Hello there, folks! We don’t have a regular post for you this week, but believe me that next week will more than make up for it (a triple-header, in fact)!
As I was reflecting recently, I’ve been a maker of Star Wars clothing, costumes, props, and gear for over 20 years! After building and growing my skills for so long, I’ve been thinking it might be time to try and turn my hobby into a small business. So…
To help identify my market and see what potential products people might be interested in, I’ve created a short, anonymous survey, which you can find HERE. Your participation will be greatly appreciated – thank you!
I talk a lot on this blog about the idea of ‘reenactorisms’ – inaccuracies that get unknowingly (or knowingly!) perpetuated because someone didn’t do their research. Usually when discussing these blunders we’re talking about individuals making them, but I wanted to point out two examples to day that prove the big players are not immune to making sloppy mistakes either! Following the release of Episode III in 2005, LA’s FIDM (Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising) hosted the exhibit Dressing a Galaxy, which featured 100 screen-used costumes from Episodes I through VI. From the pictures I’ve seen online it was an absolutely incredible presentation. However, one tableau of costumes held a glaring mistake for all to see:
Anything seem ‘off’ about this?
If you can’t spot it, maybe we’d better check the references:
Hello there! After six months in the woods, I’m happy to announce that our 2021 Appalachian Trail southbound thruhike is successfully completed! Believe me when I say that it was one helluva adventure (and a pretty sweet honeymoon, to boot)! Now that we’re back in civilization I’m very much looking forward to getting back to active blogging here at Star Wars Living History…2022 is shaping up to be a big year with big things in the works!
the trail’s southern terminus at Springer Mountain, Georgia is wayyyyy more anticlimactic than Katahdin in Maine
A thruhike by the numbers: Total length: 2193.1 miles Total days: 182 (7 June to 5 December) Zeroes (non-hiking days): 22 (+4 for a wedding off-trail) Hostels visited: 24 Days hiked in the rain: 29 Night hikes: 27 Longest day: 23.7 miles Average distance hiked per day: 12.9 miles Weight lost: ~10 lbs My pack (HMG 3400 Windrider) base weight: 20 lbs +-2 My pack loaded for a five-day section: 32 lbs+-1 Packets of ramen and/or tuna eaten: too damn many Pints of ice cream eaten: not nearly enough!
If you’d like to see more pictures from our adventure, I did my best to keep up my Instagram from the trail (though I now realize it’s mostly landscapes, sunsets, and amphibians)…my photogenic wife’s IG gives a much better impression of the journey! If you’re thinking about planning your own thruhike or long-distance trip, I’m always happy to talk shop and answer any questions you might have. When there’s nothing to do but hike and think, I spent a good chunk of the last six months in a Star Wars-y headspace, and hopefully, at least a couple of the insights I had during my time on the AT will work their way into some future posts here! If there’s a topic you’d like to see discussed, please drop a comment down below!
Hello readers! I wanted to give a heads-up that the next few months will see a slight change in the posts being published here at the Star Wars Living History blog. At the time this post goes live, my wife and I are on our way to Mt. Katahdin, Maine, and as of 7 June 2021 will be southbound on the Appalachian Trail, hiking 2,200 miles to Springer Mountain, Georgia…which will make it very difficult to keep up with writing and maintaining a blog! (I’ll be checking in along the trail on my facebook page and my Instagram feed, so be sure to ‘Follow’ for those who want to keep tabs on our progress vicariously!)
However, this shouldn’t mean a lack of content for our readers and subscribers: In addition to some guest pieces contributed by members of the SWLH facebook community, I’ve scheduled new installments of the Galactic Style Guide to continue to drop on the last Saturday of the month, with other articles rolling out on a bi-monthly instead of weekly basis. In other words, excepting August (AUREBESH MONTH!!!), expect two posts per month instead of four.
While I wish our hike could be done with more GFFA style, old-school canvas backpacks are heavy and don’t hold nearly enough stuff for a thru-hiker, while most modern ultralight gear is way too colorful to match the galactic aesthetic. But we will see. I’ve been kicking ideas around with a couple of high-caliber galactic ‘reenactors’ about the possibility of organizing a Star Wars ‘ruck’ hike. I would love to do a true long-distance trek using Star Wars gear, or for more of a challenge, with my Middle-earth kit (all organic, handmade, and essentially Iron Age), but I figure I should get thru-hike #1 under my belt first 🙂 Nonetheless, as you can see above, I’ve still tried to inject at least a little GFFA style into my daily hiking outfit: Alderaanian fleet trooper with Donovian Rainman footwear, and I’ll be rocking a moisture farmer bucket hat for at least the first leg of our journey! I even made a point of choosing a shirt without proper buttons 😉
Wish us luck, MTFBWY, and I’ll see you (Force willing) in December!
It’s hard to believe, but this week marks this blog’s second anniversary, which means I’ve somehow been rolling out research, how-tos, analyses, and projects for the last two full years – all part of my continuing efforts to make the Galaxy Far, Far Away a legitimate setting for ‘historic’ reenacting. Many thanks to those of you who have stopped by, liked posts, made great comments, subscribed to the blog, and even joined the conversations over on the SWLH facebook group!
If you’re just joining us, please check out the FIRST STEPS page to see just what Star Wars living history is all about, then leave a comment and introduce yourself below. Here’s to many more years of galactic ‘historic interpretation’ and ‘reenacting’ to come! May the Force be with you!
Researching, compiling, and writing this site takes a lot of time and energy. If you would like to help my efforts to show the Star Wars galaxy can be a legitimate setting for high-quality reenacting, please consider supporting my work with a small donation below!Thank you!
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Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy 