Slave Leia

Han, Han, make-cheesay. Pa'sa tah ono caulky malia. Ee youngee d'emperolo teesaw. Twa spastika awahl no. Yanee dah poo noo.
So, this project is based loosely on the really great slave Leia tutorial by Costuming Crusader. I made it for Rocky Horror this year. I was starring as Frank, and our theme was Sci-Fi. So for the majority of the movie, I wore the Senatorial gown (see my projects) and for the Floor Show, when everyone changes into lingerie, I wore the metal bikini.

I did change a few things from Costuming Crusader's tutorial. First of all, I'm a rather busty woman, so holding my chest up using only a piece of black string was not going to work. Instead, I cut off one of the bra straps altogether. Then (with the remaining) one, I snipped the back part off, loosened the strap all the way, and sewed it to the front, thus creating a halter bra. It's much more comfortable and supportive that way (although not entirely screen accurate).

Also, for the hip pieces, I had a little trouble following CC's directions as to the elastic. I was finding that I couldn't really get in our out of the costume without almost ripping the craft foam "metal" plates. So I came up with a better idea! I went to the pharmacy and purchased a pair of nude tights. Then, I came home and cut the tights from the waist, leaving me with a very comfortable and stretchy nude waist band. I put on the waist band and pinned the front and back plates how I needed them. Then, I took little hook and eye closures and attached them to the left and right side of both the plates (back and front) and to each side of both the hip rings. Basically, that meant I could put the plates on, position them comfortably, THEN put the hip rings on, to avoid any kind of tearing anywhere.

I also used craft foam and 3-d fabric paint to make both the leg shackles and the collar and chain. I used more hook and eye closures on the collar and shackles. For the chain, I cut lots of strips of craft foam and stapled them together (like we did in kindergarten with construction paper) and then painted the whole thing with gold spray paint. It was just much faster than painting each link with the regular paint.

Altogether, it was very comfortable to wear on stage and it is very screen accurate. I'm wearing it to a Con in a few weeks. ^_^ The only things not-so-screen-accurate about my costume are my tattoos. I don't believe Carrie Fisher had any. :}

I dressed up as Hipster Leia for a party: "My home planet was blown up, but you've probably never heard of it." And yes, in that last picture, I am indeed wearing Dr. Zoidberg's claws. "One does not simply scuttle into Mordor." :D

If you guys have any questions or if you need more instructions or photos to make you own, just let me know!