Need ideas for a non-pointy wizard hat
July 19, 2017 3:44 PM   Subscribe

I'm in the process of assembling a wizard costume I'll be wearing at a con in a month. I don't particularly care for the traditional pointy cap, though. MeFi, please give me your best ideas for non-traditional, non-pointy wizard hats.
posted by isauteikisa to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (18 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Best answer: Do you need a hat at all? Zedd from Legend of the Seeker didn't have one.
posted by Sassyfras at 3:48 PM on July 19, 2017


Best answer: Those silly caps they make you wear in the graduation ceremony when you get your phd still strike me as wizard-ish.
posted by umwhat at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2017 [12 favorites]


Best answer: There's always the example of Tim the Enchanter to take inspiration from.
posted by tocts at 3:50 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I've seen drawings in some book or other where wizards wore sort of dark blue skull caps with stars on. Honestly, any dark blue hat with sparkly stars will say "wizard".
posted by Frowner at 3:57 PM on July 19, 2017 [4 favorites]


Best answer: Many stylish wizards wear hoods and cowls.
posted by ejs at 3:58 PM on July 19, 2017 [6 favorites]


Best answer: Cape with hood is always the way to go with wizard costumes.

If you don't want a cape you can make it part of your wizard robes. You will have wizard robes, correct? You can't be a wizard without wizard robes.
posted by brook horse at 4:00 PM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Came here to say what umwhat and Frowner said. The velvet tams of doctoral regalia, in dark blue, with some stars on them.
posted by muddgirl at 4:01 PM on July 19, 2017 [3 favorites]


Best answer: Dumbledore wears velvet fez/tam-ish hats -- google image search "dumbledore" brings up lots of good images, including this one.
posted by katemonster at 4:59 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: How do you feel about berets? Tall Toad offers a nice selection of them. Or maybe something from their flat caps section?
posted by MonkeyToes at 5:23 PM on July 19, 2017 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Harry Dresden is always depicted wearing a fedora (even though in the books he doesn't wear hats).
posted by Autumnheart at 5:26 PM on July 19, 2017


Response by poster: Great ideas. Keep them coming, please!
posted by isauteikisa at 6:09 PM on July 19, 2017


Best answer: What about taking a nod to the Wizard Of Oz, or other "magician", and going for a top hat?
posted by The otter lady at 6:26 PM on July 19, 2017


Best answer: What about affixing one of these to the top of a hat? Would have to be a sturdy hat with a flat top, maybe a top hat?
posted by Waiting for Pierce Inverarity at 7:08 PM on July 19, 2017 [1 favorite]


Best answer: This (lapsed) costume designer is desperate for more details about the character you are trying to portray, and the rest of the costume, so I will give you just a few of the many questions tumbling out of my mind. You don't have to answer me, but they might spark something:

Why is the wizard wearing a hat at all? Why did the wizard choose this hat? Is this the singular hat the wizard wears every day, or is there one for every outfit? Is it to mark your wizardly status, is it just fashion, is it to keep the sun and dust out of your face, are there spells woven into it? Does it hide the secret to your powers, or just a bald spot? Does your familiar roost/nest/hide in it? How would the wizard react to it being taken or blown off?

And for the practical considerations:

Will you have to explain it to people? Can you make up a fun in character story if people ask about it?
How will the hat interact with your hair?
Are glasses involved? Be sure hats and glasses can work together
What will comfortable wearing all day at a con (hats get hot! big ones block vision for the wearer and innocent bystanders)
What the color and shape will do for your face
What reaction will a specific hat evoke in your audience e.g. red fez might say "The Doctor" at most cons
posted by buildmyworld at 10:46 AM on July 20, 2017 [4 favorites]


Best answer: If your wizard style is old Western Europe inflected, take a look at paintings and woodcuts of medieval physicians and scholars. Lots of great hats there. Skullcaps are pretty ideal, if you want to go Bosch or Breughels weird you can put a funnel on your head and paint stars on it, the mortarboard or other academic hats seems pretty wizardy if your wizard is more modern. Is your wizard a scholar? Is your wizard a hedge wizard? Do they have a particular job? The answers to these questions will tell your HAT STORY
posted by nixon's meatloaf at 11:28 AM on July 20, 2017


Best answer: Cape with a hood + some kind of forehead jewelry. My husband did that for a wizard costume a few years ago and a glass gem necklace on the forehead is surprisingly flattering. Like, I think if it were socially acceptable to wear it to work he would.
posted by selfmedicating at 6:27 PM on July 20, 2017 [2 favorites]


Best answer: Shave your head and have a friend paint mystic sigils all over it.
posted by fings at 8:49 PM on July 20, 2017 [1 favorite]


Response by poster: Thanks again all for the suggestions! I went with a flat cap for the hat for this first costume, and will be giving a lot of thought to buildmyworld's questions as I pull together my second.
posted by isauteikisa at 8:40 PM on July 25, 2017 [3 favorites]


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