#which is much more normal everyday wear in lachrimae

[birlwrites]

What is your version of Hogwarts' uniform like? (The everyday one and the Quidditch one)

okay SO

i think of the everyday uniform as having a few layers, but the ESSENTIAL elements are the shirt, tie, and robe. shirt is just a white long-sleeved button-down, tie is striped tie with house colors, and the robe resembles a graduation gown (picture of one that's not black so you can see the seams better):

it's a workrobe, which means it's ankle-length (often a little longer for first and second years, as they'll grow, but they can't be too much longer or they'll be an inconvenient length, so it's common for people to have robes that are kind of short on them by the end of the year (which would be, like, hitting slightly above the ankle), sleeves hit at the wrist, and the fabric isn't at all tight but it's relatively closely fitted (despite the pleats) to minimize the chances of fabric swinging around and getting in the way/getting splashed with dangerous substances/attacked by plants/etc

shoes: no particular dress code there, although certain classes may require close-toed shoes/shoes you don't mind getting dirty. i think leather shoes are common for kids from magical families - dragonhide or something else Fancy if you're rich. canvas shoes are something creeping in from the muggle world so only really seen on people who live in non-magical neighborhoods (and actually go out into those neighborhoods lmao). i haven't thought very much about socks

people will often wear trousers (or sometimes a skirt) under their robe as well, for warmth and/or modesty, as even though the robes aren't super loose, they are still loose and something like wind can cause issues for both temperature and 'blowing your clothes all over the place' reasons. first-years need trousers for flying lessons, as attempting to fly in a robe will hamper your ability to move your legs unless it's only fastened over the chest (or not at all, but it would probably slide off your shoulders as you flew). they're also considered a basically-essential component of attending potions and astronomy, for temperature reasons

wearing your school robe open over the rest of your uniform would be kind of like... not unacceptable, but mcgonagall would tell you to button it up the second you set foot in your classroom. kind of like walking around in your workout clothes - it's not a question of modesty (provided you're wearing trousers/a long skirt), but rather of formality

quidditch: long-sleeved shirt and... hm how do i describe my mental image of this. ok so like, trousers that are fitted but also pretty thick. you need to be able to move your legs freely, but sitting on a broom isn't all that comfortable, and it's also a (very minimal) layer of protection in case you get hit by a bludger. it also has that strap to go under the arch of your foot to keep it in place

the real protection is over your torso, because that's where your vital organs are - leather armor w a front and back piece, going from your waist up to your neck. sides aren't really covered for freedom of movement, so you've got like... let's say a 4-inch-wide strip on either side that doesn't have armor. (limbs don't get this protection because eh, who hasn't broken a limb playing quidditch, it's totally fine)

players also need leather gloves - these are meant to protect your hands from the broom handle in case of long matches, but seekers Must have fingerless gloves bc of snitch flesh memories, and chasers and keepers usually have fingerless gloves as well so they can grip better. beaters often have their whole hands covered bc they have to wield a bat for the entire game

and then over all of that you have your team robe. shirt and trousers will generally be in your team's base color, and people don't always wear the robe for practice (except just to calibrate for flying with it). team robe has both your team's colors and a number and surname. numbers are always 01-07 at hogwarts, with any reserves (which are uncommon) starting at 08. chasers are typically 01-03, keeper is 04, beaters are 05 and 06, and seeker is 07. this pattern continues for the reserves. in the pro leagues, numbering is more like 'you pick Your Number and you Keep It', but at hogwarts they don't want to deal with that shit

it makes perfect sense for players to wear helmets but i simply cannot see it in my mind's eye so they don't. this is why concussions are so common in a sport that is not, strictly speaking, a contact sport. it also makes perfect sense for players to wear goggles but again i simply cannot see it so they do not. something something can't obstruct vision something something snitch

quidditch robes are fairly different from a normal robe: they cut away below the waist, and they hit at about the back of the knee, rendering them more like a jacket with a train (that begins to taper inward about mid-thigh and then ends in a point). they're very closely fitted, and made of a very flexible fabric so they don't impede movement.

last component is shoes - leather again, low-top, with a low block heel. this is so that you can brace against the broom - there's a small crosswise bar at the back, right before the... i don't know what that's called. the bristles? the sweepy part? you know, the end bit. ANYWAY there's a bar in front of that part where people can brace their feet, makes it a lot easier to steer and stay on your broom esp when you're going fast. this is why it's important to calibrate broom size to your height - if the broom is too big for you, then you can't comfortably brace your feet and keep a grip at the end of the handle, and that'll make your steering awkward since you'll be trying to steer from the middle of the broom

shoes, gloves, and armor generally don't vary from team to team, and they're normally brown. pro teams might sometimes have them made in team colors, but at hogwarts they are brown. and they're similar to the brooms in that hogwarts has them on hand and can issue them to you, but people will buy their own if they can so they can get new ones - gloves are by far the most common thing to buy yourself, followed by shoes, and then armor. it depends on a) how serious you are about quidditch or b) how much money you have for random shit like that

the newer the gloves and shoes are, the thinner the leather tends to be - the goal is always maximum protection with minimum bulk and also minimum break-in time. so some people do upgrade. in the pro leagues, they'll probably go through a pair of gloves a season - at hogwarts, the standard for 'functional quidditch gloves' is very much at 'functional' rather than 'high-performing,' and the practice and game schedules are also much less intense, so most people wouldn't have any reason to get new gloves more than every few years. (also, if your gloves are older, they're probably thicker and won't wear out as fast.) the main reason to get new ones would be 'i am a tween who is not done growing and my gloves/shoes don't fit me anymore' (shoes don't wear out as fast as gloves do since they're really just there to cover your feet and provide a heel to use to brace, plus they're low-top so they don't need to be as flexible as the gloves do since your ankles aren't covered by them)