Wizard clothing

[Zarleycat at aol.com]

No: HPFGUIDX 21893

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "-=dianne=-" <dianne at s...> wrote:
> I've been wondering about the clothes wizards wear. We all know of 
course that they wear robes, but do they wear anything else 
underneath (aside from underwear)? If they do, then why are a lot of 
wizards (especially the grown-ups) clueless about muggle clothing? Is 
there another kind of wizard clothing worn beneath the robes? OTOH, 
if they don't wear anything underneath, that would explain Archie's 
preference for a "nice healthy breeze around his privates" because 
it's probably what it feels like when you wear robes. And another 
thing - why are most kid wizards (such as Ron and his brothers) not 
as ignorant as adults when it comes to Muggle clothing? When Harry 
went with the Weasleys to the Quidditch World Cup, the Weasley 
children didn't seem to have any trouble disguising themselves as 
Muggles as though they wore Muggle clothing everyday. And IIRC, Ron 
was wearing a jacket when they went to Diagon Alley once (I think it 
was in CoS). What do they wear at home anyway, robes or Muggle 
clothes? Has anyone else ever thought about this?
> 
> 
I've thought about this, too.  Robes always struck me as a rather 
inconvenient type of garment.  I can't imagine you can run very 
quickly because your robes would either wrap around your legs as you 
ran, thus hindering your movement, or they'd billow out behind you, 
thus acting as a drag and slowing you down.  Or you could hike them 
up, but then you couldn't use your hands for anything else.  The last 
two suggestions would seem to suggest that you'd be wearing some 
other layer of clothing underneath.  

This robe question has put some rather odd pictures in my mind.  For 
instance, when Sirius climbs on Buckbeak to make his escape, what's 
going on robe-wise?  Does he hike them up to his hips in order to 
straddle Buckbeak, thus exposing a pair of bony, white legs?  Are the 
robes unfastened part way up in front to allow for a certain degree 
of modesty?  Do robes have magical qualities that allow them to 
adjust appropriately to whatever situation the wearer is in?  Am I 
thinking way too much about this?

Marianne, never to be a haberdasher