Harry Dresden Costume Build
For me one of the iconic characters of urban fantasy is Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden. Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is the protagonist of the prolific urban fantasy series Dresden Files. As the only wizard listed in the Chicago phonebook, Dresden is constantly getting entangled with vampires, werewolves, faeries, trolls, and countless other supernatural beings. He is also the snarkiest SOB out there.
Some favorite quotes?
"Harry Dresden. Saving the world, one act of random destruction at a time." -Mean Streets
"'I still can't believe,' Michael said, sotto voce, 'that you came to the Vampires' Masquerade Ball dressed as a vampire.'" -Grave Peril
"In the name of the Pizza Lord. Charge!" -Summer Knight
"In the action business, when you don't want to say you ran like a mouse, you call it 'taking cover.' It's more heroic." -Dead Beat
"Murphy hung up and I said, to the still-open line, "Hey, if you've got someone watching my place, could you call the cops if anyone tries to steal my Star Wars poster? It's an original." Then I vindictively hung up on the FBI. It made my inner child happy." -Changes
"Bite me, faerie fruitcake." -Summer Knight
For an urban fantasy character the pieces for the costume aren't generally a problem. The challenge of a Harry Dresden costume is trying to figure out whether you to emulate the book descriptions, book cover art, graphic novel depictions, or TV series costume. I ended up rooting the basics from the descriptions in the books, but adapted some of the accessories from other sources.
Reference Images
1. Leather duster
One thing Dresden is never caught without is his trademark coat. It changes a little in the books, but essentially is a dark canvas or leather duster. This is a little more of an investment, I think I bought this for $50 at thrift store, but the quality is excellent and I've been able to use it for cold-weather wear and for several costumes.
2. Jeans
One of the advantages of an urban fantasy build is that a lot of the clothing is already in the closet. These are just an everyday pair of jeans I already had, though of course you can find similar in any thrift store worth its salt. You just have to be willing to go jeans-shopping, which is a helluva quest in itself.
3. Black shirt
A black camisole that was already in my closet.
4. Staff
I had gotten this staff at a past medieval fair, so the leather wrapping isn't quite as described in the book, but it works pretty well as a wizard's staff.
5. Shield bracelet
One of Dresden's basic tools of the arcane is his shield bracelet, which is often used defensively to deflect magical and kinetic energy. In the books it is generally described as a sort of charm bracelet, but I adapted a design seen on The Dresden Files TV series. This was made from a leather purse strap, button pins, and a little paint, full tutorial found here.
6. Silver pentacle necklace
In the books Dresden inherits a pentacle necklace from his mother Margaret Le Fay. In a stroke of luck I actually found this pentacle pendant for a $1 at jewelry booth at a flea market. It even has space in the middle mentioned later in the series, which later is occupied by a magic-imbued ruby also inherited from his mother.
7. Silver rings
Also a fairly easy adaptation. In the books Dresden uses one, and then later several silver, braided "kinetic rings" which gather the energy of small movements and can be expended in a single massive strike. I don't have any that match that exact description, but I do have some that could easily pass as amulets or other magical objects.
8. Shoes
In the books Dresden generally is described as wearing sneakers, which is good because he ends up running away from a lot of crazy stuff. To me a pair of rundown Converse hightops fit that bill pretty well. These are a part of my everyday casual wear, so no need to hunt down something more.
9. Hat
An old standby leather broad-rimmed hat. Mostly in the books he doesn't actually wear a hat, but has sort of become iconic in the book cover art.
And here are some extra shots....
Some favorite quotes?
"Harry Dresden. Saving the world, one act of random destruction at a time." -Mean Streets
"'I still can't believe,' Michael said, sotto voce, 'that you came to the Vampires' Masquerade Ball dressed as a vampire.'" -Grave Peril
"In the name of the Pizza Lord. Charge!" -Summer Knight
"In the action business, when you don't want to say you ran like a mouse, you call it 'taking cover.' It's more heroic." -Dead Beat
"Murphy hung up and I said, to the still-open line, "Hey, if you've got someone watching my place, could you call the cops if anyone tries to steal my Star Wars poster? It's an original." Then I vindictively hung up on the FBI. It made my inner child happy." -Changes
"Bite me, faerie fruitcake." -Summer Knight
For an urban fantasy character the pieces for the costume aren't generally a problem. The challenge of a Harry Dresden costume is trying to figure out whether you to emulate the book descriptions, book cover art, graphic novel depictions, or TV series costume. I ended up rooting the basics from the descriptions in the books, but adapted some of the accessories from other sources.
Reference Images
 |
| Cover art by Chris McGrath for Jim Butcher's Storm Front |
 |
| Paul Blackthorne as Harry Dresden in The Dresden Files TV series |
 |
| Art by Ardian Syaf for graphic novel The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle |
1. Leather duster
One thing Dresden is never caught without is his trademark coat. It changes a little in the books, but essentially is a dark canvas or leather duster. This is a little more of an investment, I think I bought this for $50 at thrift store, but the quality is excellent and I've been able to use it for cold-weather wear and for several costumes.
2. Jeans
One of the advantages of an urban fantasy build is that a lot of the clothing is already in the closet. These are just an everyday pair of jeans I already had, though of course you can find similar in any thrift store worth its salt. You just have to be willing to go jeans-shopping, which is a helluva quest in itself.
3. Black shirt
A black camisole that was already in my closet.
4. Staff
I had gotten this staff at a past medieval fair, so the leather wrapping isn't quite as described in the book, but it works pretty well as a wizard's staff.
5. Shield bracelet
One of Dresden's basic tools of the arcane is his shield bracelet, which is often used defensively to deflect magical and kinetic energy. In the books it is generally described as a sort of charm bracelet, but I adapted a design seen on The Dresden Files TV series. This was made from a leather purse strap, button pins, and a little paint, full tutorial found here.
6. Silver pentacle necklace
In the books Dresden inherits a pentacle necklace from his mother Margaret Le Fay. In a stroke of luck I actually found this pentacle pendant for a $1 at jewelry booth at a flea market. It even has space in the middle mentioned later in the series, which later is occupied by a magic-imbued ruby also inherited from his mother.
7. Silver rings
Also a fairly easy adaptation. In the books Dresden uses one, and then later several silver, braided "kinetic rings" which gather the energy of small movements and can be expended in a single massive strike. I don't have any that match that exact description, but I do have some that could easily pass as amulets or other magical objects.
8. Shoes
In the books Dresden generally is described as wearing sneakers, which is good because he ends up running away from a lot of crazy stuff. To me a pair of rundown Converse hightops fit that bill pretty well. These are a part of my everyday casual wear, so no need to hunt down something more.
9. Hat
An old standby leather broad-rimmed hat. Mostly in the books he doesn't actually wear a hat, but has sort of become iconic in the book cover art.
And here are some extra shots....
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