This project grew out of my own two Princess Leia outfits I’ve made for Dapper Day at Disney World. Dapper Day is an unofficial event at the Disney parks, where guests where vintage/vintage-inspired or just fancy outfits to the parks; similar to how when Disneyland first opened, guests dressed up and wore their nice clothes! People often use the opportunity to do an outfit inspired by a Disney or Disney-related character, and in my case, I’ve done two vintage-inspired dresses based on Princess Leia (her senatorial look and her Bespin look).

Of course my brain forces me to be a completionist, so I was thinking, if I did the rest of Leia’s wardrobe in the same manner, what would I do? I started coming up with ideas but the reality is, I’ll never have the time or money to be able to make all of my ideas. So, I decided to draw them and put them out into the world in case anyone else wants to make them, so I can live vicariously 🙂 (So if you are curious if you can cosplay these – yes, please do, and tag me so I can see!) I do have to mention that I started this project in the mindset of making outfits that were wearable and friendly for Disney park-wear (nothing on the ground, nothing that would be too hot), but I did quickly stop doing that because I just wanted the fantasy, not the reality 🙂

The way I approached this project was the same way I planned to approach these outfits as if I were actually physically making them – I wanted to use, or at least be inspired by, vintage sewing patterns. So I’d get a basic idea in my head of what I wanted to do for each costume, and then peruse google, pinterest, and the Vintage Sewing Pattern Wikia for something that fit my idea. I wanted each piece to look like vintage sewing pattern envelope art, so I based each one on the original.

Of course after I finished Leia, I had to do Padme too, and I may be doing some more characters in the future.