Review: Dressing A Galaxy

While I’m not the biggest book geek in Club Jade, I am the biggest Star Wars book collector. So there was no way for me to resist getting the ultra-pricey limited edition version of Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars by Trisha Biggar.

You can get just the book for $50 (suggested retail). And that $50? Totally worth it; even at full price.

This book is lucious. Big, full-page pictures of a huge chunk of the costumes used in Star Wars. Close-ups of the fabrics and key decorations. Peppered with quotes from the actors and artists, it’s a really interesting read. You do have to search a little for costume-designer specifics (like the types of fabric, etc), but it’s just so neat to sit and enjoy.

But then there is the pricey version. The one they started selling for $175 and then upped to $295? Let’s just say that it’s an experience!

It arrived last night in a HUGE box! The Amazon box had to be 2 feet by 4 feet. Monstrous. Inside that was lots of bubble wrap and another cardboard box that was 2 feet by 4 feet.

Inside THAT one was a white cardboard box. The outside had a big sticker (about 8×10?) of the cover art. So you open up the flap of the white cardboard box and finally get to:

The box set!

The box, itself, is covered in a grey silk weave. It’s bound with a gold embroidered cloth that looks very much like a belt for kimono. Gorgeous!

When you unlatch that and open up the box, there’s the DVD, Wookiee belt buckle, a piece of cloth from a bolt used for an actual costume (I got Darth Vader) and a Certificate of Authenticity. Opened up? That sucker spreads across half my dining room table.

On the other side, there’s a box built to hold in the book (the same one you can buy on its own for $50) with a red-silk tab to pull out that book to get to the supplement (which is only available in this version).

The DVD is a collection of old and new costuming documentaries. Very intriguing. And it manages to make you even more impressed with the costumers’ abilities than you were before you even started.

My final assessment? Totally worth the investment. The $295 price tag is definitely not for everyone (and I’m still not quite convinced it needed to be priced quite that high). But the $50 book can be swung if you play your cards right for the holidays.

A big ol’ Gungan thumb up for this one!

ETA: Upon closer inspection of the actual book “Dressing a Galaxy” that’s contained in the limited edition, it has been discovered that it’s filled with inserts not contained in the “just the book” version. So yet another reason to hand over the cash for the limited edition.