LEIA & HAN SOLO ON A BUDGET

Costumes are SO. FUN. It’s a blast to dress up and be someone (or something?)
else for a little while, and can I just say WOOOOHOOOO it’s almost Halloween!
We got invited to a super fun Cosplay comic book event at the Crocker Art
museum, and being a Star Wars fan, the only question for costumes was, were
Olive and I going as Han & Leia, Leia & an Ewok, Chewie & Luke…. so many
choices. What wasn’t a question was whether or not to make it all myself with
some help from Thrift Town.

VERDICT: Han Solo & Princess Leia.

All of this was from Thrift Town, but I already had the collared shirt at my house - SCORE. The shirt is my husbands, only $1.49, so I didn’t feel bad altering it to fit me.

— killer black leather boots: $7.99
— gray skinny pants: $2.99
— black braided belt: $0.99
— men’s white collared shirt: $1.49

I then borrowed a black leather vest and a plastic gun from my friend to complete the look. All basic stuff, the overall look has a lot to do with the Han Solo swagger. haha

For my tiny Leia, I could have the best costume ever but if it’s not COMFORTABLE for her to wear and walk around in, she won’t want to wear it. SO I went to Thrift Town to find pieces to work with that were cozy to wear and still had the right look.

Pieces we needed: a white “robe”, a belt, and big “hair buns”.

For the white robe, I found a long slip for $0.49, and made it myself. I grabbed a
little long sleeved dress of Olive’s that fits well, and simply laid it on top as a template.

I simply turned the slip inside out, used a marker & dotted the outline on the slip and pinned the top & bottom together so I can cut both pieces together.

Then literally cut around the dots. I sewed around the edges (of course,
leaving the arm holes, neck and bottom open) and TADA!

Her cloth belt: $0.49, and then there’s the BUNS: I knew it’d be hard to find an actual wig, so I bought a pair of brown adult leggings for $0.99. I turned the leggings inside out with the waistband on her head, measured and sewed from waist to crotch to have it fit like a beanie. Then put it right side-out, and pop it on her like a hat, then rolled the legs into buns!

I just want to SQUISH her with those lil buns! As you can probably guess -
she was a hit at the event, everyone wanted to take a picture with her.

Together, were quite the pair. Bummed we missed the costume contest by 10 minutes!

Running into family…

We had the BEST night hanging out with friends and taking pictures with
strangers who were also Star Wars-ed out. And for under $20 for both
our outfits combined, you can’t beat that!

Thrift Town is THE spot to get the pieces for your own awesome DIY costume! Do you have ideas for your costume? Get shopping and tag @thrifttown on Instagram and FB!

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Kari Shipman is thrifty, eco-conscious, and knows the importance
of supporting local charities. She has been our featured blogger
since we started the blog in 2010, and has a serious passion for
fashion. Kari owns her own Fashion Consulting Business, Juniper
James and lives out her passions in Northern California with her
wonderful husband Charles, and their little girl Olive.