that a bunch of kids would put of them. So the next movie they were forced to go with a wool and polyester blend.
The Evolution of Masks
The Death Eater's masks faced several changes throughout the movies. Actually, their entire looks changed, though some changes were more subtle than others. The Death Eaters went from being simple black shapes to characters with half masks, until finally, they were wearing the iconic and heavily detailed masks we know today.
Rob Bliss is the genius behind the silver masks, which were inscribed with designs based on Mogul patterns. He went with the ornate silver designs because he felt that Death Eaters were people who would be showy in nature, and thus have opulent designs whenever possible.
Flitwick's Makeover
Eagle-eyed fans surely noticed the drastic change in Flitwick's character design. It was yet another change that occurred between the second and third movies in the franchise. Here Flitwick went from being old and coated in white hair, to much younger – spouting a bowl cut hairstyle on top of everything else.
He also went from wearing robes in the classic wizard style to wearing more formal wear similar to a tuxedo. The style suited our Head of Ravenclaw in more ways than one. Now if only we could see how he dressed during his dueling days.
A Change in Color Palette
Gilderoy Lockhart, easily the most self-obsessed professor shown in the series. And perhaps the most incompetent of the bunch. He was described very specifically in the novels, tending towards flamboyant styles that would draw the attention he so desperately craved.
However, that is not how Lockhart is shown in the movie. Okay, he still dressed in very fine clothing. But he's never really shown with the vibrant colors we expected. And that was done with intent. According to behind the scenes information, they were concerned that brighter colors would take away from the acting behind the character. And thus they went with more muted tones when possible.
Uniforms Everywhere
It's easy to forget just how many students were in Hogwarts – and how many costumes it would have taken to dress all of them (especially given how many movies the dramatic robes made their appearances in).
In total, over six hundred Hogwarts costumes had to be made for the series. And we can't help but feel like that's a drastic understatement. Other items that had to be made in significant quantity include Harry's glasses (coming in at over 160 over the eight films) and the wands (Daniel Radcliff was guilty for breaking dozens of his own).