Collected References – Page 7 – Living History in the Star Wars Galaxy

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.

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Building the Inner Persona: Galactic Proverbs

In this installment of the Inner Persona miniseries, we’ll continue to expand our mental ‘word-hoard’ by adding some proverbs from the Star Wars galaxy- phrases that express a basic truth which may be applied to common situations.
We may take such phrases for granted in our everyday life, but they can really help sell the illusion when speaking in-character!

“If one guy calls you a Hutt, ignore him. If a second calls you a Hutt, begin to wonder. If a third calls you a Hutt, buy a drool bucket and start stockpiling spice.” – CorSec saying (I, Jedi, ch26)

“If the wind no longer calls to you, it is time to see if you have forgotten your name.” – Caamasi saying (I, Jedi, chapter 40)
Continue reading “Building the Inner Persona: Galactic Proverbs”

Galactic Style Guide – Vests II

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide, the series 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 wrapping up our look at sleeveless or vest-type garments.

We’ll start off with some ‘common’ vests:

Mace Towani, Noa Briqualon (x3); Gela Yeens, Greedo, Kabe, Sai’torr Kal Fas, Bom Vimdin, Dr. Evazan; Lobot, Nien Nunb, Emon Azzameen, Thracken Sal-Solo, Corellian spacer, generic Colonist (FFG), Baldarek.

Building the Inner Persona: Similes

In this installment of the Inner Persona miniseries, we’ll continue to expand our mental ‘word-hoard’ by adding some galactic similes – phrases that compare things using like or as:

“as acquisitive as a Neimoidian” (Darth Plageius chapter 5)

“as ostentatious as a Hutt” (ibid)

“as slippery as a greased Dug” (Outbound Flight)

“as nervous as a Trandoshan in a wallet factory” (Outlander part 1)

“slick as a slime toad” (Jabba’s Game Galaxy)

“Green as a monkey-lizard” (ibid)

Galactic Style Guide – Vests I

Welcome back to the Galactic Style Guide, our monthly series in which we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ in order to create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! This time around, we’re looking at a key element introduced by the very first non-droid Star Wars characters ever seen onscreen:
Yes, we’re talking VESTS! Since they are so prevalent and we have so many examples to discuss, we’ll be devoting two entries to them. Original costume designer John Mollo had a pretty simple reason for giving the Rebel ‘fleet troopers’ (and many other characters) vests – visual interest! “‘The waistcoats look a bit more businesslike and give them a bit of texture,’ he says. ‘They would have been a bit boring if they had just been wearing a gray overall suit.’” (Alinger, Star Wars Costumes – the Original Trilogy. p 22).

If you’re behind the times, please note that the screen-used Rebel Fleet Trooper vest auctioned in 2017 boasted a whopping ELEVEN pockets, most of them entirely pointless or impractical! (As they say, go big or go home.):
vest-RFT screenused We’ll continue with vests used by the Rebel Alliance.
Continue reading “Galactic Style Guide – Vests I”

Building the Inner Persona: Jokes!

In this installment of the Inner Persona miniseries, we’ll continue to expand our mental ‘word-hoard’ of in-universe phrases. In addition to the everyday words we use for things, the jokes we use can also be a great way to do this!

“What’s the last thing to go through an Imperial scout trooper’s head when he hits a tree? His afterburner.” ―Joke told by Rebel forces on Endor (New Essential Guide to Vehicles & Vessels)

“What do you call someone who speaks three languages? Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language? Human.” (Empire Blues, Tales from the Mos Eisley Cantina)

“What’s the difference between a lightsaber and a glowrod? A lightsaber impresses girls!” (Legacy of the Force: Invincible) As we will see below, it seems Jacen was still making dumb jokes even into adulthood. Continue reading “Building the Inner Persona: Jokes!”

Galactic Style Guide – Flightsuits and Jumpsuits

Welcome to your monthly installment of the Galactic Style Guide, where we break down the ‘Star Wars aesthetic’ to help you create a more authentic ‘outer persona’! This time around, we’re taking a look at the kinds of flightsuits, jumpsuits, and utilitarian coveralls typically worn by mechanics, pilots, spacers, and other common types of citizens.
Considering the ‘spacey’ and often militaristic setting, it should come as no surprise that the inhabitants of the Galaxy Far, Far Away frequently wear these kinds of garments. And why shouldn’t they?: space is cold, and maintaining spacecraft is dirty work! However, in the original Star Wars, we don’t actually see any examples until we reach the Cantina, which is fitting as it’s a style associated with pilots. Let’s start out with some actual spacesuits:

flightsuits-variations — Ohwun De Maal, a generic Duros (New Essential Guide to Alien Species), BoShek, Bossk; Trandoshan mercenaries.

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Building the Inner Persona: Galactic Idioms

As we’ve touched on before, one of the last stages (in Townsends’ model) of putting together a living history impression is the ongoing process of building the ‘inner persona’. This means going beyond the superficial ‘outer persona’ (one’s clothes and gear), and working to inhabit the mental headspace of your chosen individual – for our purposes, a citizen of the Galaxy Far, Far Away. While this level of detail is probably not necessary if you just want to be a GFFA reenactor, if you’re interested in using your impression as an historic interpreter—especially a first-person one—it can be very helpful to have at least a few in-universe sayings stashed away in your mental ‘word-hoard’. We may take such phrases for granted in our everyday life, but they can really help sell the illusion when speaking in-character!
We’ll begin with variations on familiar phrases from Earth.

for “bull in a china shop”: “A nerf in an antiquities bazaar” (I, Jedi, Chapter 6) Rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it? 😉

for “making a mountain out of a molehill: “making meters out of microns” (X-Wing: Rogue Squadron, Ch4)

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Galactic Style Guide – Shirts II

Welcome back to another installment of the Galactic Style Guide! We’ll begin with a look at the very first style of shirt seen on-screen in a Star Wars film. This is essentially the same shirt as the double-breasted ‘Custer-style’ we looked at last time, only worn with both layers done up (usually). While I believe it is properly known as a ‘placket’ shirt, this type is commonly referred to in the costuming community as a ‘bib’ shirt. In order to follow Lucas’s ‘no fastenings’ rule, such shirts must be closed via snaps, hidden buttons, or Velcro – or else allowed to fall open and reveal a contrasting inner lining.

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