“Now we are all here!” said Gandalf, looking at the row of thirteen hoods—the best detachable party hoods—and his own hat hanging on the pegs. “Quite a merry gathering!”

I was re-reading The Hobbit, and in the first chapter (An Unexpected Party) I found myself listening intently to the description of the dwarves’ various hoods. Green, purple, yellow, red, and of course, Thorin Oakenshield’s - sky blue with a silver tassel. Designers and illustrators tend to paint the dwarves in browns, grays, and dark earth tones, and I was delighted by the thought of party dwarves going out in their finest multi colored hoods for a merry gathering!