Governor Arihnda Pryce
Most of this information was originally posted on the Imperial Officer forums, but since Photobucket decided to stop allowing hosting without paying most of the photos have disappeared. I figured you all would appreciate hearing about it anyway, so here goes.
I’d been wanting another Star Wars costume for a while, one warmer than Mara by preference for trooping in. I'd love to do Ahsoka, but right now I just can't afford the lightsabers and I'm not willing to do her without them. So I was looking for something else, and settled on Pryce.
She's pretty badass, fits in with others well, and amazingly has a figure VERY like mine, except at the hips.
This is one of the first times I've let myself have someone else do most of the work, and if I'm honest, I'm not sure whether it was worth it? I mean, it probably was, as time is money and all that, and I doubt I would have made the patterning for this a priority so it wouldn't be done yet if I hadn't bought it, but I still ended up doing SO MUCH to change it that I feel like I've rebuilt the whole jacket twice at least.
The easy parts were just buying things. I bought the belt and code cylinders from a member of the IOC. I bought the rank bar off Etsy. The gloves were a pair I fond locally cheap in a second hand shop. The boots I'm using are actually Mara’s, just with a spit shine.
The wig came from Arda. It’s a Priscilla in Natural Black (colour name was Natural Black when I bought it but I think in their never-ending renaming its now Deep Brown.
I did a lot of cutting on the wig to get it to look right. The bangs needed to be above my eyebrows, and the back cut up as much as I could to get it to look like an undercut. Pretty happy with how it came out once I add in coloured contacts and makeup.
The uniform came from Cosplaysky. They stock a grey one that up til now hasn't been approvable with the 501st, however Pryce’s uniform is very definitely grey, not olive, so that's what I got. This is where the work comes in.
When I tried on the uniform, if you weren't up close and personal, you might have thought it looked fine. However, it really wasn't. Despite splurging for custom and providing all my measurements, the uniform was really quite gigantic on me.
There was an extra inch on both shoulders hanging off my actual shoulders and the neckline was huge. There was a good 2-3 inches extra around my bust and 6-8 around my waist (yay for big boobs…). The pants were about 4 inches too wide in the leg and the flares were both not right for Pryce (expected) and just generally awful IMO.
I tackled the pants first. I ripped off the buttons, took out the flares and about 2 inches width, and added stirrups out of elastic to make them stay down nicer. Then I rewatched Season 3, Episode 3 and I realised Pryce DOES have flares, just not full ones.
I mean really, they're the smallest flares ever. Thankfully I hadn't cut the flares off yet, just sewn them into the pants, so I had to take them back out and then make new flares. I did add some tough interfacing when I did this, to make them keep their shape better. I then took out even more width on the lower legs and redid the stirrups. So I guess I did those twice, too.
The jacket was a much more complicated process. I'd decided to try to replicate the seam lines in Pryce’s outfit as best I could and had ordered matching fabric from Cosplaysky to remake the back. Because it was so big, I could have added the midline just when taking out the excess, but then the inaccurate princess seams would still be there.
So I ripped out the back above the waist and used it, put together, to create a new pattern, taking out 2 inches total at the center back. This worked perfectly, and brought the shoulders in so they were no longer hanging so badly off my actual shoulders. It also fixed most of the neckline issues, although I still had extra space around my bust.
Then I ripped off the yoke so I could actually fix the fit. My plan was to hide any funny work and extra darts beneath the yoke. Unfortunately, it wasn't entirely possible.
I was able to get a bunch of the fit issues dealt with at the side seams, but unfortunately this means I have to have side seams. This isn't accurate to Rebels style jackets, but with someone with a bust-waist difference of mine, without a side seam it's not possible to get a fitted jacket. So I left the side seam.
More of the fit was helped by ripping out the center front zip and putting it back in to take out about four inches around my waist. Then I hid some darts under where the yolk would be. I didn't take out the already existing darts as I figured A) They matched what others wear and B) they were really helping out. I know Pryce has no seams except the back, but my figure just was not going to do that without stretch material.
With the uniform on my dress form, I then tacked on fabric where I wanted the yoke to go. I needed a new one from scratch as the one that came with it was way too large in the neckline and had the dreaded midline dart from the neck, which Pryce doesn't have.
I drew the yoke onto the pinned fabric, took it off, and used it as a pattern. Added the yoke back on, and built a new collar. Its still not as close to my neck as I'd like it, but without the ability to build the collar line where I want it to be, I just can't get it any smaller. I'd need to entirely remake the front to do it.
My big worry with this style of jacket is the gaping that often happens for my bust over curves like this. Knowing it wouldn't be seen, I added a separating zipper along the edge of the yoke about an inch in.
This really makes a difference in how this looks and feels. I kept the standard snaps to help it, but the zipper is what does the heavy lifting and is what makes it not gape out under my bust. The snaps are just really there to ensure the edges tack down.
Last details were the triangles on the collar. I first made a pair of magnetic triangles, but honestly they were more hassle than they were worth. So I found a pair of iron on triangles in a shop in Germany I happened to pass and sewed them on. Technically these look more accurate anyway as they are flush against the fabric while the magnets stood out.
And that was basically it!
It felt like it took a lot longer than this because the alterations on the jacket took FOREVER. I think I spent about 3 months just fiddling with the jacket alone. I'd make progress, then get frustrated and leave it for ages. But in the end, I'm pretty happy with how it looks when I wear it, especially the fit across the shoulders.
There is another story in how I became the 501st Legion First Governor Pryce but that is not for this blog. But needless to say, I was pretty happy about it.
I’d been wanting another Star Wars costume for a while, one warmer than Mara by preference for trooping in. I'd love to do Ahsoka, but right now I just can't afford the lightsabers and I'm not willing to do her without them. So I was looking for something else, and settled on Pryce.
 |
| Governor Arihnda Pryce from Star Wars Rebels |
This is one of the first times I've let myself have someone else do most of the work, and if I'm honest, I'm not sure whether it was worth it? I mean, it probably was, as time is money and all that, and I doubt I would have made the patterning for this a priority so it wouldn't be done yet if I hadn't bought it, but I still ended up doing SO MUCH to change it that I feel like I've rebuilt the whole jacket twice at least.
The easy parts were just buying things. I bought the belt and code cylinders from a member of the IOC. I bought the rank bar off Etsy. The gloves were a pair I fond locally cheap in a second hand shop. The boots I'm using are actually Mara’s, just with a spit shine.
The wig came from Arda. It’s a Priscilla in Natural Black (colour name was Natural Black when I bought it but I think in their never-ending renaming its now Deep Brown.
I did a lot of cutting on the wig to get it to look right. The bangs needed to be above my eyebrows, and the back cut up as much as I could to get it to look like an undercut. Pretty happy with how it came out once I add in coloured contacts and makeup.
The uniform came from Cosplaysky. They stock a grey one that up til now hasn't been approvable with the 501st, however Pryce’s uniform is very definitely grey, not olive, so that's what I got. This is where the work comes in.
When I tried on the uniform, if you weren't up close and personal, you might have thought it looked fine. However, it really wasn't. Despite splurging for custom and providing all my measurements, the uniform was really quite gigantic on me.
There was an extra inch on both shoulders hanging off my actual shoulders and the neckline was huge. There was a good 2-3 inches extra around my bust and 6-8 around my waist (yay for big boobs…). The pants were about 4 inches too wide in the leg and the flares were both not right for Pryce (expected) and just generally awful IMO.
 |
| First try on of uniform with placeholder belt and uncut wig |
 |
| Flare comparison. My thighs are apparently different cause these were the same size... |
The jacket was a much more complicated process. I'd decided to try to replicate the seam lines in Pryce’s outfit as best I could and had ordered matching fabric from Cosplaysky to remake the back. Because it was so big, I could have added the midline just when taking out the excess, but then the inaccurate princess seams would still be there.
 |
| Missing process shots of back, but here's the final |
Then I ripped off the yoke so I could actually fix the fit. My plan was to hide any funny work and extra darts beneath the yoke. Unfortunately, it wasn't entirely possible.
I was able to get a bunch of the fit issues dealt with at the side seams, but unfortunately this means I have to have side seams. This isn't accurate to Rebels style jackets, but with someone with a bust-waist difference of mine, without a side seam it's not possible to get a fitted jacket. So I left the side seam.
 |
| Jacket evolution |
With the uniform on my dress form, I then tacked on fabric where I wanted the yoke to go. I needed a new one from scratch as the one that came with it was way too large in the neckline and had the dreaded midline dart from the neck, which Pryce doesn't have.
I drew the yoke onto the pinned fabric, took it off, and used it as a pattern. Added the yoke back on, and built a new collar. Its still not as close to my neck as I'd like it, but without the ability to build the collar line where I want it to be, I just can't get it any smaller. I'd need to entirely remake the front to do it.
My big worry with this style of jacket is the gaping that often happens for my bust over curves like this. Knowing it wouldn't be seen, I added a separating zipper along the edge of the yoke about an inch in.
This really makes a difference in how this looks and feels. I kept the standard snaps to help it, but the zipper is what does the heavy lifting and is what makes it not gape out under my bust. The snaps are just really there to ensure the edges tack down.
Last details were the triangles on the collar. I first made a pair of magnetic triangles, but honestly they were more hassle than they were worth. So I found a pair of iron on triangles in a shop in Germany I happened to pass and sewed them on. Technically these look more accurate anyway as they are flush against the fabric while the magnets stood out.
And that was basically it!
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| Governor Pryce at your service |
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| Governor Pryce & Stormtroopers - photo by David Purchase |
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