 | Start Planning Now! Star Wars Halloween Costumes for 2000 by Toryn Farr Published 9/2/00 If you're planning on wearing something besides the pre-packaged costumes from K-mart, you need to get going now. Your hard working seamstress needs 6-10 weeks to complete her work! Here are some resources to get you started. |
Ever since last year's article on Star Wars costumes by Boaz Kirschenbaum (to which I contributed a small list of links), people have been emailing me with questions. I am a pretty good seamstress; I've made a lot of costumes, and I have tried to answer all the questions as best I can. I decided if I summarized my FAQs here, perhaps y'all would leave me alone this year. [g]
Halloween costumes come in three varieties, in increasing level of quality and/or expense:
The advantage of ready-made costumes from places like Wal-mart and Target is that they require little time or expense (although some of these can run upwards of $65.) However, the down side is that they are frequently ugly, cheaply made, ill fitting, and just plain tacky. If you aren't trying to win a contest and you don't plan on wearing it again, one of these will probably suit your needs just fine. You can find these at most online stores listed below.
Note: This year most places are also selling child and adult sized Jedi robes, not pictured.
Children's costumes: Anakin Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn, Queen Amidala, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jar Jar Binks
Adult costumes: Queen Amidala, Jar Jar Binks, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul
With a little ingenuity and/or a friend who sews, plus a good wig/helmet/headpiece/mask/padawan braid and maybe some hands and feet (if you're going to be a non-human) you can come up with something that looks as good, if not better, than the store-bought costumes. However, it's easy to end up spending a lot of time and money. Think hard before you go to the trouble of making your own costume, especially if you have never sewn anything before. Check out the links below for some excellent sites to help you if you're determined to "roll your own."
Fabrics: If you know nothing about fabrics, just go to your local fabric shop and take a look at what's there. You can choose what you thinks has the look and texture that's right for your costume, but be careful. Fabrics are sold by the yard, and the prices vary tremendously. And make sure to notice if what you've picked is machine washable! Unless you're wanting this costume to last through the ages, you probably don't want to spend several hundred dollars just for the fabric. A tip: Search the "remnant" tables for bargains.
My fabric recommendations:
- Hooded Cloaks: These are good for Jedi, Sith, and any type of alien (just pair them with a mask plus maybe hands). A thin wool gabardine is best ... it drapes well and is machine washable.
- Jedi/Sith tunics and sash, etc.: I'd use linen, though broadcloth should be fine, or perhaps a rayon/polyester blend. Just feel the cloth with your hands and you should know instinctively if it is what you want. If you want to get really fancy, raw silk is nice, plus it's cool.
- Trousers/Rebel Pilot jumpsuit, etc.: cotton broadcloth should do fine.
- Amidala and Leia: This gets more complicated -- and more expensive! You might be able to find some faux velvet, silk, fur, etc. to re-create the "royal" look, but I really have no idea how you'd make the lightbulbs work in Amidala's Theed dress. [g]
- Other stuff: There's really too much of a variety to list everything. As I said before, go to the store and see what looks and feels right.
What to do about props: My brother once made a Darth Vader mask using papier-mache and spray paint, but you're better off just buying most of your props if you can find them. Genuine looking pilot harnesses and Vader's breastplate as well as Chewie's bandolier, etc., you might try looking at a military surplus store. There are also sites that sell props, either ready-made or custom. See the links below for more info.
Here are just a few of the items I found for sale online. I suggest you type some very specific text into your search engine and do some comparison shopping. For those of you lucky enough to have a good costume shop in your town, you might find most of this stuff there.
Masks and Helmets: Queen Amidala Senate Headpiece, Queen Amidala Theed Headpiece, Jar Jar Binks, Naboo Starfighter Pilot Helmet, Darth Maul, Boss Nass, Battle Droid, Ki-Adi-Mundi, Sebulba, Pod Racer Helmet, Jawa, Watto, Nute Gunray, Rune Haako, and Even Piell. You can also find some of the high-end Don Post replicas if you want to be as authentic as possible.
Etcetera: Lightsabers (Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Darth Maul, and a host of colors), various alien species hands and feet, Jedi hair braid, make-up kits, etc.
If you can't find anyone locally who can sew what you want, there are places on the internet that cater to the "custom" costume buyer. I have found a few, but I can't tell you if they're good or not since I haven't bought anything from them. You will be paying a premium, but for those of you in odd sizes or those who simply want something of high quality, this is the way to go. There are a few links below for you to check out.
There you have it, the secrets of my costuming success. All you have to decide is whether you are pulling together a quick outfit for one-time trick-or-treating or creating a timeless masterpiece that you'll don again and again.
Store-bought Costumes
http://www.anniescostumes.com/ - Site search is handy -- really good prices, plus they have all the lightsabers and some cool black leather gloves.
http://www.clicket.com/swgal/swgal.asp - A great selection with reasonable prices.
http://www.halloweenmart.com/ - Reasonable prices, good selection of high-end masks, can't spell "Vader." They have a variety of "hands" available.
http://www.nightmarefactory.com/ - If you can put up with the hokey music, they have a good selection, reasonable prices, as well as a huge section of Don Post and other masks, plus "hands."
http://www.starcostumes.com/ - Good selection, and a pleasure to navigate, but prices are slightly higher than other sites I found.
Home-made Costumes/Props
Obi-Wan's Jedi Academy costume tips - Limited selection of characters, but great advice on how to create costumes such as Rebel Pilot, Boba Fett, Stormtrooper, and Obi-Wan -- including the boots! Tons of great links and sewing tips. This includes actual pattern numbers for patterns you can buy and modify. Highly recommended.
http://larbel.amer.net/ - Real, working lightsabers you can make from a kit. This has to be seen to be believed.
http://members.xoom.com/jedigarb/ - Lots of detailed instructions and sewing tips. Check it out.
http://www.galaxytrading.com/ - Tons of props.
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Atlantis/7397/trust.html - A list of trusted traders who sell props and other costuming items. Some of the links have excellent tutorials so you can build your own stuff.
Professionally Made Costumes/Props
http://www.knightrobes.com/ - Unofficial replicas of Jedi robes. I found this site hard to navigate, but it is one of the few places to get high-quality, hand-made Jedi outfits. (You have to click on those circles at the top of the page, or go here for details on the garments.) A "knight ensemble" which includes the hooded cloak sells for $285.00 and comes in Small, Medium, Large, or Extra Large. They will make each piece in whatever color you like. I'm assuming they'll probably work with you if you're hard to fit, but you'll have to email them if you're seriously interested. They need 4-6 weeks lead time on your order, so get going.
http://www.katarra.com/ - Custom-made costumes and props for a variety of fandoms. (Navigation is tough - choose Portfolio and go from there.) These costumes are created according to your measurements of high quality fabrics. This stuff looks great, at least according to the pictures, but it's pricey. For the amount of labor and the costs of the fabrics, though, they seem reasonable to me. You get what you pay for. For some reason they don't put their prices on the site; you have to email them for a print catalog. But here's a small selection from the catalog I have to give you an idea (prices may change without notice):
- Rebel Flight Outfit (cotton; orange jumpsuit, straps, white flak vest, gray belt, leg grenades) - $275.00
- Pilot Control Box with straps - $129.95
- Imperial Uniform (cotton; tunic & pants in black, olive, or white) - $189.95
- Bespin Fatigues (pants & lined jacket, t-shirt) - $259.95
- Cloak w/hood (your choice of color with hood and long, full sleeves) - $135.95
- Master Knight Ensemble (raw silk; pants, undergee, overgee, stole, obi, double leather belt with 1 pouch, buckle, cloak with hood) - $429.95
- Custom made leather boots (choose straps around calf or up front) - $550.00
- Deluxe Bounty Hunter Ensemble (appears to be Boba Fett complete with armor, no gun) - $2549.95
- Gold Slave Bikini Ensemble (outfit, hairpieces, arm band, boot tops, etc.) - $659.95
- Senate Ensemble (orange pleated skirt and top, velvet coat, etc. plus Don Post headpiece) - $4000.00
They also claim to be able to make any prop you want. If you have a specific costume in mind you'd like to know the price on, email them. But be very specific about what accessories you want. You'd best get going right away if you want your stuff ready by Halloween.
Other sites to try:
About.com's Star Wars costume tips
Looksmart's "Star Wars Costume" category
(Toryn Farr knew everything about Star Wars back in 1977 thanks to Starlog Magazine. She's been trying to keep her know-it-all reputation ever since. During the 90 minutes per day her preschooler is napping, Toryn attempts to run an internet design business and write fantasy fiction.)