I promise to shoot first if you help me.
June 9, 2010 9:20 AM Subscribe
Inexpensive but decent Han Solo costume...for a curvy girl?
So I had the dorktastic idea to be "Girl Han Solo" (the Episode IV version) for this year's New York City ComiCon and I am falling down the Star Wars costume hole. I just want to put together something decent and cute, but my choices seem to be "cheesy costume crap" or "spend $1,000 and make sure you get the right number of stripes on the pants." I should note that I'm a casual Star Wars fan and I'm kind of intimidated by all the superfan and serious costume and prop recreation sites out there.
I have blue pants (although I need to figure out how to do the red stripes) and black boots, and a friend is loaning me a blaster, but that's it. I am pretty sure I can buy a shirt and vest off-the-rack but suggestions are welcome. I think my real problem is going to be the gun belt. I'm a size 18, and fairly hourglass-shaped so finding something small enough for my waist but big enough to wrap around my leg is going to be tricky.
I've got some basic sewing and crafting skills, and the whole summer to figure this out, but I feel like I should get started soon.
So I had the dorktastic idea to be "Girl Han Solo" (the Episode IV version) for this year's New York City ComiCon and I am falling down the Star Wars costume hole. I just want to put together something decent and cute, but my choices seem to be "cheesy costume crap" or "spend $1,000 and make sure you get the right number of stripes on the pants." I should note that I'm a casual Star Wars fan and I'm kind of intimidated by all the superfan and serious costume and prop recreation sites out there.
I have blue pants (although I need to figure out how to do the red stripes) and black boots, and a friend is loaning me a blaster, but that's it. I am pretty sure I can buy a shirt and vest off-the-rack but suggestions are welcome. I think my real problem is going to be the gun belt. I'm a size 18, and fairly hourglass-shaped so finding something small enough for my waist but big enough to wrap around my leg is going to be tricky.
I've got some basic sewing and crafting skills, and the whole summer to figure this out, but I feel like I should get started soon.
Here's the costuming site you're linking to (which appears to not allow direct linking to pictures).
It looks like the easy way to do the stripes is to drop $25 plus shipping on the Solo Pants Stripes, which you then stitch on.
posted by zamboni at 9:48 AM on June 9, 2010
It looks like the easy way to do the stripes is to drop $25 plus shipping on the Solo Pants Stripes, which you then stitch on.
posted by zamboni at 9:48 AM on June 9, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks, Pho! I might try that but with leather/pleather.
Oops, sorry for the broken link zamboni. I saw a lot of iffy reviews on those stripe patches, but I may still wind up going that route.
posted by JoanArkham at 9:51 AM on June 9, 2010
Oops, sorry for the broken link zamboni. I saw a lot of iffy reviews on those stripe patches, but I may still wind up going that route.
posted by JoanArkham at 9:51 AM on June 9, 2010
Something you might consider is spending money just on the one or two important accessories that are difficult to recreate yourself, rather than making them/buying the whole costume. For example, here is a belt (I've bought from this seller before, and had a good experience, FWIW) for $60ish. I'd keep in mind that you'll look more Han-esque if you wear the belt on your hips, not your waist, so a large belt would probably do the trick better, depending on your measurements.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:04 AM on June 9, 2010
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:04 AM on June 9, 2010
Awesome idea!
My fiancé (Supercres) and I went as Princess Leia and Han Solo last Halloween. He bought his costume here. He bought the ROTJ version. It was a great costume, and much higher quality than the crappy Halloween store ones! He also bought the holster there too. I don't think you'd have a problem with them as a lady. In fact, the pants were a bit TOO wide in the hip area, so they might work well for you.
Here are some pictures of us: here and here
We also made our own blasters, which you can see here, here, and here. We bought the kid's blasters (info on the Solo blaster in the first link, I bought my blaster at Target) and spray painted them silver first, then with black. To create the worn texture we used steel wool on strategic locations. He also used brown paint on his blaster and used steel wool to put fake wear there as well. His blaster ended up looking better (in terms of the brown handle) when he was finished with it.
Good luck, and I hope this helps!
posted by Lizsterr at 10:16 AM on June 9, 2010
My fiancé (Supercres) and I went as Princess Leia and Han Solo last Halloween. He bought his costume here. He bought the ROTJ version. It was a great costume, and much higher quality than the crappy Halloween store ones! He also bought the holster there too. I don't think you'd have a problem with them as a lady. In fact, the pants were a bit TOO wide in the hip area, so they might work well for you.
Here are some pictures of us: here and here
We also made our own blasters, which you can see here, here, and here. We bought the kid's blasters (info on the Solo blaster in the first link, I bought my blaster at Target) and spray painted them silver first, then with black. To create the worn texture we used steel wool on strategic locations. He also used brown paint on his blaster and used steel wool to put fake wear there as well. His blaster ended up looking better (in terms of the brown handle) when he was finished with it.
Good luck, and I hope this helps!
posted by Lizsterr at 10:16 AM on June 9, 2010
Oh, and clearly he's wearing the long sleeve jacket, which was I believe a substitution they allowed him to make with the costume. He also wore riding boots.
posted by Lizsterr at 10:20 AM on June 9, 2010
posted by Lizsterr at 10:20 AM on June 9, 2010
Such a great idea!
You can find a pretty wide variety of utility belts at army/navy surplus stores, if there are any in your area. A friend of mine bought two, which he modified somehow (this was years ago, so my memory is fuzzy) to look like Han's belt. I'm doing a google search right now using terms like "army navy" and "utility belt." I haven't found anything perfect yet, but you might have some luck playing around with search terms. You might also be able to find inexpensive vests the same way.
Actually, damn, that belt PhoBWanKenobi linked to looks pretty awesome if you're willing to spend the money.
posted by a.steele at 10:28 AM on June 9, 2010
You can find a pretty wide variety of utility belts at army/navy surplus stores, if there are any in your area. A friend of mine bought two, which he modified somehow (this was years ago, so my memory is fuzzy) to look like Han's belt. I'm doing a google search right now using terms like "army navy" and "utility belt." I haven't found anything perfect yet, but you might have some luck playing around with search terms. You might also be able to find inexpensive vests the same way.
Actually, damn, that belt PhoBWanKenobi linked to looks pretty awesome if you're willing to spend the money.
posted by a.steele at 10:28 AM on June 9, 2010
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posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:27 AM on June 9, 2010