Cosplay Tutorial: Empire Strikes Back Bespin Han Solo Costume
[Photo taken at the San Jose Tech Museum: Where Science Meets Imagination Star Wars exhibit]
To be honest, the thought hadn’t even crossed my mind to make another Han Solo cosplay. But on a 4 hour road trip home, I suddenly had the urge to want to re-make my original Han holster and with that, I figured why not make a new costume to go with it? I ended up doing a lot of research on this since unlike A New Hope, Han has a few more costumes in the Empire Strikes Back film and he only wears the Bespin outfit for a portion of the movie – at least until he gets frozen in carbonite. Reference photos are key and luckily I found a few great ones like the ones below. I also combed through a bunch of forums to get some ideas of how other people were making the shirt and jacket.
Besides the obvious flap on the shirt, one of the key things people noticed in terms of movie accuracy is that the shirt has an extra “divide” on the belly (see 3rd photo for best angle). Other than that, it’s a pretty standard half collar shirt.
The Shirt
Even though Star Wars is in a galaxy far, far away, it looks like Han’s shirt is very much circa 1981 and luckily people around that time were wearing and making shirts very similar to the one he wears on Bespin. You can actually find a near exact pattern of his shirt on eBay here (if you get lucky) and this is probably your best bet unless you want to make the pattern yourself. With pattern in hand, I modified it to my size, added some extra details (such as the extra piece he has in the belly area) and also added some snaps in the interior of the “flap” so that everything stayed in place. As for the fabric, I made sure to use a beige colored light weight cotton that looked slightly lived in.
The Jacket
Luckily Han’s jacket is not too different than his vest in ANH – lots of pockets, similar material, and most importantly, not too far off a jacket you might see today. Finding a pattern was easy and I went with this one. I chose a heavy weight navy material and modified the pattern to add what felt like tons of flap pockets – 4 in the front, one on the left upper arm, and one large one in the back.
So many damn pockets! :(
Don’t forget the pocket on the arm!
Well, that’s it for the shirt and jacket! I’ll definitely be wearing this at least 1 day at Wondercon 2014 so definitely say “hi” if you see me!
27 Comments
Kelsey
This is awesome! Thanks for including links to the patterns. It’s definitely a dream of mine to gender-bend cosplay as Han :) The costume looks great!
emilyo
thanks!
Katie
This is so cool! The attention to detail is great; you’re an amazingly talented lady. I love reading your posts, they always make my day happier. :)
Katie
Jason Miller
What material did you use for the jacket?
emilyo
It’s a weighted material – sort of like khaki. You can usually find it in the fabric store in the “suiting” section. Hope that helps!
Ion Racer
Is that an actual big pocket on the back of the jacket?
Ion Racer
I’m sorry, i’m retarded, i dint read this with m y glasses on….sorry!
emilyo
That’s ok! But yes, it is! It’s very similar to the ANH vest he wears too.
Ion Racer
Ah, i c, thanks again for posting this stuff. You’re awesome and have some righteous sewing skills!!
emilyo
Thanks!
Ion
So i finally finished my costume. I ended up going with A New Hope han solo because i just couldnt find a shirt or anyone who could sew me one. I was running out of time cause halloween is here now and i’ll post some pictures or send u some if u like…
emilyo
I’d love to see! Feel free to message or share on my FB page!
Anonymous
Hello again, so i’m re-doing my blaster holster and i’ve got the flap/shirt pattern and the falcon jacket pattern. I’m having a local tailor shop do the work for me but i’m still sort of in the dark about the extra belly piece? I dont know what to tell my tailor. Could u please help me with that detail? Also i’ll post some pics of my newly “minted” buckles for u too see on ur facebook tommorow! Thanks again!!
Ion
emilyo
Hm, I guess the best way I can explain it is that it’s more like a women’s wrap top versus a regular button down shirt. The two pieces should be a little bit wider and overlapping. He can also put some snap buttons inside so the two pieces stay together. Hope that helps!
Anonymous
I dont think my fb messages to u r goin through….i’d be happy to make u some buckles but was wondering if u’d be up for a trade instead maybe?
london lobot
Hey… your han costume is cool and its all thanks to your hard work, i would love one myself , but i doubt i would look as fabulous. Well done…. Best regards from london too
Rob
WOW! Not only is it refreshing to see people make their own Han Solo costumes, but incredibly cool to see women wearing them. Yep, you rocked BOTH of your Solo costumes!
I remember making my first “real” Solo costume 20 years ag, then upgrading a few years later. I moved on to classic Battlestar Galactica Colonial Warrior costumes, but your hard work and end results have pushed me to pull out the old Solo costumes and make modifications.
As a result, I’ll be doing a May The Fourth event today as Han.
I’m really more of a prop guy, so If you ever need help with blasters, Droid callers, lightsabers, etc–please let me know.
emilyo
Wow, that’s awesome! I may take up your offer on it! I still need to fix my Droid caller actually!
Tyler
Do these patterns work for men as well?
emilyo
The pattern is a men’s pattern actually.
Skrdekprdek
Nice work…i would love to make my own jacket, but the pattern you used is unfortunately sold out. Do you some other tips or could you somehow provide it to me?
emilyo
There’s always a pattern for a jacket that will be similar. That’s exactly what I did b/c nothing is going to be exact. Just try to find a basic jacket pattern and modify it. Good luck!
Sarah
Awesome work! Just wondering if your jacket is lined? I’ve got a jacket pattern but it says nothing about lining and I just want it to have a sturdy and polished look like yours. Thanks.
emilyo
It’s not fully lined, but the edges are done in a way that you don’t necessarily need lining. Usually the pattern includes those pieces (forgot what they’re called)
Topcelebs Jackets
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JBBrickman
No fare! I wish I knew how to sew
albert sinclair
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