Stan Shunpike

By 2024, Irvin had been doing HP cosplays for a decade and a half, and the list of characters still to be done was growing thin!  So for the NY Order of the Phoenix's first ever Cosplay Day, it took Irvin a minute to think of whom to cosplay.   But when he thought of the scenic backdrops in Astoria Park, with the epic bridges in the background, he landed on Stan Shunpike with the idea of him taking the Knight Bus to beautiful locales.

Irvin had procured a Knight Bus t-shirt from Universal Studios with an eye towards this costume, and had purple robes from his elementary school graduation (which explains the length!).  But the rest had to be sourced anew for this cosplay, given that Irvin generally has an antipathy towards the color purple.  He managed to borrow purple pants from a friend, and only had to order the purple conductors hat (that he dressed up with trim).

Of course, one of Stan's defining features is his pimples.  So Irvin made sure to make his face extra-spotty with pink blush and a Q-tip, to the point where others thought he'd genuinely broken out!

Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate.  It was a miserable rainy day, and by the time Irvin realized how bad it was, it was too late to cancel Cosplay Day and he was already soaked.  Adopting a never-say-die mentality, Irvin and the two other troopers who showed up took photos in the rain, which actually did turn out well.

Among the highlights, there was a wooded area that could serve as a stand-in for the Quidditch World Cup, allowing Stan Shunpike to be flirting with the veela in the woods - Irvin's friend Julie was recruited to be the veela.  And later, there were some dramatic arches under a bridge, allowing for Julie the Hufflepuff to duel the Imperiused Stan Shunpike, as no doubt happened at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Given that Irvin felt Stan had not been seen by enough people, and he had yet to return the purple pants, Irvin reprised the costume the following month at a Harry Potter trivia night the week of Halloween, which had encouraged dressing up.  Irvin's team, the NYOP, won trivia of course - and Irvin's costume made sure everyone could see just who had beaten them!