Over the years I've seen many Star Wars costumes worn at science fiction conventions. Some, like the Storm trooper and Speeder bike armor built by Fyberdyne Laboratories, were truly spectacular. Some were just plain bad. While I wanted to build a Star Wars costume, I also wanted it to be something seldom seen. Leia as Jabba's slave came to mind.

The hardest, and most important, part to find for Princess Leia's slave costume is a young woman with the figure and eagerness to wear it. Fortunately my wife, a devoted Star Wars fan, has both the curves and the constitution to be oh-so-barely dressed in public.

Very little reference material for this brief but beautiful costume existed at the time. I had only two 8"x10" glossies of Carrie Fisher in the costume, a trading card, and the book From Star Wars To Indiana Jones to go by. Ironically, the life sized stand-up was released a few months after I finished the costume.

The metal bikini and the hair beret from hell were all built with sheet styrene laminated in varying thicknesses with Super Glue. Cut to their appropriate forms, the plastic parts were slowly heated with a hair dryer and patiently bent, often into elaborate compound curves. The fit of the pieces was crucial. My wife endured many test fittings with hot styrene pressed against her flesh to get the curves right. Cold water helped lock the pieces into their new shapes. With the parts bent into the correct shapes, the edges were then sanded into graceful curves and the pieces detailed with wire and brass rod. To make the collar, a plastic pitcher, 14" in diameter, was sawed apart. The resulting plastic ring was then detailed, cut in half, and fitted with a hinge and latch.

Once the construction was complete, the pieces were painted, covered with foil decoupage material, then painted with varying shades of brown acrylic to attain the right look of antiqued metal. Many, many coats of clear spray glaze were applied to seal the finish in. Pieces of fabric were then cut and glued into the recessed areas of the bikini top to finish it off.

The costume required nearly a thousand man hours and a lot of swearing to build. The result, however, is a rare, beautifully crafted costume happily worn by a gorgeous wife who turns heads with every step she takes.