Cosplaying is no easy task. From the colors to the movie-like details it takes a lot of time and work to get that cosplay just right. The good thing is that in this day of age we have the internet to help us find patterns, accessories, and even people to help build that perfect costume. But unfortunately, while the internet can be helpful it also can be harmful at the same time with people trying to tell others if they don’t think the same way they are wrong. We all have seen it, people getting upset because something wasn’t movie-accurate on a cosplay, or others telling people should not cosplay as certain characters because of size or gender. It seems like some people are not happy unless they try to take the joy from someone else.
Well, today Mark Hamill shared a tweet that not only showed the passion of a young woman named TJ that made her own X-Wing pilot costume for Halloween in 1977, but also showed how we all can learn from this in becoming trailblazers and define ourselves without others telling us what we should be!
Mark Hamill On The 1977 Costume of an X-wing pilot.
“We can learn from ALL the TJs around the world! They are the trailblazers that define themselves without regard for how others think they SHOULD be. Bravo! #SWis4EVERYONE“
We Can All Learn From The TJs Around The World
How amazing is this costume? Just think how hard it would have been back in 1977 to make this costume. She had no internet to look up designs, she just kept going to the movie took notes, and built what was in her mind. She didn’t care what others thought, she wanted to be an X-wing pilot and became one! So, do the things in life that make you happy, like TJ here. Stop worrying about what others think and do what makes you happy. Don’t give up because something is hard. Learn from it, get better, and achieve your goals.
We Want To Hear From You
What are your thoughts on this X-wing costume from TJ in 1977? What are some of the objections and encouragement you have received while building your own cosplay? That Hashtag Show wants to hear from you!
You can tell us your thoughts by leaving a comment below or hitting me up at starwarsnerd574. You can also join me at the Midwest Star Wars Fanatics fan page to chat all things Star Wars. Also, make sure to stay up to date on all the Star Wars news by following us at ThatHashtagShow.com. More importantly, be safe, I can’t wait to see you all at Celebration 2022.
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Star Wars trading cards were first produced and released by Topps in 1977 to coincide with the first Star Wars movie. There were plenty of pictures of all the characters from Star Wars. I had them before I even saw the movie. Also, there were plenty of teen magazines that had Star Wars images in them. So while her costume is impressive for 1977. It’s not like there were not reference photos available.
Dang. Captain Buzzkill to the rescue! Way to squash Luke Skyywalker’s message of empowerment in the face of adversity to young women!
Not everyone wants to be the same dear it is better to be unique put your own ideas into it
I like her costume
Right
I thought her costume was way more impressive than the storm trooper helmets my sisters and I used to make out of gallon milk jugs! Haha! Anyone else? I wish I had a picture to share with @HamillHimself. I bet he’d get a good grin out of it.
Ok boomer.
I don’t remember the trading cards coming out until empire strikes back by 79-80.
I think it’s a great costume! Homemade Halloween costumes to portray your favorite characters wasn’t as easy back in the day, believe me! I tried a homemade Rambo outfit, and it was just uh, no.
All I got was sympathy candy!
They has to be earlier because I had a Star Wars club in the gazebo of our backyard. I charged one Star Wars card for admission to neighborhood kids to enter. We moved from that house in summer of ‘79
Makes sense, truth is always good for perspective. Thanks for posting it.
Facts don’t make her costume less impressive, people! Either way, I bet she’s psyched like Marge was when Ringo Starr answered her letter 30 years later!
Very true it was great
People always have to go negative instead of positive. Looks pretty cool af to me…
Looks awesome… especially given the time period it was made and that she made it herself… remember there where no Walmart’s back then to go pick your favorite movie hero costume! Great job to her for doing what others might have thought impossible I bet she became a very successful woman! 👍👍
Hey I had to improvise Leia in the 70s and I had a heck of a time…oh to be young again
But I’m sure that would cost and so what some people don’t have access to internet today either. Everyone is different and has different circumstances. Just be more understanding of different situations
In 1977 we had not that amount of merchandise stuff we have today. Back then it was rare and expensive stuff and a real treasure. Not all had the luck to lay hands on exclusive merchandise. TJ did a great work. Back then you had to do everything by your own hands. Fans like her always kept the fandom alive. The costume is fantastic. She must have been an eye catcher everywhere.
Dude don’t be that person/geek who’s all like “well ACTUALLY, neaner neaner” lol. Just going by a crappy 2D picture BY ITSELF is SKILLS.
You guys also missed the point that in 1977 not everybody could just go and buy trading cards and magazines. That stuff was expensive! And the fact that she went to the movies all those times to take notes meant she probably was even more pressed for money. And she did her costume in a more artistic way that most people in today’s society couldn’t even begin to match. Todays kids dont really have the skills of crafting that kids had back then. Kids these days are lazy and want it now. So they use mommy and daddy’s money to buy whatever they want. So its more than just showing her adversity of being a girl in that time. She showing that she is and artist and doesn’t need fancy pictures to do what she did. So to you deasil, i say bugger off with your negativity.
Skywalker*
I was a lot younger than TJ, maybe 9, and I went for Darth Vader. I built the control panel with knobs and lights, wore black leather boots and made the cape, the whole 9 yards!
I think it’s awesome what she did. Especially the technology back then to have it looks so real
Great job
There were also the photos published in Starlog magazine to work with as well as trading card photos. I know. I built a Vader from the same sources. Her uniform is exceptionally detailed.
Hi, I’m TJ, the one in the photo. This thing goes viral a few times a year and I end up answering the same questions over and over. So here we go! Yes, I made the costume in 1977, almost entirely from sketches I made during multiple showings of the movie. My mom helped with sewing the jumpsuit, and a friend at the University of MD made the control box in the plastics lab where he worked, from my sketches. The rocker switches moved and everything! I painted the helmet (which was my own hang-gliding helmet) myself, and bashed it up on my driveway for authenticity.
As for photo references: I tried very hard to locate pictures of the X-Wing pilot suit, but aside from one Topps trading card and one very blurry picture in Starlog magazine there were no clear photos available in October 1977. Remember that this was while the movie was still playing in theaters. The action figures didn’t come out until December of that year. The comics illustrations were not screen-accurate (even if I could find them, as the only comic shop I knew of was in the next town over, and I didn’t have a driver’s license yet).
I find it hilarious how often I see my story labeled “apocryphal.” Some people (usually men) have a hard time believing it’s true. Well, it is! (And BTW, I didn’t use a flashlight in the theater … I’m not a monster. I took notes in the dark, and usually at midnight showings where my friends and I were the only ones in attendance.)
I’m glad so many people find my costume inspiring! I really need to get to work on making a new one. 😀
You are awesome TJ!! I was a 12 year old girl that was lucky enough to have a wonderful dad that took me to see Star Wars over a dozen times that summer AND sit through another showing after the credits rolled! All I did was make light sabers out of foil and cardboard wrapping paper tubes. Your costume was/is amazing!! Glad to share the universe with OG Star Wars Fangirls.
Love it when the boys/men think they own it and I usually know more SW trivia and facts than they do!
That is so awesome. I think it looks epic. I always find it amazing when someone jumps through hoops to make there visions and dreams come true… Even if it just for a Holloween costume 😉 very inspirational.
TJ —.
More power to ya.
I’m also impressed some 45 or more years after the fact that you are still involved to the point where we see your on-topic comments in 2021.
TJ, you are fantastic. I remember the times vividly. I know how hard it was to get some merchandise in 1977. There was not that variety which you have today and you had no online trader where you could order everything with a mouse click. I know it must have been hard to get pictures you could use for your purpose. I had one of the first VCRs and two friends (girls by the way) of mine asked me to make pictures with a camera from freeze frames that they had the perfect reference for their scifi costumes. Of course not that quality of pictures you have today. And with that they did some miracles of costume work. You had to be imagitive and creative as a fan in 1977. So if others telling you it is not true or say other bad things, don’t listen to them. You did an awesome job. Always keep in mind. The one and only Jedi Master himself gave you credit for your costume.
It was awesome in a year of awesomeness girl 👏🌹
Yes that’s what you should do! I’m at the point to build a Star Wars Costume out of EVA Foam just for Fun – not for Cosplay.
I’m not sure yet what to build: Stormtrooper / Sandtrooper / Snowtrooper /AT-AT Driver / TIE-Pilot / Boba Fett /Tusken Raider, even X-Wing Pilot or maybe Boushh…
Now it’s great to see Screen accurate Pictures and Databases on the WWW, but i think that Organisations like the 501st Legion are frightening sometimes the “normal builders and crafters” with their Rules how this and that has to be done…
What i’m triyng to say: be true to yourself – make your thing, and do it the best way possible!!!
Greetings from Germany – Marius
I would have loved to see her in that in person. I saw the movie 19 times when it first came out, and I’m still a big fan. Major kudos on the costume! She’s obviously very talented.
I think we need to get this in front of someone Adam Savage or one of the cosplay folks out in the world. Let’s get them to work and collaborate with TJ on a brand new suit!
This is better than the Vader mask I made at 10 and 47. Lol
That costume is Amazing for that year and even an Amazing costume for 2021!!! TJ you did one helluva job!!! You should have been a costume designer in the movie biz!!!
Honestly, anyone who thinks that Star Wars is for boys only is a complete idiot. If a girl wants to dress up as Luke Skywalker or Han Solo, go for it! If a girl wants to dress up as Palpatine or Padme or any other characters, hey go nuts! No one is in ANY position to say which gender Star Wars belongs to.
I love the costume! It is amazing! Growing up in the STAR WARS universe at that same time frame saved me from bullies at the time; kept me believing. I wore my black pants with my black vest and boots every time I could.
I love it. The time spent making the costume seems so minor seeing as how it still draws a crowd 43+ years later. But it was no easy feat. For those who bash her for this or see it as an opportunity to try to squash her efforts… look at yourself and ask yourself this… what have you ever done that has been a passion of yours that will take the world by storm 40 years after doing it? If your answer is looking for humor or unable to answer… then you should not be posting negative comments about anything at any time, for any reason. Ever.
I was only 14 when “Star Wars” premiered. If I had met TJ at the time, I probably would have instantly developed a big crush on her. Not only was she pretty, she obviously had skills and the courage to be what she wanted to be. I was an instant Han Solo fan and wanted to cosplay, but I was overweight and felt that I would be made fun of or picked on if I showed up dressed like Han. You may think I was stupid/silly for thinking that, but that is exactly what happened to an overweight friend of mine who dressed up as Luke Skywalker (Tatooine outfit). Although it was obviously not her intention to become an inspiration to others, she has done exactly that. I hope she has had a wonderful life. TJ, if you are reading this, I thank you for being you. If you do make a new costume, I hope I get to see a photo of you in it. Take care and stay safe.
Hell yeah. Tj.
Now, if we could just get all of the Deasils of the world to shut up, sit down, and let the adults talk…
I think TJ did an awesome job, and it never even occurred to me that TJ being a female should be an issue. Yeah, sure, I grew up in the generation of “Boys don’t cry”, and “OH, you broke your leg? Well, walk it off, Sport!” Even despite the societal conditioning, my sense of wrong and right superceded that conditioning, to the point where if someone said, “Girls can’t do this, or be that.”, I would ask, “Why? Just because some rich, old dude said so? Well, to hell with them, aight?”
Deasil somehow reminds me of my ex girlfriend. She always had this burning need to be “right” about things. This burning need to “correct” others. As if to say, “Aha! I KNOW something, and I am going to prove the rest of the world WRONG at ANY cost!” The cost to my ex girlfriend for that mentality was our relationship, because I wasn’t putting up with that kind of crap out of her, and I don’t put up with it out of anyone else either. I’ll always step up and call someone out for that kind of BS.
TJ, if you do make a new costume, please post it, and don’t even pay attention to the haters. Haters hate, because their own lives suck. The old adage about misery loving company comes to mind. People like Deasil can suck it.
So very impressive that a girl that age could have gotten something like that so right it’s all about the imagination the Mind detail and someone who just wants to look like the character it doesn’t take much when you see something that you really want and then you just make something that’s close in your mind how about that imagination
I made and wore an Obi Wan Kenobi costume that year. Thought the dark cloak was great, no winter coat to ruin the costume. Made my own lightsaber out of wood scrap dowels with silver and black paint, the glitter not such a great idea in retrospect, but wanted it to shine in the light at night. No beard necessary, everyone knew what costume was meant to represent! Had a great time making and wearing it.