Oh Leia, so much white! You’ll probably be pleased to know that these are the last of the full white outfits for Leia and we’ll get to see some actual color next week. I think Leia’s Both-style hair was one of my favorites (she reprises it in Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens). It’s a great look for her. I separated her Hoth jumpsuit from the vest and boots that she wears with them because she’s in the jumpsuit without the layers while they are escaping from Bespin and she’s got different shoes, so technically it’s a different look.
Yesterday I mentioned we were already hitting The Empire Strikes Back with Han, but I guess Leia too doesn’t really have more than those two dresses in A New Hope. That doesn’t stop her from still having twice as many plates as Han in the long run, though.
A lot of people have criticized that Leia is the only female character in Star Wars of any consequence. She only has poor doomed Aunt Beru for competition in A New Hope, virtually nobody in The Empire Strikes Back, and Oola the slave girl and Mon Mothma in Return of the Jedi. I guess looking back I can see how that’s problematic, but at the time it only emphasized to me how badass she was: in a galaxy dominated by men, she held her own.
And I know there was/is a lot of kerfuffle about the female characters in The Force Awakens, but the people with their feathers ruffled can go pluck themselves: having amazing characters like Rey, Phasma, and Maz Kanata have enriched the Star Wars universe in ways that it needed–and which will keep it relevant long into the 21st century.
That’s all I have to say about the “feminist” agenda with regard to Star Wars (and my use of quotes there is completely intentional), though I suspect I’ll revisit this topic briefly when we get to Leia’s Return of the Jedi costumes. I think much of the discussion on this is overblown and fails to celebrate (or negates entirely) the very positive impact Star Wars had on girls of my generation (and I suspect others).
So just enjoy it. And play with with some paper dolls!
[Click on each image to download a printable .pdf copy of each plate]
To see all Star Wars related posts and plates, click the tag or the category at right. Click the Leia Organa tag to see all of Leia’s plates (this is the first).
