Author: A.H.

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!

Galactic Style Guide – Zippers

Welcome to another installment of our ‘Galactic Style Guide counterpoint’ subseries, where we help you strengthen your ‘Star Wars eye’ by highlighting and remedying common faux pas that can make your kit look Not Star Warsy. As part of the GSG, the ultimate goal is still to help you create a more accurate ‘outer persona’ – but we approach the goal from the opposite direction!
This month, we’re taking a look at one of the specific elements which George Lucas decided would have no place in his Star Wars aesthetic – zippers! (For our look at the other form of visible fastener Lucas specifically didn’t want to see, see this previous entry).

If I were to ask you when you first learned that Lucas didn’t want to see zippers and buttons onscreen, there’s a very good chance it was sometime after 2014 and the release of Brandon Alinger’s excellent SW Costumes – The Original Trilogy. However, the no-visible-fastener rule had already been in print for at least seven years: discussed in Rinzler’s The Making of Star Wars (2007), on page 125. What accounts for the delay before this fundamental GFFA costuming rule became truly widely known is, I think, social media; Facebook was still in its relative infancy in 2007. Since then however, the top-down Lucas directive has become frequently-cited in costuming circles, and yet cosplayers and Batuu-bounders still try to excuse visible zippers in their costumes; typically, this involves pointing to a screenshot of Luke Skywalker zipping up his flightsuit in Episode V:

Remember, per our sources, Lucas said he didn’t want to see such fasteners, not that they didn’t exist at all (many seem to have trouble with this distinction). Why Luke’s zipper (and presumably, those of all the other onscreen pilots and technicians) is perfectly permissible is simple: once worn, it isn’t visible – it’s hidden by a flap! (If you can think of a way to convey a pilot suiting up for battle by donning a one-piece flightsuit without showing them zipping it up, I am all ears!) However, there are a fair number of other characters whose costumes do include uncovered zippers: luckily for us, these tend to fall into one of two categories; unluckily for us, things seem to have taken a step backwards in the modern era…

keep reading for plenty of examples from the lucas and disney eras!

Galactic Style Guide – Backpacks II

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 returning to our examination of in-universe backpacks, this time focusing on some less rigid examples, encompassing not just backpacks but also things like satchels and bedrolls.
As we said last month, this kind of unassuming and field-functional gear is woefully underrepresented among the GFFA costuming community (who tend to go for eye-catching and…less-than-functional). This is too bad, because a good pack can really elevate an impression and make it feel like a living, breathing kit and not just a costume: it shows the viewer “I am a real individual with needs beyond what I carry on my belt or in my pockets.”
Let’s dive in and get some ideas!

The softpack that gets the most screentime in the Lucas films is probably the one Luke totes Yoda around in during his Jedi training. As far as I know, nobody has yet identified it as a milsurp piece (though the buckles might be?) so it may have been made in-house for Episode V. If anyone has any details on it, please share them below in the comments!

keep reading for more in-universe backpack inspo

Diamonds in the Rough – Colin “OddViking” Adams (part 2)

Welcome back to our monthly spotlight series, where we discuss Star Wars costumers who have ‘gone the distance’ and put in the effort to create solid, in-universe outfits or personas. This is the second half of our two-part interview with Colin Adams, and after digging deep into the design stages in last month’s entry, we’re ready to follow along as he starts his actual build process!

When first considering this project, Colin said he knew how to sew “at a moderate level”, and knew there were other folks who made custom Mando-style flightsuits. However, he also knew that if he was able to attempt this and succeed at it, not only could he learn some new skills, but he would also be able to alter and tailor it himself! I’ve always been a big fan of Lev Vygotsky’s ‘ZPD’ theory when applied to reenacting-crafting, and it helps to choose projects which not only build on one’s existing skills but which can help push them to the next level – but not to bite off something completely outside your existing skillset! If you’ve never touched a needle and thread before, sewing something as complex as a screen-quality flightsuit for your first project would likely result in you getting frustrated and giving up. There are no ‘skip three levels ahead’ cheat codes IRL, so it pays to work smart, start small, and build on what you already know! Looking back on his project, Colin said that while things like setting a zipper fly were so much more complex than they seemed at first, “I feel like I leveled up two levels doing this suit: it really came out great and fits me perfectly.”

the secrets of authentic Star Warsy crafting continue…

Galactic Style Guide – Backpacks 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’! This topic has been requested by several folks, so it’s been a long time coming. In this entry, we’re taking a look at an oft-overlooked category of gear, which can really elevate an impression and make it feel like a living, breathing kit. We’re talking about backpacks! Due to the sample size, I’ve decided to break this into two parts – one for ‘hard’ backpacks, and one (next month!) for softer packs.

Let’s go chronologically and kick things off with this paired bedroll-backpack from the old, Old Republic (Tales of the Jedi: Redemption #3). As usual, the cover art is far more evocative than the actual panels, but I include it here as the pack itself seems to be fairly structured:

The inclusion of a big ol’ wooly blanket/bedroll is not only appropriate given the hostile climate of Rhen Var, but also a very attainable piece of functional kit!

I’m sure there have to be other pre-Prequel-era examples, but I haven’t found them! If you know of any, please let me know below! Next, let’s move on to some liveaction hard packs.

Continue reading

Diamonds in the Rough – Colin “OddViking” Adams (part 1)

Welcome back to our monthly spotlight series, where we discuss Star Wars costumers who have ‘gone the distance’ and put in the effort to create solid, in-universe outfits or personas. This is actually the first half of a two-parter, because our subject has gone so totally above and beyond and built an incredible kit with tons of details that spreading it out over two months is the only way to really do it justice!

If you’ve spent any time exploring Star Wars content on Instagram in the last several years, chances are you’ve seen Colin Adams’ incredible work before. As a professional graphic designer/illustrator, Colin has a very large bag of tools to draw from, and puts them all to good use with a number of impressive cosplays and kits, each fully-detailed and seamlessly dropped into immersive settings with the magic of Photoshop. At the beginning of this year, when I saw Colin was starting a custom Mandalorian build, I knew the final result would be amazing. As we’ve discussed previously in our First Steps series, one of the keys to successfully creating an effective GFFA character is to dedicate time at the beginning of the process to doing your research and really nailing down what the ‘outer persona’ should look like.

creating this incredible mando kit, step by step

Galactic Style Guide – Text

Welcome to another installment of our ‘Galactic Style Guide counterpoint’ subseries, where we help you strengthen your ‘Star Wars eye’ by highlighting and remedying common faux pas that can make your kit look Not Star Warsy. As part of the GSG, the ultimate goal is still to help you create a more accurate ‘outer persona’ – but we approach the goal from the opposite direction!
This month, we’re taking a look at a design phenomenon that’s big on the Disney side of things (whether it be in films made under them, things sold by them, or costumes worn by fans while visiting them) but which was only ever a minimal part of the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’: text on stuff!

The fact that we went six films with zero non-technical Aurebesh (and the first two, most seminal films had NONE at all) should tell you everything you need to know: when it comes to Aurebesh on kit items, it’s always superfluous.
With that in mind, I want to look at some examples to illustrate why you’re better off omitting Aurebesh entirely. Out of respect for the SW costuming/maker community, I’m focusing on publicly-available items sold by Disney, but the point is still applicable: even when executed correctly it’s still largely* unnecessary, and—if used at all—should act as a garnish, not a side dish – let alone the main course! If your impression is relying on Aurebesh to make sense, something’s not working and it might be time to go back to the drawing board.

*As we saw before, pretty much the only folks we saw wearing Aurebesh pre-Disney are prisoners and biker-gang types. Occasionally we see small identifiers like ‘crew’ or ‘staff’, but these simply serve to demonstrate the wearer’s membership in a group as separate from the public.
For a refresher on examples of places where we do commonly see in-universe lettering, check out this GSG entry.

Let’s start off with a couple items featuring completely redundant Aurebesh additions. Did you ever notice that all the top brass at the Death Star’s conference room had matching drinkware?

Here’s the version sold at Galaxy’s Edge:

From one side, it just looks like a slick space-fascist travel mug. From the other side though, it looks like the Empire thinks its officers need to be constantly reminded of who they work for.
more Bad aurebesh products, and how to prevent them!

Diamonds in the Rough – Keith Olsen

Welcome back to our monthly spotlight series, where we discuss Star Wars costumers who have ‘gone the distance’ and put in the effort to create solid, in-universe outfits or personas. This month’s entry comes from Keith Olsen, who has done his research to put together an excellent impression of a generic ‘Pyke Syndicate’ soldier.

As you can see, this build was initially inspired by the appearance of the Pykes as seen on ‘The Book of Boba Fett‘ (though as I’ll discuss in a bit, an animated-style Pyke would look quite different!), and as such is based at around 5 ABY.

Keith did a lot of old-school costume replication legwork – unless something goes on display for an exhibit, this typically involves very carefully scrutinizing screenshots – to determine the materials and types of clothing that could be bought off the shelf for this outfit.
Let’s examine the elements one by one!

keep reading for the full breakdown and details

Galactic Style Guide – Ponchos II

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 continuing our look at ponchos, focusing on examples from the prequel era! (As a reminder: for our purposes, we’re defining a poncho as a garment worn as an outer layer for protection from the elements, which covers the front of the body).
Let’s keep things rolling with the poncho I think I would most want to curl up in:

Qui-Gon wears this poncho when venturing into Mos Espa in Episode I—the script specifying that he is “dressed as a moisture farmer”. Trisha Biggar notes that the coarse-weave is a silk/linen mix and that the border is “printed”—though I’m not sure what exactly that means (Dressing A Galaxy, p20).

Take a good look at that beautiful nubby texture!
keep reading for many more examples