Month: January 2024

Galactic Style Guide – Ammo belts and Pouches I

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, the bimonthly series where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! In this entry, we’re taking a deep dive into a specific category of gear that plays a major role in creating the GFFA’s uniquely grounded, quasi-militaristic aesthetic – belt pouches! As a great number of Star Wars character designs utilize longer robes or tunics instead of more western/modern shirts and trousers (and thus are are sans pockets), it seems that even the most pedestrian costume designs are routinely festooned with a wide variety of semi-rigid containers for carrying small items!
Due to the great number of onscreen examples, I waffled back and forth for how best to organize and present them all. Eventually, I decided to break them down by real-world source (milsurp vs. non-milsurp) and era (Classic Trilogy vs. Prequels) within these categories. As usual, we’ll close with some important takeaways for those of you who may want to incorporate a pouch or two in your own kit to add some in-universe style points! Let’s begin (as we so often do) on Tatooine!

The first folks we see onscreen wearing military surplus are the Jawas, who set the trend for what follows. Much like the majority of base firearms used for blaster building, the Jawas’ belt gear is comprised of European ammunition pouches and bandoleers drawn from a period of roughly 1890 to 1945 CE.

Jawas and Tuskens are both seen using British pattern 1903 bandoleers
K98 Mauser triple pouch

Farmboy Luke continues our trend of leather Euro milsurp pieces, sporting an interesting trio of belt pouches:

keep reading for more examples of authentic, in-universe belt gear!

SWLH 2023-24 site update

Dear readers: happy new year! – I hope your 2024 is off to a good start and holds good times in store!
I want to begin by apologizing for my lack of engagement with this blog over the last season or two.
Whenever one tries to pursue a hobby into something more than a hobby, the threat of burnout is constant, and sadly—despite being a decently-successful member of its Maker community—my mental health when it comes to the Galaxy Far, Far Away took a definite downturn over this past year. (What I really need is to just stay off Star Wars Instagram, which typically takes just a couple swipes to alternately deflate my self-confidence, inflame my inferiority complex, zap my motivation, and/or raise my blood pressure! (Now there are some topics in serious need of unpacking!)

So then, what have I been up to?

-After spending most of 2023 sewing a succession of vest commissions for folks lucky enough to experience the short-lived Galactic Starcruiser (with a particularly hectic late-summer rush to outfit several final-voyage travelers), I had to return to a more conventional job for a steadier (and larger) source of income. Sewing-for-hire is great, and I love seeing my customers get to live their adventures wearing clothes I made for them, but it can’t quite pay the bills (at least not yet)!
Bike-commuting to/from and working a 9-to-5, detail-oriented, standing-desk job demands a totally different kind of energy than full-time crafting, and as a result I’m usually pretty wiped out when I come home, and after household chores, cooking dinner, and giving my partner and doggo the attention they deserve, there’s often very little time for galactic pursuits and other fun! Lately, I’ve been taking a break from the GFFA in favor of indulging my inner six-year-old by building out my herd of Jurassic Park dinosaurs (often repainted and retooled for scientific accuracy, naturally!).

-Just after Halloween I was approached by the host of the Into a Larger World podcast, who had found this blog and wanted to hear all about my approach to the GFFA. Eventually, we were able to chat and record an episode, which you can check out here! It was a ton of fun to sit down and actually talk Star Wars with another person for a change!

-Then there was my annual fall trek with the Middle-earth Reenactment Society, preparations for which took up every moment of free time for the better part of a week. (This time, we decided to do a paddle-in campout, which meant I had to get creative and tackle some major, long-overdue renovations to my rawhide canoe.)

On the way back home from the wilderness trip, I managed to snag something I’d had my eye out for (at least) the last six months  – an old Wedge Antilles pilot helmet from Hasbro’s Black Series.
Why? Because OT flyboys are where it’s at! Yep, that’s right, I’ve been on hiatus long enough to almost finish building a whole new kit!

As I’m currently in the grasp of a polar vortex, we’re stuck waiting on warmer temperatures to return so I can properly weather it and finish up a few pieces, but I’m almost there – and you can be sure a full breakdown will be published in future posts!

So, what does 2024 hold in store for this site? I’m still trying to fight the good fight, and have several Galactic Style Guide entries in the works. I’d still like to do some costumer spotlight-interviews if possible, and I should definitely have some finally-finished projects to show off fairly soon! On the Offworld Outfitters side of things, once we get our Mark 3 vest pattern knocked out (third time’s the charm!), I would like to reopen my commissions, but likely on a more limited scale—ideally, something like one a month or so. I also have plans for a couple of non-vest offerings to put out there—but those announcements will have to wait until the time is right 😉

What are your GFFA costuming/reenacting/living history goals for 2024? Let me know in a comment below, or come chat with us on the SWLH facebook group!