It's become a tradition to go with Benjamin to the annual end-of-year Star Wars performance at the Cincinnati orchestra. Each year the historic 1878 Music Hall hosts a showing of one of the Star Wars films and the score is played live by the orchestra! Some guests dress up in Star Wars themed clothing for the performance and it has been fun to join in and experience the emotional unity of a fan-filled crowd as great moments cross the screen.
This year we were inspired by the Lars family depicted in the recent tv series 'Kenobi' and Benjamin chose to dress as Young Luke Skywalker in a tunic, turtleneck, trousers and the brown jedi robe I made for his older brother many Halloweens ago. From exploring the theory of the clothing of the Star Wars universe further over the last several years it seems that robes of this kind are quite common among rural or working class civilians and not specifically a jedi fashion. Uncle Lars can be seen wearing a similar hooded robe in his various appearance throughout the Star Wars films.
I chose to make a new costume for the occasion and put together an interpretation of Beru Lars outfit from Attack of the Clones; mostly because I had material on hand similar enough in appearance to the film costume that it would be recognizable.
I made three new clothing pieces for this costume; the blue pleated shirt, the white over-tunic and the brown skirt. I also made a quick leather belt to hold a pouch for necessities.
The blue shirt was made from a heavyish piece of wool blend fabric that has a coarse texture and visible weave. It started out more of a grey-blue but I dyed the length in some indigo RIT before cutting the shirt out and sewing it together. Due to the small amount of fabric I had I made fewer pleats than the shirt Beru wears in the films but I am happy with how it came out and with the interest the pleats give to an otherwise nondescript piece of clothing. I mean to eventually take detailed pictures of each garment but so far just took pictures of the shirt, so here they are so you can see how it is cut and worn:
The tunic was made using my Vietnam ao ba ba pattern; this is cut with the fold at the top of the shoulder and the side and underarm seams are cut as one. Sleeve extensions are sewn on to create enough length for the sleeves. I finished the V neck opening with a 2 inch collar all around and the sleeve hems were cut on the selvedge so did not need to be hemmed.
The wrap skirt Beru wears is interesting and it took me a little while to figure out how it was cut. The skirt has a center front triangular gore and the rest of the skirt is a slightly flared rectangle cut to fit the waist measurement at the top and wider at the bottom to allow room for walking. There is a small underlap piece sewn to one side of the skirt opening and the triangular gore sewn to the other. I used a nice quality grey-brown wool I had on hand for the skirt and lined it fully to help it hang better. The waist, hem and front openings are finished with a facing of the wool and the skirt closes with a button closure at the waist.
Beru's hairstyle is a braided bun at the back with two smaller side buns. This style reminds me of some Victorian era hairstyles and was a fun look that was comfortable to wear.
We had such a fun evening at Music Hall with fellow fans and Benjamin was recognized by many as Young Luke which both pleased and embarassed him. His favorite moment was meeting and getting his picture taken with Darth Vadar, whom he called "Father". I love seeing his excitement and am happy he still enjoys dressing up! He is looking forward to the next performance at the end of this year and is already busy thinking about a new costume!
Much love,
Sarah
