Customer Reviews

Dressing a Galaxy: The Costume of Star Wars

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The whole packaging of the book is exquisite. The cover is fabric, and an elegant fabric strap allows you access to the contents. Inside the contents are split into two sections - the special inserts - a replica of one of the wookie belt buckles, a certificate of authenticity, a dvd on the costumes - and a piece of Darth Vader's cape material. The real deal. There's something that awes you, as a life-long fan, to touch that. It's touching something from a galaxy far, far away.

The actual book inside is also a work of art, well worth the price without the special features, and is located in an inset on the other side of the larger package book. I am blessed with a generous husband - my copy is signed, # 274, by Trisha Biggar herself, the woman who is responsible for the Prequel Trilogy costumes. But this doesn't just cover those. This anthology covers all costumes, from all movies (including a visual index of every single costume that ever appeared on a character in the movies), close ups, detailed booklets outlining Darth Vader's costumes, Amidala's costumes and the various headdresses and more. Close-ups and pictures, and more close-ups - this book is a must have for any star wars costumers. It really, truly is the bible as it relates to star wars costuming. I have never seen anything that is its equal.

When I looked under the book - there it was. Fabric swatches. Honest to goodness PIECES of fabric from the costumes from the movies. Not only could I see up close the fabric on many of the more popular costumes, but for most of them I could feel them - texture, weight, drape. All of it - right at my fingertips. I honestly could not have asked for more out of a special edition of this book. It was right then and there that the price - somewhat outrageous for this edition - was completely justified.

Underneath even that was a smaller book, a guide to the digital costumes of the movies. Even Jar Jar gets a mention, in addition to all of the other CGI costumes created.

I could not recommend this book more. If nothing else, the stand alone book. But if you can possibly swing it - the special edition is amazing. Breathtaking.

First off, everything about this book is just beautiful! The box it comes in is beautiful, the silk obi its wrapped in is beautiful, and more importantly, the pictures in the book are gorgeous. There are just tons and tons of beautiful shots of hundreds of costumes and costume details. And the pictures are so large you feel so close to the costumes; it's amazing!

But then, you can touch the costumes too, thanks to the fabric swatches! While the swatches are mainly from Revenge of the Sith, they represent a wide range of characters and it's really neat to have pieces of the actual fabric! And all the other booklets and fold-outs are great, too. Overall, there is just a wealth of beautiful pictures and interesting information!

The one downside is the DVD, unfortunately. All it is are five short documentaries that have been available online for years and are on the prequel DVD's. There is nothing new which is disappointing.

Despite that one downside (and the hefty price), Dressing a Galaxy is a wonderfully impressive, beautiful book which gives the reader a much greater appreciation for the amazing work of Trisha Biggar.

I was beginning to think this book wouldn't come, because the release was put back twice and then it seemed to be unavailable. Well, I guess with limited editions of this price band it's understandable. I was kind of starting to not care, because at this price I was starting to think I should save my money. Then today, my other half called me at work to say this huge parcel had been delivered. Yes!
I got home an hour ago and, well, it IS huge. Extremely well packed, a box inside another box, and then the fabric-covered clamshell box with the fastended silk wrap. Lovely. I almost didn't want to unseal it any further, but carefully I did. The fresh print smell hit me first, and within seconds I got a headache from it. Opening the box gave me that geeky excitement I haven't had since, I don't know when. I'd made sure to wash my hands first. Then I opened it. The book is outwardly the same as the regular version, set into the right-hand side of the clamshell with a red silk pull underneath to help lift it out. On the other side, there was the replica wookie belt buckle, a certificate of authenticity, a companion DVD, and a special sealed sample of Vader's cloak fabric. All looked pretty good.

I lifted out the book with the pull, and noticed it's thicker than the regular version, with lots of the special inserts I'd read about. Nice and weighty, I put it aside, because underneath is a gatefold supplement containing a dozen or more fabric samples from the costumes pictured next to them. Lovely. Really lovely. And then, underneath that, a thicker booklet showcasing digital creatures from the prequels and their costumes. I then opened the main book to find the limited edition number. There are 2,500 of these books, and I got number 2,479. I think I was lucky getting this!

So often these collectors pieces are disappointing, but I have to be completely honest with this. It's a beautiful book, and I haven't even started reading it yet, which isn't going to make a lot of difference because of the quality of the whole package. If you can get hold of a copy, do it. I know it's pricey, but you'll get over that soon enough, and you'll have what I think is one of the best pieces of Star Wars memorabilia ever made.

You can buy whatever book you want on the Star Wars films, but not having this one is a crime. Photography is amazingly clear and detailed, the inserts are awesome, and the swatches...forget about it...they are priceless.

This is, by far THE package of the Star Wars empire. Destined to be a classic and one "to die for" in the Star Wars ranks. Don't, let it pass you by.

This book is above and beyond excellent. From the way that the book is packaged, presented and written, not to mention the tangible supplements that are exclusive to this edition - such as the cloth swatch from Darth Vader's cape - what a thrill it is to actually own something that has literally been a part of the Star Wars universe!

This book is highly informative, insightful and entertaining.
Packed full of sumptuous photographs, illustrations, fold-outs, cloth swatches and an exclusive DVD - ANYTHING a Star Wars fan or those with only a passing interest in film costuming could ever want.

This publication is a must. It is simply an absolute joy to behold and a treasure trove for one and all who read it. I'm sure it is destined to become a crown jewel in many a Star Wars fan book collection!

I cannot recommend Dressing a Galaxy enough - go buy it, and May The Force Be With You!

Hard to add to what has already been written, but I am writing as someone who is a Star Wars fan in general but not a costume fan in particular. The limited edition is the highest quality imaginable and brings you closer to the making of the Star Wars universe than almost anything I could conceive of at this price point.

The book itself has some of the best production qualities I have ever seen. The photography is top-notch, incredibly detailed, and produced in vivid colors. The book is stock full of extra inserts unique to the limited edition. I think of these as special side exhibits in a larger exhibit at a museum of Star Wars costumes.

And that doesn't even touch upon (pun intended) the included cloth swatches. You have a large amount of cloth from Vader's cape in Revenge of the Sith and then a booklet underneath the main book with around a dozen swatches from the first 3 movies. If there is one weakness the book concentrates on the first three movies. This is something to truly treasure. With the Blu-Rays coming out there may be more interest in the book. I was surprised to see them still available. If people could preview one in their house they would have been snapped up by now.

As an aside this book made me realize what a farce the Academy Awards are. No one, not a single human being alive could truthfully say that Trisha Biggar did not at least deserve an Academy Award nomination for her work on any of the first 3 films, much less an Academy Award. No possible way. But apparently the Academy has something against Lucas and took it out on Biggar. Just points out how pointless and meaningless the whole academy award process is. Trisha YOU know that you did one of the most amazing costuming jobs in the history of cinema if not THE most amazing one. And that is what counts.

This book is beautifully shot and put together. Great detailed information about a LOT of the costumes from the newer Star Wars trilogy (ep 1,2&3). Because the book is so big and has so much in it, the binding is not great - I fear some of the pages will fall out. The pictures of the costumes are great and there are lots of detail shots that help to see all the special little things that go into making the costumes something special.

I wish they would put out a similar book for the original trilogy.

All-in-all though, I am very happy with the book, and it has provided much inspiration and guidance for my costuming.

I had put in a request for this book, initially advertised as "in stock" on amazon.ca, for a period of months which followed, during which they insisted they were "looking" for it. Finally I canceled and ordered from amazon.com for what I hoped would be a sure thing, if a few dollars more, and I was not disappointed. The shipment arrived in a timely manner and in good order, with all the components as expected, well packed and arriving speedily. Couldn't be happier!

An Amazing Book for anyone that is interested in fashion/costume design. This special edition contains far more than just the ordinary book, and with only 2500 copies is well worth the price, especially if you, like i was, were one of the ones that got one of the first 1000 that are personaly signed by Trisha Biggar. A great book.

I purchased "Dressing The Galaxy" since I already had "Sculpting The Galaxy" and really enjoyed it.

Dressing The Galaxy gives you a nice inside look at the costuming process from initial design, fabrics, ect. Who knew so much work and research went into make the costumes for Star Wars. Nothing was off the shelf, all made by hand.

A nice read and if you have the Limited Edition set with the DVD and samples of fabric, a piece of Darth Vader's Cape (fabric swatch), and Wookiee piece you are in for a nice treat. Well worth the credits for this item.

Now I can only hope the next set they do would be "Arming The Galaxy" I would love to see the work involved with all the weapons, armor, ect that are in the Star Wars Universe.