Somehow, it’s been almost seven years since I first entertained the idea of doing first-person interpretive workshops in the Star Wars setting, and since then my various portrayals have evolved quite a lot! Although a reenacting kit is never ‘finished’—but I’m a perfectionist who likes to wait until something is complete before sharing (hence why I rarely share full-kit updates! – see the problem here?)—I want to try and lay out each of my ‘complete kits’ in their most up-to-date form, summarizing the background research and justifications for choices that I’ve made to create each impression. All of this is intended to serve as an example of what solid, research-based fictional living history looks like. Because they will inevitably get pushed down the blog’s front page, these posts will be collected at the new PERSONAS AND IMPRESSIONS page ^above^!
I want to start with the impression that first got me thinking about ‘doing Star Wars‘ in a reenacting/living history sense – a ‘washout Jedi’ member of the Agricultural Service Corps.
When I first started pursuing my interest in the AgriCorps, I went back and forth on how much ‘Jedi’ this kit should really have. As you can see above, what I came up with for ‘Mark 1’ was basically ‘Prequel Jedi + hat, satchel, and simpler leathergoods’. Over the years, my go-to kit shifted away from the AgriCorps proper as I decided on a ‘realistic Jedi survivor’ persona and a dating scheme that would put the ‘present’ in the early Rebellion period – meaning it should appear more of a generic galactic farmer.
However, I still felt that the AgriCorps was such an obscure but necessary aspect of EU Jedi culture that I didn’t want to completely abandon the kit, especially when further research helped me clarify just what an accurate ‘Jedi gardener’ would look like. While I didn’t plan on using this kit for workshops or first-person interpretation, the AgriCorps ‘uniform’ is so mundanely cool that I just had to create a dedicated Service Corps kit just for kicks…and maybe to be worn during some environmental-cleanup community service projects? Like Adam Savage says, “You have to make what you can’t not make.”
Outer tunic:
material: 6-7 oz. 100% linen, RIT-dyed ‘Tan’. Collar RIT-dyed ‘Cocoa Brown’.
construction: based on McCall’s #2940; machine-sewn.
At the same time these ideas were kicking around in my head, I realized that in the decade since I originally sewed my linen Jedi tunics (one lined and one single-layer), my sewing game had significantly leveled up. Embarrassed by my previous efforts, I decided to rework both tunics and resew them properly. Since I was going to be completely deconstructing them, I figured it was high time to pull the trigger and tweak my unlined ‘summer tunic’ into a dedicated Service Corps uniform.
Conversion was pretty simple—modify the sleeves and recolor the collar—but definitely worth it. Since I would be wrapping my forearms and wearing large sleeves would create unnecessary bulk when wrapped, I cut the sleeve down by about half, creating a narrower opening of about 4″. Even though several AgriCorps members can be seen wearing blue tunics with black collars, I still felt that was too far outside the standard Prequel-era Jedi color scheme to ‘read’ as Jedi (even if it’s technically accurate…I hate to do it but concessions to recognizability must sometimes be made).
Inner tunic:
These are made of dark brown (I seem to remember the color was named ‘potting soil’?) crinkle-textured cotton gauze, which it is believed was used to make Obi-Wan’s various outfits in the Prequels. I originally made two of these inner tunics, so for Service Corps use I opted to remove the sleeves of one of them. Having waist and wrists sealed off by belt and armwraps limits ventilation, so removing the sleeves helps to prevent overheating a bit.
The second (sleeved) tunic acts as a spare packed in a drybag (since wearing damp or wet cotton—even thin as this material is—can be miserable and/or dangerous depending on conditions.) However…I mistakenly ordered a few yards of open-weave linen that are still kicking around, which might wind up as a new sleeveless inner tunic with better wicking properties.
Arm wraps/forearm puttees:
I did some maths and found I could create two rolls from some gray 100% wool trouser scraps leftover from a 2019 Skoldehamm-type hood project. I may wind up dunking them in black walnut dye to give a brown tint later on.
Hat:
This is just a simple beige, cotton-twill bucket hat I found on Amazon. I wore it for the first 1,330 miles of the Appalachian Trail on my 2021 thruhike, so it got good and authentically weatherbeaten and sunbleached (as we would expect a Jedi gardener’s clothing to be!). For examples of bucket hats worn in-universe, see here.
Belt:
Nothing fancy here either, just an oil-tanned, full-grain leather belt with a plain Tandy buckle; much more economical and less ostentatious than the typical Prequel two-part Jedi belt.
Trousers:
On my lower half, I’m wearing a pair of my Thorsbjerg-pattern trousers in olive drab 100% linen. They have no fly (drawstring waist) but they dry fast, are breathable, and are designed for active use. These were made by cannibalizing an extra-large pair of linen dress slacks for the material.
Boots:
Footwear has always been very ambiguous in depictions of the Service Corps, but my research suggested that leg wraps were also worn, which aligns with my original hunch that resource-intensive boots and belts would be reserved for successful Padawans, Knights, and Masters. Since high boots were inappropriate and all my old ankle boots had laces, I decided to wear Chelsea-style boots (Blundstones) with this kit. This style of boot has a long pedigree in Star Wars costuming, and as we can see, they pair nicely with wool puttees.
Legwraps:
I originally purchased these secondhand for Soviet reenacting, but I’ve used them in countless periods and impressions over the years. They’re 100% wool with braintan ties. Puttees are frequently seen in-universe: not only in a specifically AgriCorps context (The Jedi Path) but also worn by many live-action examples.
Ideas for future improvements:
-one downside to this tunic is the length – when I first put these pieces together, the tabards really helped disguise the fact that without them, the tunic is just a few inches too short. My new rule of thumb is “if it doesn’t come down to at least your fingertips and/or cover the crotch of your pants, it’s just a long shirt!”.
-I really need to find some comfy trousers with a zipper fly. Drawstring Tbjergs don’t really cut it when you’ve gotta go!
Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy 