Iakona
New Member
Since its opening in 2019, there has been one rule at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: NO COSPLAY. That means you cannot fully dress up as your favorite Star Wars character. Their rules are expressly as follows:
However, what they offer instead, is what is known as “Bantu Bounding.” For bounding there is a list of a permitted attire:
So, cosplay and costumes are entirely out of the question. There are, however, several loopholes and workarounds in those rules that allow one to cosplay without cosplaying. With this knowledge, lets put together a Batuu Bounding outfit.
Now, in the official rules, it is stated that a Batu Bounding outfit can be inspired by, or pay tribute, to a Star Wars character. For my Bantu Bound, I have chosen the old Expanded Universe as my inspiration. Specifically, I have picked out the character Mace Towani from Caravan Of Courage as my template.
Vest:
The first part of my outfit is the vest. In Star Wars, vests are worn by almost everyone. Han Solo wore a vest in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker wore a vest on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back and also wore a tactical-style vest during the Shadows Of The Empire story. Smuggler Dash Rendar wore vest-like armor with padded shoulders.
For my vest, I bought an olive-colored Goodfellow & Co. vest from Target for $24. The vest is flimsy and very light. It only has two pockets and is quilted.
Jumpsuit:
The next part of the outfit is the speedsuit/jumpsuit. In Star Wars, jumpsuits seem to be the go-to clothing for Rebels, Imperials, and Civilians alike. And why not? One piece and easy to slip in and out of. In the Original Trilogy, a number of Rebel pilots and personnel wore jumpsuits, as did Imperial pilots. Civilians, like Cloud City’s Willrow Hood (aka Ice Cream Man) also wore jumpsuits. In the Expanded Universe, jumpsuits were worn by almost everyone, at least during the 80s and 90s. Such examples include the Junior Jedi Knight and Galaxy Of Fear books and the cast members of Star Tours.
Now, the rules for Bantu Bounding say military-style attire is not permitted. However, they do not say anything about industrial attire, such as speedsuits. For this reason, I have bought an orange industrial speedsuit by Red Kap. Purchased on Amazon for $31, this speedsuit is made of a cotton and polyester mix and has pocket configurations similar to normal shirts and pants.
Boots:
Boots are worn by virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, in our universe, boots are not as fashionable for men as they used to be and thus are hard to come by especially mid-calf boots. The shoe company Po-Zu used to make licensed Star Wars-style boots for men, and they even made boots and shoes for the Sequel Trilogy, but they lost the Star Wars license in 2020. Thankfully, Rainbow Sandals makes an Ugg-style boot for men called “Baja Boots.” I bought mine for $80 on Amazon. Unfortunately, they only have sizes 12 and above, but it works out for me since I’m already in between size 11.5 and 12. Plus, since they’re by Rainbow, they have arch support built into them.
And here’s a look at progress so far:
Stay tuned for updates.
- No robes or military-style attire.
- No masks, face paint, elaborate headwear, blasters or holsters (lightsabers are allowed) or hard items such as body armor, helmets or kneepads.
- No full character suits.
However, what they offer instead, is what is known as “Bantu Bounding.” For bounding there is a list of a permitted attire:
- Bounding: piecing together traditional clothing items that when worn together, serve as a recognizable tribute to Star Wars characters
- Batuuan attire: wearing outfits inspired by the villagers of Batuu—muted tones, vests, layers, etc.
So, cosplay and costumes are entirely out of the question. There are, however, several loopholes and workarounds in those rules that allow one to cosplay without cosplaying. With this knowledge, lets put together a Batuu Bounding outfit.
Now, in the official rules, it is stated that a Batu Bounding outfit can be inspired by, or pay tribute, to a Star Wars character. For my Bantu Bound, I have chosen the old Expanded Universe as my inspiration. Specifically, I have picked out the character Mace Towani from Caravan Of Courage as my template.
Vest:
The first part of my outfit is the vest. In Star Wars, vests are worn by almost everyone. Han Solo wore a vest in A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Luke Skywalker wore a vest on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back and also wore a tactical-style vest during the Shadows Of The Empire story. Smuggler Dash Rendar wore vest-like armor with padded shoulders.
For my vest, I bought an olive-colored Goodfellow & Co. vest from Target for $24. The vest is flimsy and very light. It only has two pockets and is quilted.
Jumpsuit:
The next part of the outfit is the speedsuit/jumpsuit. In Star Wars, jumpsuits seem to be the go-to clothing for Rebels, Imperials, and Civilians alike. And why not? One piece and easy to slip in and out of. In the Original Trilogy, a number of Rebel pilots and personnel wore jumpsuits, as did Imperial pilots. Civilians, like Cloud City’s Willrow Hood (aka Ice Cream Man) also wore jumpsuits. In the Expanded Universe, jumpsuits were worn by almost everyone, at least during the 80s and 90s. Such examples include the Junior Jedi Knight and Galaxy Of Fear books and the cast members of Star Tours.
Now, the rules for Bantu Bounding say military-style attire is not permitted. However, they do not say anything about industrial attire, such as speedsuits. For this reason, I have bought an orange industrial speedsuit by Red Kap. Purchased on Amazon for $31, this speedsuit is made of a cotton and polyester mix and has pocket configurations similar to normal shirts and pants.
Boots:
Boots are worn by virtually everyone in the Star Wars universe. Unfortunately, in our universe, boots are not as fashionable for men as they used to be and thus are hard to come by especially mid-calf boots. The shoe company Po-Zu used to make licensed Star Wars-style boots for men, and they even made boots and shoes for the Sequel Trilogy, but they lost the Star Wars license in 2020. Thankfully, Rainbow Sandals makes an Ugg-style boot for men called “Baja Boots.” I bought mine for $80 on Amazon. Unfortunately, they only have sizes 12 and above, but it works out for me since I’m already in between size 11.5 and 12. Plus, since they’re by Rainbow, they have arch support built into them.
And here’s a look at progress so far:
Stay tuned for updates.
