Star Wars Costumes by Heather Tomasello
Making Star Wars and Other Role Playing Costumes
Oct 26, 2008
“One of my earliest memories is watching Star Wars with my dad,” Heather Tomasello says in between sips of a bottomless cup of coffee. The sizzle of the nearby grill in the cramped local diner does little to either distract nor break her genuine smile and cheerful disposition, even if it is 7 a.m. on a Sunday.
Star Wars 501st Legion
“Geeks beget more geeks,” she nods; her expressive hands make a small clatter from her eclectic jewelry. Her enchanting voice is just one small part of the scenery she paints in her allegiance to the 501st Legion, those bad guys from the Star Wars flicks.
According to the 501st Legion website, “the Legion is a volunteer club formed for the express purpose of bringing together costume enthusiasts and giving them a collective identity within which to operate. The Legion’s aims are to celebrate the Star Wars movies through the wearing of costumes, to promote the quality and improvement of costumes and props, and most importantly to contribute to the local community through charity and volunteer work.”
“It’s a badge of honor,” Tomasello, who is 33, says. “When you see the kids, they look at you like you’re the coolest thing ever. It makes them and me happy.”
When she isn’t working on an official costume (the fleet trooper outfits have to follow guidelines) or attending various conferences, Tomasello works overnights in emergency services and appreciates the live action role playing as an escape.
Bigger than Your Own Life
“You can be super human, bigger than your own life,” she says, adding that she has met most of her friends through her role playing. Her husband, Mark, is also an enthusiast and the two married in full-pirate garb, as did the minister.
Tomasello rattles off the other costumes she’s accrued, i.e. Battle Star Gallactica, making a firm point that finding the right off-duty costume for Gallactica has eluded her. “It’s so hard to find the right materials, there’s particular belt webbing you have to have,” she says. Plus, she makes her nine-year-old daughter’s costumes.
“And yes, we dress up at Halloween,” she says. “Last year my husband was a pirate, and I was Granny Weatherwax from the Terry Pratchett books.”
When she isn’t wearing a costume? “I wear a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that doesn’t make my nine-year old run and say she doesn’t know me,” Tomasello grins. Let people say what they want, she adds.
“You have to have passion,” she says. “Even if it is goldfish—be passionate. So many people walk around passionless; find something bigger than you and share it with someone.”
