#be practical

Not everyone has special or specific clothing for ritual or working witchcraft, and that’s ok. I myself prefer to be skyclad, but sometimes you just need a robe. While it’s nice to imagine being dressed up in beautiful fantastic things, there are a couple things you should consider.

1. Sleeve length. Long, trailing sleeves are gorgeous. But they are also magnets for candle flame. Consider finding something with a 3/4 sleeve, or one that’s tighter around the wrists so you’re not dangling things into flames. You can also sew a loop of ribbon or cord into the shoulders of your robes, and a button onto the sleeve - that way you can draw the sleeves up to your shoulders to get them out of the way.

2. Materials. We have a rule in our coven - fabric has to pass the “whoof test”. Natural materials will burn cleanly if accidentally contacting flame. Synthetic material will melt and potentially stick to skin, and quite possibly resist being doused in water. If you can, stick to natural material. Cotton and linen are my go-to fabrics.

3. Cleaning. Witchcraft is messy. Robes are going to get dirty. They will come in contact with wine, water, oils, wax, smoke, ash, dirt, etc. If it isn’t easy to clean, it’s probably not worth wearing.