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Diary of a Star Wars costumer
Lots of people love the movies, and show their love in different ways. Some people collect movie posters. Others hold movie marathons, and collect DVDs.
I choose to make costumes.
Armor, blasters, and helmets
Star Wars is very special to me. My dad made me watch the movies when I was a kid. My mom and my brother are fans. It was through Star Wars that I met my husband, Oneal, and of course we had a Star Wars wedding. Pretty much all of my family and friends have been really excited about Episode VII since the movie was announced.
Costuming is how Oneal and I express our love for Star Wars, and that’s why we joined the 501st Legion.
The 501st is an international Star Wars fan club. We dress up as the bad guys and girls from all over the galaxy. To join, our costumes have to be movie-accurate. We obsess over tiny details that few others will notice, and it bothers us to get any part of any costume wrong.
As 501st members, Oneal and I are used to wearing armor. I have biker scout armor. My husband is a stormtrooper. And we both have clone armor. We’re really proud of these costumes, and we shed blood, sweat and tears to work on every single part.
Rey of light
When the trailer for The Force Awakens was released, most 501st members drooled over the different First Order troopers. Oneal’s cousin, Jim, put together a Captain Phasma costume.
Many of my friends are working on First Order stormtrooper armor for the opening of the movie. Other friends are making Poe Dameron-style X-wing pilot costumes.
I decided to dress up as Rey. Finally, a comfortable costume, I thought. Little did I realize what price I would have to pay for that decision.
Research
As with any new costume, the first step is research. That means watching the trailer repeatedly, hitting play and pause every time Rey is on-screen, until you see the detail you’re looking for. It means searching online for production stills and magazine features. It means hoping for pictures from different angles so you can see the back of her boots, how her pouch is attached to her belt, or how her hair is tied.
With all these reference photos comes doubt. When you look at a picture of Daisy Ridley in costume, you don’t know if that’s actually how she’s going to look in the movie. When you look at pictures from exhibits at conventions, the lighting is different, so textures and colors look vastly different from what appears in the trailer or set photos. In different pictures and trailers, Rey’s costume varies. Sometimes she’s wearing the head gear, while in some scenes she has ribbons around her calves. For obsessive costumers, these variations are a nightmare!
Fortunately, many other fans who are working on Rey costumes are also sharing their references, sketches and work-in-progress photos. Every day I thank the Force for the Replica Prop Forums, which is where I got plans for the belt, the leather cuff and the pouch. Every week I check the Ladies of the Legions Facebook group, where ladies from the 501st and other Star Wars costuming groups share their pictures. Costumers ask for help and others offer advice. Thanks to fans from all over the world, we figured out what to do with my costume.
Version 1.0
When making a costume for an upcoming movie, no amount of reference pictures or trailers will be enough. We don’t know the story behind Rey’s costume, how she ended up with that head gear, or why she needs the goggles.
Whenever we’re making costumes, we decide on which parts we want to finish in time for the opening day. Those parts make up Version 1, and usually include the character’s basic clothing and the most recognizable parts of the costume. Then we plan Version 2, which we can build after we see the movie, when we have more time. Version 2 is also for modifications, because we only figure out what needs repairs after we’ve worn the costume a few times.
For Version 1 of Rey, we worked on her tunic, pants, boots, body scarves, arm wraps, belt, pouch, cuff and staff. We decided that version 2 would include Rey’s goggles, head scarf and tote bag.
Suffering for Star Wars
One of the biggest challenges is that this costume is mostly fabric. I’m used to working with armor. Give me a drill, spray paint, sandpaper, Velcro and cyanoacrylate glue, and I can work on fiberglass or plastic. But fabric? Nooooooo!
Fortunately, we were able to use a lot of store-bought items. The pants, tunic, boots and scarves all came from department stores, and needed minimal sewing. I made the belt and cuff out of faux brown leather. The belt is held together by buckles from an unused bag:
We couldn’t find anything that could be modified for Rey’s pouch, so we bought fabric to make it ourselves. I made a paper mock-up, and used those measurements to cut the fabric. I tried pinning the fabric together, and I ended up with pins in my fingers and tears in my eyes. But I persevered, and Oneal sewed my pouch:
For my arm wraps, I dug up an old pair of boxing bandages, dyed with coffee to get the right color. Oneal found brown leather gloves at home, and they went perfectly with my costume:
The staff really completed my look. Oneal found a pole lying around the house, and he assembled together odds and ends from the hardware store. Craft foam and wire were glued on for the finer details. With the pieces assembled, he painted everything, then wrapped it with gauze and other fabric to complete the look.
Costume love
It was 2 AM on Sunday when we finished the costume, and we had to go to a Star Wars exhibit at a nearby mall at 10AM! I wore the costume at the event. Fellow costumers admired our work, and even casual mall-goers recognized my costume as something out of the new movie.
With each costume, I think to myself, why am I doing this? Why can’t I just relax and enjoy the movie? Whether it’s Rey, a scout trooper or a clone, I think costuming appeals to me because it’s as close as I can get to being a part of the movie. Whichever character I dress up as, I can imagine how he or she felt running from the enemy, stepping into a new world, or making new friends. I feel like I’m part of the story, and Star Wars is full of stories that I have loved since childhood.
Costuming helps me share that feeling with a little girl who’s seeing the movie for the first time, or a lifelong fan enjoying Star Wars with family and friends. That makes all the sleepless nights, spilled glue and bleeding fingers worth it. — TJD, GMA News
