Collected References – Page 6 – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

Galactic Style Guide – T-shirts and tank tops

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more Galaxy-accurate ‘outer persona’! For this month’s installment, now that midsummer is here (for us in the Northern Hemisphere at least), I wanted to take a look at examples of T-shirts and other short-sleeved or sleeveless tops. What more can you say about them? On modern Earth these are among our most casual clothing, which puts them at odds with the galaxy’s overall space-fantasy aesthetic, but as we’ll see, they do occasionally show up in the EU as everyday clothing.

Short-sleeved T-shirts: Luke (Splinter of the Mind’s Eye), Dass Jennir (*Blue Harvest, Out of the Wilderness*), Aegis crewman*(Razor’s Edge), Dexter Jettster; NEGtAS Besalisk, Janks, Bandomeer prisoner (Dark Times #15), Duro in the big city (Langdon Foss), Ruusan lookout (Jedi Knight). Voren Na’al

Galactic Style Guide – Pants II and Shorts

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! This month we’re wrapping up our look at in-universe lower-body garments, both long and short.

When the subject of non-cargo kinds of pockets comes up in costuming circles, I’ve seen some people try to argue that hip/slash pockets don’t exist in-universe. Based on our sources I can say that slash pockets do exist in the GFFA, but they aren’t appropriate for all impressions. Rebel soldiers, agents, or operatives frequently wear pants with familiar pockets.:

Pants with hip or rear pockets: Rebel specialist (Battlefront2!2017, Dresselian (NEGtAS), ‘Cassian Andor’, human male Jaden Korr (14 ABY), Kyle Katarn (12 ABY).

It is worth noting that the distinctive hip pockets-and-belt-loops of the Specialist appear to be inspired by surplus Austrian M75 pants (though those also have thigh cargo pockets).

Galactic Style Guide – Pants I

Welcome back to the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! In this month’s installment we’re starting our look at lower-body garments.

While most humanoids in the Galaxy Far Far Away dress practically and wear long trousers of some sort, because layering is such a large part of the general galactic aesthetic we usually don’t get a good look at most characters’ legwear. If you plan to wear a longer outer garment like a tunic, there’s no need to be picky about your pants—as long as they’re solidly made and able to stand up to authentic use: for example, Luke’s farmboy trousers were just bleached Levis! As a rule of thumb, most in-universe trousers are nondescript but as we will see below, there are a few ways to dress them up for more visual interest.

Han Solo (*Episode IV-VI*), Luke Skywalker (medal ceremony), Mos Eisley extras, Jarin Flast (WEG SWRPG 2nd Edition)/generic Human (New Essential Guide to Alien Species)

Galactic Style Guide – Hats III

In my research into space-archeology clothing styles, I found the wide-brimmed, low-crowned style seems more common on the galaxy’s fringes, and is more likely to be worn by bounty hunters, settlers, explorers, treasure hunters, and the like. As I discussed previously, this style draws on visual archetypes of Spaghetti Western gunslingers and Pulp Serial archeologists, although our two final examples (both Naboo) seem to buck the trend, and instead invoke the more pastoral petasos of the Classical Greek traveler.

**Wide-brimmed hats**: Jacobi Sterne, Outer Rim Marshal (FFG Far Horizons), female archeologist/treasure hunter #1, female archeologist/treasure hunter #2; Rodian fringer/explorer; Nico Okarr, Cad Bane; Levet (Duro archeologist), Theed citizen (22 BBY) who appears to be carrying (in addition to a large striped bag) a wide-brimmed (straw?) hat; ‘the artist of Naboo’ (SW Visionaries).

Searching for Rebel trooper helmet variations

Almost as soon as I finished my ‘fleet trooper’ helmet back in 2017, I started planning a ‘donut’ helmet build, which I hoped would remedy all the complaints I had of the ‘swoop’ helmet: it would be smaller, more mobile, quieter, and much better at blending in with woodland scenery. However, on the off chance that I ever feel like busting out my ol’ swoop again, I’ve still kept my eyes open for examples of documented swoop helmet variations that might be a little more woodland guerilla-friendly. Sure, it would be easy to say, ‘Ehh, I’m sure a Rebel cell somewhere must have painted their helmets to blend in better, just make something up!’ But for accurate reenacting and living history, the bar is a little higher, and we can’t settle for fan creations on DeviantArt—we need examples from the visual record! Therefore, I wanted to share the examples of non-standard Rebel ‘swoop’ helmets that I’ve been able to dig up in hopes that they might be of use to someone else in the same boat. Enjoy!

These swoop-less helmets (art by Brian Schonburg) appear in Rules of Engagement, the Rebel SpecForces Handbook (1997).

seven more examples after the jump!

Galactic Style Guide – Hats II

Conical ‘coolie’ hats might not be politically correct, but K’hkruk’s hat is still freaking sweet. The Mos Espa example appears to be a little more substantial (or maybe it’s just more broken-in) than the standard Asian rice hat, and looks tightly woven. Would probably be perfect sunshade on Tatooine (Ki-Adi Mundi wears his while tracking down Sharad Hett), and if paired with a fully GFFA-style outfit, you might be able to wear one without eliciting cries of “Cultural Appropriation!” As we see, this style was commonplace among the civilians of Nadiem during the Clone Wars (Hide in Plain Sight).

As I’ve found in my other ‘fictional anthropology’ pursuits, to make sure your audience knows you’re dealing with a fantastical, non-modern-Earth setting, throw in some Tall Hats…it works in BONE and Dinotopia, and the GFFA is no different!:

Building the Inner Persona: Curses and Interjections

In this installment of the Inner Persona miniseries, we’ll continue to expand our mental ‘word-hoard’ by adding some words and phrases from the Star Wars galaxy you can use to spice up your in-universe speech. If you’re portraying a character from the rougher side of the Galaxy, the saltier the better!

While we on modern Earth—depending on the decade—use words like swell, cool, awesome, or lit to express appreciation for something we like, the GFFA has “wizard” (Episode I), “rugged” (Rogue Planet), and “prime” (Galaxy of Fear)!

– “As stars live and die!”
– “Blast!”, “Blast it!” (can’t go wrong with this classic)
– “By all the souls of Alderaan!” (Rogue Squadron)
– “Chuba chips!”, “Chuba chunks!” and “Chuba lips” are all used by Ratts Tyerell in Jabba’s Game Galaxy
– “Emperor’s bones!” (Rogue Squadron #2)
– “Emperor’s black bones!”
– Flaming: as in, “this flaming coastline is full of coves,” (Last of the Jedi #4: Death on Naboo)
– “Force-forsaken” used as a replacement for Godforsaken; I’m not a fan.
– Frell, frelling (Republic Commando)
– Frip, fripping (often used in Death Star, all the way up to “un-fripping-believable!”

plenty more examples below!

Galactic Style Guide – Hats I

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! For this month’s installment, we’re taking things from the top and talking Hats!
Our main cast of characters tend to go hatless, but for secondary and background characters, hats are very commonplace. While certain styles tend to work better with certain settings, covering your head in some way is a great way to remind your audience that you are portraying an inhabitant of the Galaxy Far Far Away.
When I put a call out to the SWLH facebook group for style suggestions, the immediate first response was ‘Caps with flaps!’. As this type of hat is readily available as military surplus, such hats are a no-brainer way to make yourself quickly blend into the galactic populace:

Jedi Temple guards (3653 BBY), Grotto Werribee, Donovian ‘rainman’, tramper, Suu Lawquane concept; Pfilbee Jhorn, Alliance cold-weather troopers, Echo Base hangar technicians, Benedict Vidkun.

It’s worth pointing out that the hats of the Hoth hangar techs are essentially a WW2 US Navy deck hat, so if you’re handy with a sewing machine, stick around at the end for a free pattern.

Galactic Style Guide – Shoulders II

Happy Boxing Day, and welcome back to the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! For our final installment of 2020, we’re wrapping up our look at the archetypal exotic space-fantasy ‘wide-shouldered’ look.

We’ll begin by teasing out some examples of armor-based wide shoulders from the earlier phases of galactic history (pre-1000 BBY):

shoulders-armor-Ancient — Naga Sadow, Freedon Nadd, Exar Kun Ulic Quel-Droma, Arca Jeth, Gav Daragon; Vitiate, Arcann, Darth Vindican Satele Shan, Darth Malgus; Lord Hoth, Valentyne Farfalla, Army of Light

I don’t have a ton of interest in (or access to) much material from this period, so it’s totally possible I’ve overlooked some key figure. Is there anyone I’ve missed? Please let me know!
As we’ll see, more modern characters from the Clone Wars all the way into the Legacy era have also worn armor that widens the upper body: Continue reading “Galactic Style Guide – Shoulders II”

Galactic Style Guide – Shoulders I

Welcome back to the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to create a more authentic ‘outer persona’!
Ever since the days of Ming the Merciless, sci-fi designers have been using a wide-shouldered silhouette to let the audience know a setting is exotic or non-Earthy, and Star Wars has been no different. While I’ve found no specific mention of this design point in comments from costume designer John Mollo, his original designs for ‘girl Luke Starkiller’ show a mantled hood that may have planted the seed that eventually became this prevalent costume element:
DIGITAL CAMERA It’s worth pointing out that even though the very first onscreen SW character (C-3PO) could be said to display a form of this style, it really didn’t kick into full gear until Return of the Jedi, and by the time the Prequels rolled around, giant collars, mantles, and shoulder pads were in full force!

shoulders Ep1 Naboo — **Wide shoulders on pre-Clone Wars Naboo:** Amidala, Sabe; NSF Palace guards, Sio Bibble, Phylo Gandish; Unidentified Theed civilian, unidentified advisor, Hugo Eckener, Horace Vacil, TC-14; civilian prisoners. Note that the entire Naboo Royal Advisory Council and Theed nobles dress pretty much alike.

Continue reading “Galactic Style Guide – Shoulders I”