HalloweenAngel

A Gandalf the White costume lets you act out the wisest and most powerful form of this Tolkien wizard from The Lord of the Rings movies. Dress as the premium version of this character for Halloween, cosplay and other dressing up occasions.

Gandalf appears in his white robed costume in The Lord of the Rings. He appears to be killed after the fight with the Balrog in The Two Towers but is resurrected.

In just a few easy steps, you can find out how to put together a superb outfit for this character's white look so you can rock this look despite it being hard to get hold of a complete costume.

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How to Dress as This Tolkien Wizard in a Gandalf the White Costume

Image Credit: Shared by skarocket7 on Flickr with a CC License

This wizard is a favorite character of mine and has been since I first read The Lord of the Rings as a young child and got sucked into Tolkien's amazing Middle Earth full of wonderful fantasy creatures and epic tales. I'll explain how to add in the great details to make your wise, old Tolkien wizard look even more authentic.

Gandalf doesn't really change that much in terms of his outfits in the movie versions. There is his normal gray robe costume which is present in both the new and old movies and his more serious white robe costume if you are going for his LOTR advanced powers guise.

UK Readers get a White Robe from Amazon.co.uk

Dress as the more powerful version of Gandalf when he transforms into the White Wizard after his long but successful battle with the Balrog in the mines of Moria. As a White Wizard, he wears long white robes, has no hat but wears his white hair and beard long and loose. He carries a white staff and his sword called Glamdring.

I have to be honest and say that any official outfits I've seen that you can get for this character really do not look that great and do not do Gandalf much in the way of justice at all.

You would be far better off sourcing a good quality long white tunic and then adding on a long hooded cape or cloak in white or cream as well as looking for a suitable beard and wig accessory and a staff.

How to Put Together a Convincing Gandalf the White Costume

A fantastic and convincing Gandalf White Wizard look with the layered white robes, boots, wigs and the magical staff.

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

A ready-made design makes it easy for you to dress as your favorite character without taking the time out to put the outfit together yourself. However, it is extremely hard to find a complete White Gandalf outfit to wear.

You may get lucky and find one here on Etsy.

Here's a List of What Gandalf Wears in the Movies:

• Long white hair and beard with mustache
• White long sleeve undershirt which you cannot see under his robes
• Long white pants/trousers which you also cannot see
• Long sleeve robe with wide sleeves
• Intricate quilted doublet
• Plaited white belt with clasp
• Cream color hooded cloak with white embroidery
• Silver brooch clasp for the cloak
• White wizard staff
• Glamdring sword
• Long white lace up boots

DO NOT buy a pointy white wizard hat because this version of Gandalf does not wear one!

Phew! That is a long list. Luckily, you really only need a handful of items to recreate the look. I suggest that the essentials for convincing Gandalf the White clothes are.

The 5 Essentials You Need to Get the Look:

1. A hooded white/cream cloak
2. A long white tunic worn underneath
3. White shoes/boots
4. A Gandalf wig and beard
5. The white staff

These are the five really key items that are must-haves in order to get this character to look just right. I think you can put together something really good by buying some suitable colored monk robes and a long, hooded travel cloak.

Gandalf White Wizard Costume Accessories

Gandalf is reborn as a White Wizard which is an incredibly more powerful form than his grey version which you see in The Hobbit. Why wouldn't you want to dress up in his most powerful form?

Gandalf is normally seen with a wizard's staff. This staff is a straight white staff with an intricate and stylized end. So you will probably want to get a staff to complete your cosplay look.

You can purchase inexpensive staffs or walking sticks which you can always spray them with paint to get it to the color you need to match your outfit.

For his white form, you can add on his brooch which is an intricate silver design, used to clasp the neck of his cloak together.

Other items you might associate with this wizard are his sword called Glamdring. This is the sword he acquires in The Hobbit and continues to use in The Lord of the Rings. Here's a useful page on making your own DIY Glamdring sword.

The Long Gandalf Hair Wig and Wizard Beard

Gandalf's facial hair with his long snow white beard and mustache as well as his flowing straight long white head of hair is one of his most recognizable features. If you can get that aspect right then your overall look is going to be great.

There is the official version wig and beard set which looks just OK but do look around for a white wizard wig because you can find better alternatives to go with that are more convincing.

For his white styling, look for a straighter and neater looking long white wig with a middle parting. His white beard is a lot shorter and neater too, as you'd expect with a more powerful wizard, and cut into a fairly neat V shape.

His Footwear and Shoes

Notice how this guy is wearing white lace up canvas shoes which are only just visible under the long wide pants. The cloak looks as though it could have been made from white sheets.

Image Credit: Shared by Amber Willits on Flickr with a CC License

You barely notice the wizard's shoes or footwear in The Lord of the Rings movies and that's how it should be because they are mostly hidden by his long flowing robes.

It's probably best to choose a shoe that's going to blend in well with the color of the robe you're wearing. In his white version, he wears long creamy white leather lace-up boots which are slightly more visible under his shorter style robes and especially when on horseback.

If your budget doesn't stretch to long boots, look for solid white lace up canvas shoes which are a cheap alternative to wear.

Make Up for The Great Wizard

He has some very notable big and bushy eyebrows which are a prominent feature on his face but actually balance out the large beard that he has in both his forms. While his eyebrows don't actually meet in the middle, they are still very large.

Apart from the facial hair, there is no other make-up that this character really requires. So, if you can get the eyebrows, mustache and beard right, you'll make a brilliant cosplay outfit to wear.

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Page Last Updated: August 13th, 2018