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Those who rely upon books and movies to create their impression of the fashion choices of witches and Pagans need to get out more. While many practitioners may possess elaborate robes for ritual use, 90% of the time, no one could pick out the witch in a crowd if asked to do so based on their attire.
That's because witches and Pagans are basically ordinary people. If they are employed in an office setting, they wear suit and tie, or business dresses. If they push a broom (not fly one), they can be seen in the same uniform as the next person. For the most part, and contrary to popular belief, most witches and Pagans do not dress for shock value (unless it's a special occasion).
In movies like "The Craft", the wanna-be witches take their school uniforms to extremes that would not normally be allowed in a private school. The whole purpose of academic uniforms is so all students look the same. Variations are subjected to quick and often harsh censure. Lack of cooperation in this regard, or with behavior, gets the parents involved - and, with private schools, parents who refuse to get involved or ignore the dictates of the administration find their children expelled. Simple as that.
And don't even think of seeing anyone dressed like Glinda the Good Witch walking down the street. If such a vision would appear, the only advice would be: run the other direction, and don't look back!
Cut and dried: witches wear jeans - and not necessarily designer ones. They wear T-shirts, often with interesting mottos. Pagans wear sneakers and sandals, and ball caps. They hit the 50% off sales at Goodwill or second hand stores, in a lot of cases, to find bargains that still have a lot of wear left in them and look good.
Sometimes, a Jehovah's Witness or Mormon missionary will knock on a Pagan's door and be greeted by a figure in paint stained "grubbies" and rubber gloves, who had been scrubbing the kitchen floor or painting the living room. Working in their beloved garden, witches might wear huge, floppy straw hats that make them look like someone's grandmother... because they probably are someone's grandmother.
On the beach, unless a Pagan would have a huge pentagram tattooed on their biceps, there'd be no way to tell them from the countless other swimmers (though they might prefer the nudist beach down the road a piece).
Just as Pagans are law-abiding, quiet living citizens, so their clothes reflect their lifestyle. There may be exceptions but, again, is it done to cause a stir, as in the movies or on television? In all honesty, Pagans don't need or want to be noticed for the wrong reasons. And being noticed for one's clothes is a trivial matter.
Better to be noticed for the community service accomplished, or the stand against injustice, or the brilliant smile to the stranger.
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