Princess Leia Costume
There are two main types of Princess Leia costumes. There is her white Princess gown with buns, from the original Star Wars, and the sexy slave outfit from Return of the Jedi.
Either Princess Leia costume can be purchased in any Halloween shop, but they are also easy to make.
Princess Leia – White Dress
The traditional Star Wars Princess Leia costume has three main features: dress, belt, boots and hair.
First the dress… while many people make Leia’s white dress form fitting, the actual dress in the movie is light and flowing, looking more like a silk gown, with wide, flowing arms, and almost a cape type of draping hanging down the back. For someone with sewing skills, a few yards of inexpensive white silky fabric can be turned into such a dress. Even with no sewing skills, one can easily pin fabric, draping it over a pair of white pants and a white shirt.
The belt and boots are simple. A plain white belt, placed across the hips to pull the dress tight around the waste, is perfect. The Princess wears a pair of high, white boots, very simple. For the easiest effect, simply wearing tight white pants beneath the dress that run straight into a pair of white dress shoes or boots works great. Or, a pair of long, white slipper socks would be even better! Even white duct tape, applied over a pair of old shoes, then wrapped up the legs (with long socks beneath) would give the right effect.
The hair… many places sell Leia buns that work great. Or, if you have long hair, you can braid each side of your head, then roll the braid into a circular bun, using bobby pins to hold it in place over the ears. You can also purchase a wig, and build the buns into it by wrapping hair around a round object, like a roll of masking tape. Add a blaster, for fun, and you are ready to go!
Princess Leia – Slave Girl
The Princess Leia Slave-girl costume has five basic pieces: bikini, bracelet, boots, hair and chain.
The bikini can be easy or complicated, depending upon how authentic you want to be. A simple gold bikini will do the trick; embellish it with a red scarf hanging from the lower half. For those more creative, embellish the bikini, top and bottom, with gold roping, attached with a glue gun, even pins if you wish to use the bikini afterwards.
The bracelet and boots are simple… a gold rope wrapped around the upper left arm serves well as bracelet. For the shoes, simple gold boots, or even gold heals or flats work great; a pair of sandals, while not authentic, would look good.
Perhaps the most important part of this costume is the chain. For this, put a band of gold rope around the neck (as a collar), then some light weight gold chain dangling down from this collar. Top it off with a high ponytail in the back, and you are a princess slave!