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Kids and adults should enjoy seeing how to transform themselves into this powerful sorcerer with this detailed Gandalf Hobbit costume and cosplay guide.

Also known as Mithrandir, which is what Lady Galadriel calls him in the Hobbit movie titled An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf is a main character through both this and The Lord of the Rings tales and stories.

He is an extremely powerful wizard from the Order of the Istari. He uses his magic to fight against the evil that is growing in Tolkien's Middle Earth. This wizard is the perfect character to dress up or emulate in costume if you admire both his magical skills and also his sheer wisdom too.

Note: This post contains affiliate links for which I may be compensated.

Step 1: Tolkien Wizard Clothes and Gandalf Hobbit Costume Patterns

Featured image: Original by Ewen Roberts on Flickr with a CC License. Image cropped and title added.

In The Hobbit movie, which is set 60 years before the story that evolves in The Lord of the Rings, we are seeing a Gandalf who is very similar to that shown in The Fellowship of the Ring movie. This was at the time before he transformed into the much more powerful White Wizard.

⭐ In fact, Gandalf's Hobbit costume that he wears in An Unexpected Journey is actually the same as his initial grey guise in LOTR except for one real addition, his silver scarf.

Adult Sized Gandalf Outfit for Halloween from Amazon.com

UK Readers get a Gandalf Costume from Amazon.co.uk

This set for adults includes the long gray robe, wizard hat and belt. You will need to supply a wig and facial hair, i.e. the beard yourself.

There is another official licensed version of the gray outfit for sale but I really don't like the alternative choice since it has some frilly ruffles on it which makes the character look too weird for words. That is my honest opinion. You can check out all the options on Amazon by doing a search for Gandalf.

Tolkien described this powerful sorcerer in his books as having a tall pointed blue hat (I'm glad the costume department never went with such a Wizard cliche) a long grey cloak and a silver scarf.

Some fans were disappointed in The Lord of the Rings movies because the scarf was never worn by the Wizard at all. It was only shown once when it was tied to his cart or wagon at Hobbiton.

Get a Gandalf Costume from Etsy

Whether you should make, cobble together or buy your outfit for Halloween, cosplay or Comic Con etc. is really down to how much time and money that you have to spare. Certainly you can normally make or put together more authentic looking clothes yourself rather than getting the pre-made ones.

⭐ Although you can put together your own outfit, ready made costumes tend to be very convenient if you are short on time. I've got many ideas on this page however you want to play it. You may want to make or source your costume but spend money on a hat, wig or other accessories.

LadyHerndon on Etsy has previously stocked a kid's wizard robe for Gandalf the Grey. It comes in a variety of child sizes and is made to order. The hat, belt, beard, staff and pipe props are not included in the purchase which is for the grey robes only.

Sewing Pattern for a Wizard Hat and Robe

Get a Sewing Pattern to Make a Wizard Cloak and Hat

UK Readers get a Sewing Pattern from Etsy

I found McCall's Pattern 3789 for adult and kids wizard items. This sewing pattern that I sourced for you has a pretty good looking wizard's costume consisting of a hat and a robe that would make a very passable Hobbit or Lord of the Rings wizard if made from a gray fabric.

The robe looks nice and commanding and it could be thrown over a simple outfit of gray pants and a t-shirt. Alternatively, you could make a long dress tunic to be worn underneath. Add on a long silver gray beard, a wig and wooden staff to convince people that you're the real deal.

Step 2: Costume Gandalf Hat and Beard Hair Accessories

Gandalf has long and wavy silver-gray hair which comes down past his shoulders in An Unexpected Journey. There are no bangs or fringe to restrict his vision and the hair is swept back away from his face. A mustache grows down into his long and bushy beard which grows way down his chest. It all has a rather unkempt look as you'd expect from a man who is so great that he has rather more pressing things to consider than his hair.

Wig and Beard Set for this Character from Amazon.com

UK Readers get a Gandalf Wig from Amazon.co.uk

This is for the beard and wig. Unless you are blessed with the silver gray hair of a sorcerer, you'll be needing a wig that does the job instead. This is an appropriate looking gray color version although the one shown here looks a lot neater than the one worn by the actor, Sir Ian McKellen. It comes with a hair wig and beard piece.

A Dumbledore wig from Harry Potter also makes a credible option for a wig and beard for this Tolkien character by the way. And the other item you could add is a pipe. He liked to puff on a long, curved wooden pipe to make smoke rings which he could magic into fanciful shapes too.

Get a Costume Wizard Hat available at Amazon.com

UK Readers get a Gandalf Hat from Amazon.co.uk

If you haven't got a hat with your outfit, you'll either need to make or buy one. I think the shape means that it is not going to be easy to make this hat. You can, however, always look up tutorials online or on YouTube. This one looks as though it has the right shape and style but do check out the actual product page for sizing.

Find Gandalf Wizard Hats to Buy on Etsy

This wizard, also known as Stormcrow, wears a rather traditional looking sorcerer's hat with a wide brim and a pointed, tall conical crown. Gandalf's hat has a pretty unique curved tilt to it where it is bent backwards making a bit of an arched shape.

Tolkien's description of this hat was that it was tall, pointed and blue. Thankfully the costume department refrained from going with the blue since it would not have worked well with the rest of his gray costume. The use of a blue wizard's hat is quite cliche as well.

Step 3: Gandalf the Grey Staff Replica for Sale and Other Costume Accessories

Whether you're dressing as this character for Halloween, cosplay, LARP or Comic Con, I'd advise you to stick to one main accessory unless you want to go completely overboard. Choosing an accessory is going to be based on which one that you have the most affinity for.

There is the light-hearted side of the wizard where he loves to blow smoke rings and reminisce with Hobbits, the powerful warrior side where he relies on skill with his sword called Glamdring and the magical side where he utilizes the magic of his staff. This sorcerer actually has quite a few accessories that he carries around with him. This is fun because you can choose to adopt at least one of these additional ideas into your dressing up efforts.

Get this Replica Staff by United Cutlery at Amazon.com

UK Readers get a Gandalf Staff from Amazon.co.uk

Let the powerful magic commence with your staff. Every good sorcerer has a magical staff. I'm sure you really can't be a proper wizard without one. This particular one should look like a piece of ancient and wizened wood which is twisted at the upright end.

See How to Make Your Own DIY Gandalf Staff

The real Lord of the Rings movie version lights up in blue at night. It can can show the way during the wizard's travels and also be used to light fires and, more powerfully, to split rocks and stone if needs be.

Sadly the replica models will not magically light up but you can always pretend that it does. The replica staff may be a little expensive to use for Halloween, cosplay and comic con purposes. Alternatively, you could look for a staff that resembles a natural, twisted piece of wood or find a suitable branch to use.

⭐ The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Glamdring Sword

Glamdring is the sword that this wizard actually finds during the first of the three Hobbit movies: An Unexpected Journey.

After the rather silly trolls are defeated, the company of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins and the wizard, stumble across the nearby troll lair and a collection of 3 swords. Actually there are two human sized swords and a smaller knife which works out to be the perfect sword size for the smaller Hobbit character, Bilbo.

Glamdring is the sword that Gandalf chooses for himself. Lord Elrond the Elf Lord later explains that this is an ancient and magical blade that was used in the Goblin Wars to slay the Orcs.

Glamdring swords on Amazon

Orcs are still repulsed and frightened by the blade which also goes by the name of Foe-Hammer. You can get a reproduction sword of the movie prop by United Cutlery. Alternatively, you can get a less expensive version made more for Halloween and cosplay costuming.

⭐ Gandalf the Grey's Pipe

He loves to indulge in his pipe from time to time and this is actually a habit that he picked up from the Hobbits. This wizard can blow out some rather unique rings and all kinds of weird and wonderful shapes once he adds a bit of magic to the mix too.

Unless you want to invest in a replica of his curved wooden movie replica, a Churchwarden variety is not only inexpensive but looks the part too. If you want the look of this product without the price, you need to look at buying a long stemmed Churchwarden.

Despite it being a bit of a bad habit, Gandalf's very fond of this accessory. He associates this and also drinking with many merry times spent with the Hobbit creatures that he is particularly fond of. Many fans love to own the real prop replica and you may be able to find one still at the official Warner Brothers site.

⭐ Gandalf Magical Silver Scarf

The Magical Scarf of Gandalf Replica along with Fili the Dwarf's Pipe, Bottom Right

Image Credit: Shared by Rukia13 on Flickr with a CC License

For The Hobbit movies, the scarf as described by Tolkien has been given a much bigger role since Gandalf now wears it over his outer robe or cloak. You can get a woolen scarf which is an exact replica of the one worn in the movie.

In fact it is even made by the same people who devised the scarf for the costume department during the making of the film. It comes all the way from New Zealand where the wool comes from the Stansborough Grey breed of sheep.

The fabric is then woven on traditional looms where some fine metallic threads are added to make the scarf shine and have a magical look to it.

This is in keeping with Tolkien's vision of the scarf which he described as containing fine slivers of Mithril, a very precious Middle Earth metal mined by the Dwarves in the mountains of Moria.

This metal once saved the life of Frodo Baggins who wore chainmail made from this metal that was given to him by Bilbo. So you get a fine piece of fantasy history woven into a beautiful scarf. As a high quality replica, this item can be expensive and you may get one from Warner Bros Shop.

Knit your own Gandalf inspired scarf with a pattern on Ravelry

No wonder they chose not to make Gandalf wear the magical scarf during The Lord of the Rings because he has so many accessories anyway. How much can one guy really carry all this and much less fight, even if he is a powerful wizard? I can see how it really wasn't all that practical to give him something else as an accessory to add to the list. Have fun with assembling your outfit.

⭐ His Crossbody Bag / Travel Pouch

In his grey/gray guise, he wears a brown crossbody bag over his robes and slung across from his left shoulder to hang on his right side.

As a grey wizard, he wears long, grey color robes with a traditional and pointy grey wizard hat and a brown crossover bag worn to one side. He carries a twisted brown wooden staff and his sword, Glamdring.

Gandalf has the wisdom and sense to realize that it's the little, often overlooked, things that are important: the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. So he chooses Bilbo Baggins to travel on a journey along with himself and the 13 Dwarves. They set off to reclaim Dwarven treasure from Erebor, The Lonely Mountain.

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Page Last Updated: August 20th, 2018