Legolas Hobbit Costume Cosplay Guide

You're going to need a bit of help dressing up as Legolas the Elven Prince from the Hobbit movies, The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies. You'll learn how to rock the Legolas Hobbit costume for Halloween and cosplay with this detailed guide.

Strictly speaking, this is one Elf that shouldn't technically appear in the movie versions of The Hobbit since he doesn't appear in the book written by J. R. R. Tolkien. But I can’t have been the only fan who was really happy to see him back, reprising his role.

Legolas Greenleaf was written in to the script, in much more than just a cameo role, because Thranduil, King of the Woodland Elves, is his father and this King is an actual character from the book version.

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Detailed Legolas Hobbit Costume Elven Clothes Guide for Halloween and Cosplay

Legolas in the Hobbit movie, The Desolation of Smaug, looks a little different to his earlier filmed The Lord of the Rings appearance. You can still get the older Lord of the Rings outfits and accessories but they are just a little different. Refer to my Legolas LOTR costume guide if you want to take on that specific look.

Get a Legolas Costume from Amazon.com / Amazon.co.uk

The Hobbit is set 60 years before the actual events of LOTR take place and so we are seeing a much younger version of this Elven Prince. This is kind of ironic since the actual actor, Orlando Bloom, has aged considerably since filming on the original movies ended.

In The Lord of the Rings Legolas wore quite plain traveling attire mostly in mossy wood greens and natural browns as you’d expect for a woodland Elf. He also wears the Fellowship of the Ring cloak and clasp which was a gift from Lady Galadriel in that movie.

This character in The Hobbit does not yet have that special, magical Fellowship cloak and nor does he have that specific gift of the bow that Lady Galadriel gave him either but a different one. This is because those items that she presented to him come long after the events that we see in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of Five Armies movies.

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

You might have trouble getting hold of official versions of this character’s costume clothes from The Hobbit. Many that you can buy are the old style versions from The Lord of the Rings instead. I guess because they are so similar in style.

The good news is that so long as you get the hair, ears and also the outfit colors right for this character, everyone will know exactly who you’re dressing up as. So you can still get the original costumes or make your own versions based on that look.

The kid’s version of the official Legolas costume comes with a tunic, cloak, belt and boot tops and gives a quick way for a child to dress up as their favorite character for Halloween. To complete the look you’d need to add on a wig and a toy bow which are not included in this set.

The official adult version of the outfit is very similar and also contains a tunic, a cloak, belt and boot tops. As I’ve already mentioned, this particular infamous cloak does not exist in The Hobbit movie although he could well wear a different one. But if you’re dressing as the new version of Legolas for the latest movies, I’d ditch the cloak altogether.

The Hobbit Desolation of Smaug Legolas costume cosplayer

This cosplayer has nailed the whole Legolas Halloween costume look from his long blonde hair and pointed elven ears down to the tunic, arm cuffs, bow, arrows and quiver on his back. You can imagine him pretty much out of one of the movies directed by Peter Jackson.

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

You can see a large and detailed image which shows what Legolas wears in the new Hobbit movies near the end of this guide along with a complete checklist too. To be convincing don’t forget to add in some arm bracers or guards, some greaves or leg protectors and some body armor.

Try looking on Etsy or Ebay for those items since there are sellers who make leather bracers and armor and can make them to spec too. Alternatively, you can have a go at making your own using an easy fabric like felt which can easily be cut into shape or even craft foam. You can paint on designs across the top.

Legolas Hairstyling, Wigs and Ears

They opted to keep the hairstyle of this character the same across the movies. Thank goodness. Why mess with something that really is perfect? Legolas has very blond golden hair which is straight and long. It falls down well below his shoulders.

He wears this hair swept all back elegantly from his face so it can never distract him by blowing across his eyes. The front of his hair, where the bangs or fringe would be if he had any, and most of the sides are swept back and plaited at the back. Then he has two small, thin plaits, one at each side of his head.

You can buy some official wigs for this character. However, they are really and truly awful! While the styling looks OK, they got the color completely wrong and made it a brown instead of a blond color. And everyone who’s seen the movie knows how golden that hair is.

If you have suitable long hair, you might wish to style it yourself or buy a long blonde wig that can be styled instead. My advice is, if you don’t have long blond hair to work with, buy a straight long blonde wig, which will most likely be one for a woman or girl, and braid it yourself. You can get step-by-step braiding instructions for Legolas.

This video shows you a simple version of how to style your hair to get the look of the hairstyle that is worn by Legolas in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies. It shows you how to make it using simple plaiting techniques.

There are 3 plaits: one is worn at the back of the head and is made from the long fringe which is brushed back into the top section of hair. There are two more plaits, one each side, and these are both very thin ones. The plait at the back is made using a herringbone or fishtail plait technique.

Elf Ear Tips Add to a More Realistic Elven Look

Like all Tolkien elves, the ears of Legolas are slightly pointed at the tips. You can achieve this effect for your cosplay or dressing up with a number of methods which I’ll discuss more below.

One of the best ways to get realistic Elven ears is to use special prosthetic ear tips. Not everyone can wear ear tips. Most of them are made from latex which is a problem for someone with an allergy. Rubber based ones are often latex based too, so be wary of that.

For people who are not allergic to latex, then these ear tips are a great choice. They come as an unpainted version that you apply with spirit gum and can then paint over with make-up to match your own skin tone.

Different Methods to Getting Yourself Some Pointy Elven Ears:

Use a simple technique with sticky sellotape to stick your ears into shape at the tips, then paint over the tape with a foundation in your own skin color.

Buy some latex ear tips and glue them on using a special type of "glue" such as spirit gum or liquid latex. Obviously this will not work for anyone with a latex allergy.

Wear some metal or wire elf ear cuffs. Elf ear cuffs are metal and you wear like jewelry over your ears. These are decorative wire work designs that sit over the top of your ears. They are pointed at the top and have a real fantasy look and feel to them. These may be a good option if you have a latex allergy.

Legolas Weapon Costume Accessories

He’s a Woodland Elf and likes to use a bow and arrows as his weapon of choice. It isn’t the same Galadhrim Elven bow that Legolas was given by Lady Galadriel and which he uses during much of his Lord of the Rings journey. That particular bow is set another 60 years in the future to The Hobbit story.

The bow he carried for the earlier Hobbit story would have most likely been one fashioned in Mirkwood which is his realm. But we know that he is using a bow as well as his two fighting knives or daggers since they can clearly be seen in The Desolation of Smaug which is the second Hobbit movie. Of course, Legolas needs something to carry all his arrows and for that he wears a back quiver which you can see.

If you’re going to get any accessory at all for this Middle Earth character, you’d better make it a bow since that’s the item he is most heavily associated with. This Elven Prince is famed for his archery skills. These skills were put to great use on his Fellowship of the Ring quest when he single-handedly takes down an Oliphant, a huge giant Elephant type creature.

One choice to work with your outfit is this wooden bow and arrow set which comes with three arrows and a quiver too. Although it is not one you can put on your back like Legolas. It’s made from wood and has a nice natural look to it which would work well with a Tolkien Elf outfit.

Back quivers tend to run a little pricey. I love the way this one looks because it’s made of brown leather and has a simple style that looks perfect for a woodland Elf theme. You could try making something similar yourself to sling across your back and hold your faux arrows.

The Legolas Fighting Knives

True fans will love the authentic collector knives. These were produced for both the LOTR and the Hobbit movies. There is a difference in the styling with The Hobbit ones looking much more natural in the choice of wood color handles. The collector figures show the Elven Prince with his two hand weapons and you can also see the tops of them in his back quiver when not in use.

How to Dress as Legolas from The Hobbit

Here is a complete character costume and cosplay checklist. This is a rundown of what the Elven Woodland Realm prince wears for the Hobbit movies.

1) A long sleeved medium green under-tunic garment.

2) A short sleeved long green tunic over this in a darker shade. This tunic falls down to his knees like a skirt and sits under the body armor.

3) One pair of dark, woodland green arm bracers with gold color scroll detailing.

4) A beautiful and elaborate piece of body armor which looks like it is a bronze color in parts with lots of gold color detailing. The shoulder plates are elaborate gold leaf designs.

5) Long tight pants or trousers which can barely be seen, possibly in brown.

6) A pair of elaborate greaves (leg armor) which protect his lower leg from the knee down to the ankle. These are a brown leather decorated with gold color designs.

7) Brown footwear.

8) Across his back is a brown quiver which holds his arrows and his two fighting knives.

9) He is holding his large wooden bow which is also decorated with gold markings.

There was a bit of controversy over whether this character should have been in The Desolation of Smaug and The Battle of the Five Armies because this Prince of the Woodland Realm did not appear anywhere in the text of The Hobbit book.

I'm thrilled, however, that his character came back on-screen to delight us fans again. People can argue long and hard over whether he should have been in the movies or not but it would have been a lot less watchable without him.

Girls can also dress as Legolas too and often more successfully I might add since Tolkien elves have a rather effeminate look to them which is generally easier for females to pull off. Plus you may already have the long hair to style as a female too. Have fun playing the part of this very cool fantasy character.