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December 2017 premiered one of my favourite Star Wars films to date (more on that later. I’ll be doing a video with a friend on this particularly controversial statement). I had no intention of doing another Rey cosplay, but I loved The Last Jedi so much that I knew I had to pay tribute to it in some manner.
I sat on the idea for a while as summertime Georgia doesn’t lend well to Skellig Island-esque views. But an opportunity presented itself in the form of a cross-country trip to the mountainous misty regions of the Pacific Northwest. What a perfect location to mimic Ahch-to, right?! Well, so I thought…alas, due to me being relegated to a tight cruise schedule and ever-changing weather, I was not able to do a photoshoot with the outfit I had put together specially for the occasion.
I was devastated.
I had excitedly told followers this shoot was happening as well as folks I had bought pieces from. I wasn’t able to hold up my end and so I sat on the outfit for months. But all was not lost. In a rare sequence of events, everything lined up just right to the epic pictures that follow.
While I was still feeling bummed out, I knew I still had to shoot the outfit. So, I approached one of my favourite photographers, Michael Rivera (who did my Bride of Frankenstein shoot, Spider-girl, etc.) to try to figure out how to shoot this look with the less-than-ideal locations we had locally. We decided on Stone Mountain and hoped for the best. Little did I know what was waiting for us at the shooting location…
We arrived at Stone Mountain on a quiet grey day and were greeted with the most stunning fog. I was beside myself with joy! While it didn’t necessarily look like coastal Skellig Island, fog always makes for interesting pictures.
Truth be told, grey days have never been my favourite – those sullen days devoid of colour, of happy light, and lacking warmth. Being a creature that seems mainly solar powered, rainy days usually worsen my depression and keep me chained with lethargy away from being productive. I loathed rainy days.
That is, until recently.
Thanks to a combination of shows like Outlander and Game of Thrones, with their ethereal locations to dreamily sighing over beautiful misty aesthetics on social media, and finally my own trip last year through the snow-laden Rockies and glacier covered Alaska, I have come to love misty days. There’s something truly fantastical about them; the way fog descends onto the treetops and eerily kisses the ground.
Now that the epicness has been addressed, let’s rewind to the outfit, shall we?
Rather than doing a full cosplay, I decided to go the ‘inspired-by’ fashion route. (Of course, once I put the pieces together I realized it looked like a cosplay and not an everyday outfit. Ah well…Rey closet cosplay!) I bought the vest and fingerless gloves from Elhoffer Design‘s first run of the Galactic Scavenger Sweater (she has a cropped version up now). The material is incredibly soft and fits me like a glove!
I purchased the shirt off Amazon from a lovely lady with her own clothing line. The hunt for pants was a bit frustrating as I had terrible luck finding anything remotely like brown capris at the time. Thankfully, my friend Kayla came to the rescue and gave me her old Rey pants as she worked on a new pair. Coupled with my Rey belt from 2 Player Game Cosplay and Props, scavenger bag donated by another friend, and the amazing 3D printed staff from The Helpful Nerd, the look completely came together!
Last but certainly not least are my beloved Po-Zu boots. I was blessed to be among the first to get the Piper brown boots when some of us steely-eyed cosplayers discovered the boots from this small London shoe company. They’ve gone on to get a license with Disney and have a whole line of new Star Wars footwear! I’m so happy for them! They certainly deserve it with their wonderful customer service and did I mention RIDICULOUSLY comfy shoes? Wearing my Rey boots are like walking on clouds (memory foam insoles are the best!). They’re made of all sustainable materials – tweed, cork, natural rubber, and coconut fibre. I can’t recommend them enough.
May the Fourth be with you!
Photograph: Michael Rivera
Hair: Gina Rivera (because I’m HORRIBLE at those stupid buns…)
Vest & Gloves: Elhoffer Design
Top: Amazon – Ooh La La
Cape: Elhoffer Design
Pants: Elendriel
Belt: 2 Player Game Cosplay and Props
Bag: Gifted
Shoes: Po-zu
Staff: The Helpful Nerd
Photography: 
Sometimes one has to go through a painstaking process of custom building a piece for a cosplay or outfit, shelling out more money then we really care to admit. Other times, we get lucky. Really really lucky. I found myself in the latter group last night as I watched Laura Dern as Vice Admiral Holdo glide across the screen in a slinky, but regal mauve number. Suddenly a closeup of her arm appeared and I audibly squealed. I recognized the bracelet. I have the EXACT SAME ONE. I bought it in 2012 from Forever 21 for my 
But lucky for you guys, it appears the same cuff bracelet is being sold right now! Below are links to where I could find it. (I’m including multiple things as I know how us cosplayers can get. We find a screen accurate item and snatch it up faster than you can blink!) Now it’s gold, so you’ll have to get crafty and paint them to match Admiral Holdo’s. But it certainly beats making it from scratch. Good luck and happy cosplaying!
Behold Loungefly’s 
The Rebel Alliance metal plaques on the front and tab appear to be made out of a metal that in some lights looks silver and others, gold. (So it will go with both your cool and warm tone outfits!)
I was pleased to see that this bag is a medium size, approximately 13 inches wide by 10 inches high by 5.75 inches deep. It feels not too small nor too big, but just right. It can be carried by the handles by hand or at the elbow. Thankfully, it also has a removeable shoulder strap (I’m definitely a shoulder strap bag kind of gal) so there are multiple ways to wear this bag to your personal comfort level.
Fun Fact: The faux leather material this bag is made out of is known as “Saffiano” leather. The name refers to the crosshatch pattern that was pressed into the wax that coated the leather. It originated from a particular tannery in Italy and was an exclusive patent of Prada, but has now spread to many different countries and design houses. So this faux leather version is wonderful nod to those luxury lines.
My only gripe with this bag comes with the interior design. The top is an open one, with one half-loop tab that magnetically clicks into place. This neither protects from the elements or makes the bag easy to get into as the tab hangs in a rather awkward space. Granted, this may be because I’m not used to this sort of closure, but from my purely subjective standpoint, I would’ve rather had a simple zipper to open and close the entire top.
The interior is divided into two sections with pockets on either side with a beautiful art deco X-Wing pattern (Another bonus for me as the X-Wing Starfighter is my favourite sci-fi spacecraft). The front has a convenient open pocket to slide your phone into while the back has a zippered pocket for any valuables. I have not yet tested the limits of how much can be put into the purse, but it’s perfectly suited for my minimalistic needs (although it does fit an 
Currently, the bag retails at $70 USD, though Amazon has had some sales on it, but be quick! This bag has sold out once already (looks to be selling out fast again)! So keep checking back daily on the links below. Here’s where you can purchase it: