Throughout history, the depiction of the witch has taken on many forms, but the archetype has always been a woman in all black, either wearing a pointy hat and flying around on a broom, or the modern-day counterpart of fishnets, black lipstick, and body piercings. But any real-life practicing witch will tell you that the fashion of witches doesn’t necessarily entail all black all the time, nor do witches focus too much of their energy into their wardrobe. After all, the magick doesn’t come from the clothes (though, everyone, whether witch or not, knows how empowering a good outfit can be).
The origin of the witch in the pointy hat is debatable. Some will say it was inspired by the cone-shaped hennins women of nobility wore during the Middle Ages, while others will point to the Salem Witch Trials’ description of the devil as a tall, dark man in a “high-crowned hat.” One interesting theory points to the “witches of Subeshi,” a trio of 4th or 3rd century BCE female mummies discovered in China’s Tarim Basin that wore extremely tall, pointed hats made from black felt. There’s also Mother Shipton, a 16th century English prophetess who was said to have made a slew of predictions that came true, including the Spanish Armada and, strangely enough, the arrival of the internet. She was also depicted as wearing a tall, conical hat.
However, real-life witches might say that none of this comes at all close to being accurate. As Doreen Valiente, one of the founders of Modern Wicca, wrote in the 1978 book Witchcraft for Tomorrow, “the traditional attire of witches is generally believed to be nudity.” In fact, we’ve seen this sky-clad sorceress depiction in movies like 2015’s The Witch, when the main character decides to “live deliciously” and dances naked around a bonfire with her new coven.
Whether it’s nudity, pointy hats, or goth-girl clothing, modern pop culture has given us the most variety in terms of witch imagery. While many of us were first introduced to the concept of the pointy hat-wearing, green-skinned witch as little kids watching the Wizard of Oz, witches in movies and TV have since taken on many incarnations.
There are the colorful Renaissance gowns worn by the Sanderson sisters in Hocus Pocus, Samantha Stephens’s 
elegant 1960s housewife garb in Bewitched (though, let’s not forget the fabulous caftans her mother, Endora, wore), and the casual, ‘90s style of Practical Magic’s Owens sisters, played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman.
More recently, American Horror Story: Coven and Apocalypse puts its witches in classic black, yet stylishly modern outfits, while 2016’s The Love Witch portrayed a witch with a fondness for a ‘60s style aesthetic. And Chilling Adventures of Sabrina gave its main character an updated, witchier spin on Gossip Girl-like style, complete with headbands as hair accessories.
Then, there’s of course, The Craft, which is arguably one of the most influential witch-themed films. The four main characters, Nancy (Fairuza Balk), Sarah (Robin Tunney), Bonnie (Neve Campbell), and Rochelle (Rachel True), zhuzhed up their private school uniforms with black vinyl jackets, fishnets, and spiked dog collars — the kind of witchy, bad-girl look that’s easy to copy and hard to resist.
She loosely based the girls’ looks on the four earthly elements — earth, air, fire, and water, which are considered sacred to Wiccans and are often invoked in ritual. “I did some rudimentary witchcraft research, which led me to the elements and the colors used to summon different things,” Everton says. “Nancy was fire, using destruction to rebuild, and Sarah was the air element because fire can’t really combust without air. So, when she’s introduced into the group, it really takes off.” Everton focused on that concept, then “brought everything up a couple notches” and made it cohesive with the girls and their school uniforms.
Ask any witch who discovered magick due to the film or at least during its time, and you’ll more than likely hear that they were influenced by it — myself included. “Everyone wanted to be Nancy,” Everton laughs. Even 23 years later, that statement could very well be true. Sorting through the 3.4 million #witchesofinstagram hashtags, you’ll quickly come across Nancy Downs’s sartorial influence. Fashion retailer Dolls Kill, known for its edgy fashion catering to Gen Z and millennial-age punks, goths, and club kids, has embraced the witchy aesthetic for years, and even has a collection inspired by The Craft. As evidenced by the vinyl pants, fishnet tops, and suspender skirts, Everton’s influence is clear (though she says she was not involved with the collab).
Gabriela Herstik, author of Inner Witch: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Craft, says her most influential style icon was Morticia Addams. “She embodied the darkness and glamour that I always associated with witchcraft,” Herstik says, adding that AHS: Coven also had an impact on her wardrobe. “I have never been super trend-oriented; I always take what I like and incorporate it into my own style,” she says. “When Coven came out, there was a boom in the witchy, bell sleeve, black-on-black dresses I already liked, so that influenced my style because they were easier to access.”
But aside from the sartorial appeal, some witches dress in a way that relates to their beliefs or magickal work, like legendary witch icon Laurie Cabot, known as Salem’s Official Witch, whose clothing — which falls in line with traditional black witch-wear — is specifically part of her practice. “I had made a vow to my goddess that I would wear the black robes and never take them off,” she once told Boston.com of the public reaction to her look when she first came to Salem in 1971. “Of course I was very naive. I didn’t think that being portrayed in black robes would be shocking to people.”
Herstik and Grossman also follow this. “I’m intentional about the jewelry I wear, and often charge special pieces up on my altar before I put them on,” Grossman says. “Though there are many deities I feel a connection to, Artemis, the Greek goddess of the moon and the wild, is someone I actively venerate, and so I often wear moons, arrows, and deer to honor her. I’ve also worn a skeleton key in some form or another since I was a teenager, and that symbol is linked to Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft.” She adds, “Jewelry can be decorative, talismanic, and devotional, and in my case, it’s usually all three at the same time.”