Makeshift Unorthodox Costume (In Progress)

[SirLiftaLot]

Hi everyone, I'm brand new here. Waiting on my first saber (Sentinel V4 Staff), but since Halloween has just past, and there was nothing going on for me, I figured it would be a good chance to try to see if I could throw together a halfway decent Star Wars inspired costume.

Luckily I already have a pair of red LED nunchucks (which is what lead me down the path to getting a saber), so I figured, hey, it's a martial arts weapon made out of aluminum and polycarbonate that lights up, that's close enough.

So I took that, and started Googling some Star Wars cosplay, stock photos, fan art, etc. Turns out full Jedi robes can be pretty pricey, and I have no skill at making them myself, so it was time to improvise. I've always been a fan of Gray/Grey Jedi (is one spelling objectively correct here?), and the nunchucks I have are red, so I figured something darker would make sense, so shades of grey and black, not the traditional Jedi colors.

Anyway, I had a pair of black/gray Thai fisherman pants I bought for cheap a while ago, and a long-sleeve black turtleneck compression shirt. From there, I figured I needed SOME sort of robe or whatever, so I bought a relatively cheap lightweight men's grey long cardigan/overcoat, and cut off the sleeves, to kind of look like a low effort version of the guy in the center of this image I found online:



Where it looks like there's a relatively form-fitting black shirt under a grey robe. I have no idea how the robe overlapped and whatnot like in that photo, so I opted to just keep it open, like this photo I also found randomly online:



Then I need an obi sash or whatever it's called, both to keep the robe in place, a well as to function as a belt and eventually hold the lightsaber (or the, what should I call the, saberchucks?). I didn't have anything that fit the bill, but I did have a black and red dip/pullup weight belt that conveniently has two clips on the front that hold the nunchucks, and can hold two pairs if I ever decide to pick up another pair. It's far from perfect, but for a makeshift work in progress, it was sufficient, and the price (I already had it) was right.





Link to some practice with the nunchucks:
https://i.imgur.com/TVBcn25.mp4

Room for Improvement Going Forward:

>Some form of gloves/gauntlets/wraps would be nice I think.
> An actual obi sash belt or whatever it is called would maybe be optimal? Or at the least I could cover the logo on the belt haha
>Cover the Nike logo on the shoulder of the compression shirt. I actually think the logo/symbol on the neck looks Star Wars like enough to keep though.

>Get the actual Sentinel V4 Staff I'm waiting on!

Any thoughts? Feedback? Criticism? Room for improvement or changes?

Thanks!

On a side note, how could saberchucks actually work in the Star Wars universe? I suppose you could have gloves/gauntlets made out a material that can withstand grabbing the blade? But even then, a lot of nunchuck movements involve wrapping the chucks around the body to control and redirect momentum. So that wouldn't really work. Maybe something that's not actually a lightsaber, like what the MagnaGuards used, the Electrostaff? It appears to me, and correct me if I'm wrong, that, unlike a lightsaber where the length of the blade retracts when not used, the "electro" part of the electrostaff doesn't actually retract, but simply becomes "electrified" when activated? So applying this same logic to nunchucks, maybe a skilled force user could strategically turn on and off each side of the electro-chucks as it leaves their hand and body to strike, ensuring that they never end up grabbing the electrified part, while still allowing them to be able to grab either end or wrap it around their body as needed. This would also work better than a lightsaber for the particular pair of chucks I have where the LED parts don't extend all the way to the end, but only in the middle portion. I can head-cannon that it's just that part being charged, not a blade retracting and extending like a lightsaber. Granted, I do not have the ability to turn on and off the lights while using them, but I guess people using the lightsabers also don't have the ability to retract and extend them at will either, so nobody is perfect. And sorry for the rant.

[Zren Tobas]

Not bad Could use some clearer pics though. As for an inexpensive robe, can't go wrong with JediRobeAmerica, I have their dark brown robe but they also have a black robe as well =]

[SirLiftaLot]

Not bad Could use some clearer pics though. As for an inexpensive robe, can't go wrong with JediRobeAmerica, I have their dark brown robe but they also have a black robe as well =]

Sorry about the bad image quality. It was just the self-facing camera on my phone. If/when I make further improvements and/or get the actual saber I'm waiting on, I will at the least turn the phone around to use the less-worse camera. My bad.

Thank you for the robe suggestion! I'll definitely check them out.

[Saso Is-kor]

Looks really nice, definitely one of the better outfits and it doesn't at all look like you just threw it together so that's a huge plus. I think it's the style that you have going on but I immediately thought that arm wraps would be an excellent addition or maybe something resembling gauntlets. Wraps are easier because essentially it's just a long piece of fabric but you can play around with it some to add a bit of flare. A great start, keep us updated with pics!

[SirLiftaLot]

Thanks! I was thinking grey arm wraps too. I don't want big bulky gloves, as that could potentially interfere with my ability to properly use the nunuchucks.

I have been looking at just some grey canvas arm wraps, which should only run me $10-15 or so.

Alternatively, I've also been eying the Century martial arts forearm armor:



Or their forearm/elbow armor:



Which would even help save my elbows from stray nunchuck misses haha.

Their forearm and hand armor is awesome looking too, but I'm not sure if the hand padding would interfere with some spins:



Those options run $30-40 instead of $10-15 though.

Edit: and I guess if I did go with just the canvas arm wraps, or any of the non-hand arm armor, I could pick up some boxing hand wraps for around $7. Maybe they even have longer handwraps that can also serve as the arm wraps, to kill two birds with one stone.

Edit 2: so I had an old set of white boxing hand wraps, and they do not interfere with the spinning at all. So I could either run black hand wraps and black forearm wraps, or black and wraps and grey forearm wraps, or any color combination of grey and black. Or black hand wraps with the black Century arm/elbow armor. I think handwraps may look more finished than open/plain hands, even with the forearm wraps/guards.

[Saso Is-kor]

Those look very interesting, might be really easy to modify those pads to look like armor with some craft foam if you are in a crafty kind of mood. I guess when I said "gauntlet" I should have specified the part from the wrist towards the elbow and not the actual hand (which I'm sure is called something but my medieval nomenclature is not exactly up to par.)

[SirLiftaLot]

Those look very interesting, might be really easy to modify those pads to look like armor with some craft foam if you are in a crafty kind of mood. I guess when I said "gauntlet" I should have specified the part from the wrist towards the elbow and not the actual hand (which I'm sure is called something but my medieval nomenclature is not exactly up to par.)

You're right I think. The gauntlet is just from the wrist to the forearm I think. I was just showing some options. And I'm not sure if I want to just run the forearm pads/armor/wrap with nothing on the hands, or if I want to run some handwraps with whatever I go with.

Unfortunately I have not experience with craft foam. I did quickly use the old white hand wraps I had to make a hand wrap and then a forearm wrap over the black compression shirt, just to see what it'd look like. I can always run black or grey handwrap with black or grey arm wrap or black armor/pad/gauntlet/etc.

This is what it looks like thrown on real quickly. I wouldn't go with white with the grey/black colors I have, but it's all I had laying around to check:




I may just end up leaving the hands open with no wrap and just going with whatever forearm option I decide on though. Thoughts?

[Saso Is-kor]

It looks pretty cool. Traditionally I think wraps tend to start at the wrist and go to around the elbow (the Rey look), I don't think I've ever seen them around individual fingers. I'd imagine that would compromise your finger range of movement somewhat. Yeah white may not go to well with the costume but you've got options on that. A lot of costumes are put together the method you're using of finding things that work and putting them together. It's a pretty good method.

[SirLiftaLot]

It looks pretty cool. Traditionally I think wraps tend to start at the wrist and go to around the elbow (the Rey look), I don't think I've ever seen them around individual fingers. I'd imagine that would compromise your finger range of movement somewhat. Yeah white may not go to well with the costume but you've got options on that. A lot of costumes are put together the method you're using of finding things that work and putting them together. It's a pretty good method.

Thanks. What you say makes sense. The hand wraps around the fingers aren't particularly restrictive IME. Some/most MMA fighters wear them under their gloves (as do most/all boxers) wrapped around the fingers, and they do plenty of grabbing and grappling, etc. I was able to do all the spins just fine with the nunchucks and the handwraps around the fingers, but I would want to make sure the material isn't at all slippery/slick, as I could see that making it hard to get a firm grip on the chucks. I guess the jury is still out on the handwraps for now.

I see what you're saying about the Rey-style arm wraps. I guess I was looking more at the Medieval style arm wraps that seem to go from wrist to just short of the elbow, stopping short of covering the elbow:




Or like you'd see associated with Shaolin monks:



Or, for lack of a real-life picture, around the hands up to the top of the forearm like Rock Lee from Naruto:

[mrg149]

is the long cardigan you use the coofandy one on amazon, ali express or wish? I was looking at that for my own costume purposes in the same way…

[SirLiftaLot]

is the long cardigan you use the coofandy one on amazon, ali express or wish? I was looking at that for my own costume purposes in the same way…

It is the Coofandy one on Amazon. I ordered the grey one in large. I'm ~5'-10" for reference. I think it's a good size for me. I sort of made the mistake of cutting one of the sleeves off partially inside the seam, which means the armhole is slightly larger on one arm than on the other, but it's not the end of the world, and it's not like a Jedi's outfit isn't susceptible to wear and tear over time. I definitely can't complain for the price ($31 with free Prime shipping).

[SirLiftaLot]

So to eventually replace my dip/pullup lifting belt (it works, but it's not 100% secured in the front, and I think it's a little bit too bulky/padded, I want to try to replicate the belt the Grey Jedi in the center has:



So I'm thinking of getting a 1.5" belt (like the one shown below) that is at least designed to be a tactical belt, so should be study enough to hold a saber/chucks without sagging too much (I'm not expecting a true duty/carry quality belt for $15 though, but it should be better than your typical cheap nylon I'd imagine):



And then knocking off/out the center clip, and replacing it with a ~2" circular silver carabiner (not necessarily shown at the proper size below):


And then maybe 2 smallish pouches, perhaps one to hold my phone and one to hold my wallet:



So I'm looking at $15 for the belt $20 for 2 pouches, and $5-10 for the carabiner, so $40-45 for what should be a fairly sturdy functional belt with 2 functional pouches. Then I guess to complete the look I need a regular grey Obi sash thing to go behind it like in the image, which I see any number of for ~$15 on Etsy, so ~$60 when all is said and done for something to try to be unique and replicate a look while still hopefully being functional.

[Saso Is-kor]

That's all solid stuff and looks like it'll work fine. I'm biting my tongue to not tell you to make the belt and pouches yourself out of craft foam and such because you mentioned you hadn't used it before.    If at some point you want to expand out I even have a tutorial link for the pouches in my signature (forgive me the shameless plug.) 

[SirLiftaLot]

That's all solid stuff and looks like it'll work fine. I'm biting my tongue to not tell you to make the belt and pouches yourself out of craft foam and such because you mentioned you hadn't used it before.    If at some point you want to expand out I even have a tutorial link for the pouches in my signature (forgive me the shameless plug.) 

I will check out your tutorial for sure! Nothing shameless about providing resources to help out and give ideas! What exactly is the benefit of making the belt and pouches out of craft foam and stuff, besides further options for exact customization I'd assume? Is it substantially cheaper, especially once you start making multiple pieces? Supposed reviews for that belt claim it is stiff/durable enough to handle EDC type use, so should hopefully be more than sturdy enough to handle holding a lightsaber, and maybe even a phone and wallet haha.

Edit: OK, the pouches you show look super nice, so I guess that's one benefit over buying the generic ones that probably don't look so custom/slick.

[Saso Is-kor]

I will check out your tutorial for sure! Nothing shameless about providing resources to help out and give ideas! What exactly is the benefit of making the belt and pouches out of craft foam and stuff, besides further options for exact customization I'd assume? Is it substantially cheaper, especially once you start making multiple pieces? Supposed reviews for that belt claim it is stiff/durable enough to handle EDC type use, so should hopefully be more than sturdy enough to handle holding a lightsaber, and maybe even a phone and wallet haha.

Edit: OK, the pouches you show look super nice, so I guess that's one benefit over buying the generic ones that probably don't look so custom/slick.

Oh yeah, that belt and pouches should hold pretty much anything you throw on it/into them. If my craft foam/vinyl belts could withstand a saber and all sorts of crap then I have no doubt that tactical belt will work fine. It's designed for much heavier items after all.

Yeah the ability to create something specific to your costume is super appealing for a lot of costumers, the low cost is also a huge deal. To pick an example, all of the Jedi belts I've made cost something like $6 each for all the materials involved, even cheaper for the pouches. The thing with a lot of Jedi costume pieces is that in order to make something look really nice you typically have to spend quite a few pretty pennies in order to achieve that. I figured there had to be an inexpensive way to make items that also looked solid and realistic, and so that's what those tutorials were born out of. Haven't made a tutorial for a belt yet but that's on the to-do list.