At DragonCon this year, they had a life-sized plastic model of Jabba the Hutt set up in a hallway with a large lounging space in front of it, and at one point there were about two dozen women wearing Princess Leia outfits (aka “Slave Leia outfits” as she was captured by Jabba at that point in the movie) standing and sitting in front of Jabba, posing for photos as a group.
Most of the women were fairly young and fit, but this was hardly a group of supermodels. Some were middle-aged, some were overweight. But they all had a certain beauty to them, and I think this may be because, in donning the Slave Leia outfit, they were setting forth a certain vision of themselves as the hot, sexy slavegirl who is also a princess and a rebel warrior. And somehow, that vision does come across to me, both when I saw them walking the halls at DragonCon and in the pictures. A woman who wears such a costume is expressing a part of her identity, and somehow this expression works, and she takes on the luster of Slave Leia, at least to some degree, even if she doesn’t greatly resemble a young Carrie Fisher, because she’s not really young and/or she’s not really buff.
When you have two dozen women wearing such a costume together, what you have is a mass of “Slave Leia-ness” that projects a veritiable fog over observers’ brains. And I’m wondering, is the fog originating from my brain alone or is there something to my notion of a person actually being able to take on an aura of beauty with a costume? Is this why showgirls wear those elaborate outfits, signaling their beauty with costuming even though most of them are in fact beautiful in the first place?
Knowing what a cynical bunch you are, you’ll probably want a link. It’s got lots of women in a bikini-like garment, so I’m gonna make it a cut and paste job. But here’s one pic of what it looks like:
The other day, I saw a man dressed as Jack Sparrow who looked and acted -just- like him. He was incredibly hot and if I had pen and paper, I would’ve given him my number. Ok looking guys who can pull of a good Jack or Indian Jones are incredibly attractive to me.
On the flip side, as someone who would love to do a Slave Leia outfit, the cosplayer often takes on characteristics of the person they dressed up as. I know people who take this very seriously and if dressed as a character who doesn’t speak remain mute. Leia is intelligent, adventurous, and beautiful and from a series of movies I know every line to. I just need to find a hot Han Solo to pull it off with.
Lots of those women *are *beautiful. Not in a new agey “inner beauty” way, but seriously attractive, healthy weight, nice curves, etc. Just because they’re not super model hot (and a couple of them *could *model, thought not super-) doesn’t mean a hot-blooded male (or female) won’t find them attractive.
A person feeling confident is hot. Part of this is that energetic, inner radiance thing. But lots of it is pure asthetics. People who are feeling self-conscious tend to slump over, or contort themselves in odd ways to hide their self-diagnosed flaws. The only thing less attractive than a big belly is a big belly that’s pulled out of shape because someone’s trying to hide it and failing. Confident people hold themselves upright and move fluidly, without strange jerks and spasms as they remember to hold their hands over their lovehandles. Notice how the girl on the top row third from the left isn’t working. She thinks her tits are too small and she’s trying to hide them. They are small - but slouching doesn’t help matters. Compare her to the radiant girl down in the front row just to left of center of the picture. Her breasts are barely larger, but she looks fantastic! Shoulders back but relaxed makes all the difference in the world.
YOU, the viewer, think Slave Girl Leia is hot. You see the outfit itself (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) and you instantly associate that with Carrie Fisher (who was damn smokin’ in the outfit!) and 12 year old fantasies. You sincerely don’t notice the flaws in the person wearing it because you’re, to some extent, seeing Carrie Fisher in your mind’s eye.
It’s always held in Atlanta, on Labor Day. If you go to the “fan pictures” section of the Dragoncon site, you can see more pics. Here’s the Dragon site.
Wow, when I clicked the link I was expecting to see some geeky fangirl-types; the girls that the man-geeks earnestly describe in terms of their “inner beauty” (thanks for the turn of phrase WhyNot). That’s just a good-looking group of women, period. They’d be just as ogle-worthy wearing swimsuits on the beach. No fanboy context required.
Yeah, I know what you’re getting at. For me personally, being onstage in a rock band is that x-factor. A girl with a guitar and some stage presence behind the microphone will make me swoon, even if the same girl might not elicit a second glance if I just passed her on the street.
Whew, you had me worried before I saw that picture. Yes, confidence does help a person look more attractive, but there is a limit. All of these women are fine- I was half expecting a good number of them to be 300+ lbs.
I just sent the link to my husband, he’s a geek and works in an office filled with them. I figure it will brighten their day.
The girl slouching just kills me. I’m considering sending this to my sister in law who has the worst posture ever, so she can see how horrible it makes her look. I just want to walk up to that girl and punch her in the back.
I’m 38, just had my first kid, so things aren’t precisely where or how they used to be, but I do have a ton more confidence, I believe it shows. I do think that confidence can overpower what would ordinarily be mundane.
We had a friend who I thought was gorgeous for years. Then one day I realized how plain she was, I was completely shocked.
Understand that women can understand that. We once had a girl come in to apply for a job. She had the big blonde hair, the painted on lips, she did everything possible to look like Pam Anderson, even though actually she didn’t. Trust me, to the guys in the office, she was close enough. The girls thought it was funny, because the girl really, did not look like her at all, but all the guys THOUGHT she did.
Guys are easy Smoke and Mirrors works, that is why we use 'em.
I’ll look when I get home, but am I the only geek type for whom the Leia slave outfit does nothing? I was quite a bit over 12 when RotJ came out, but my impression was that Carrie was just a bit too old to pull it off. Maybe she was smart enough to see the irony, and it came through to me.
To tell you the truth, the picture in the original Star Wars poster, with her in a robe with a lot of leg, is sexier. Not in the movie, alas.
Smoke and Mirrors works, that is why we use 'em. 