Leia as the Orginal Sexy Galatic Badass

This shows the importance of the color of her dress. The white allows for her to stand out against the black blasters and red laser beams. White is also known for being pure and good and she represnts both in her fight against the dark side

Here we see Leia in her orginal white dress. This is how she is first introduced to the male figures in the movie. The draping in the dress shows off her bodies curves and also shows how often simple dresses can be made to look interesting on film when combined with movement 

Here is a better look at the draping of the dress while she is being held captive. You can see that the sheer nature of the dress allows for the outline of her leg to be clearly seen. This also shows off the hood feature on the back of the dress 

Here is a closer look at the neckline of the dress. You can see how the hood is attached and how despite its lack of visable skin her body is still made apparent in the draping. 

Here we see the dress tied at the waist with a belt and her holding a blaster with it. The billowiness of the top of the dress allows for great movement when running and fighting with guns. This allows for better shots and more dramatic scenes. In this way fashion plays a large role in the overall look of the film

Here is Leia in The Empire Strikes Back where she shows how women dress in the cold in space. Her outfit mirrors similar color schemes from the first film but now she gets to wear pants! The outfit keeps her warm but still shows off her figure by having the puffy aspect stay open in the front 

Here is a closer look at the top of her outfit. You can tell the quilted vest keeps her warm on the outside but leaves her arms open for mobility. She is able to fight in the outfit and it is also practical. 

This shows the outline her outfit under the jacket. Again we see a simple look that is practical for fighting but still is tightened at the waist and allows for an outline of her form

Leia laying on her captor in her iconic gold bikini 

Here is a promotional image from the film of actress Carrie Fisher in the gold bikini. You can see the movement here of the bottom of the bikini with the purple fabric in the front 

This is Leia posing in front of her captor Jabba. You can see the contrast of the sexiness of her costume and the grossness of the man who caught her. You can see the skimpiness of the fabric around her crotch and the amount of bare leg that was shown

Here is Leia after she killed her captor and watched her friends come in and break free. You can see stil the sexiness of the outfit, but her smiling and the lights cutting across her skin from the shades on the spaceship show off the ways the costume was used to tell a story not just to be sexy 

Here is a side view of the outfit. Showing the golden chains and accesories around the waist and arms 

The original Star War’s films broke boundaries in many ways. They took over pop culture and are still relevant today. They started a franchise that has made millions and continues to tell new stories even today. In 1977 Leia was introduced as the first galactic badass of the series. Her looks became iconic and shaped the way that we view women in space. She was a competent fighter and key figure in taking down the Empire—but her clothes focused more on her form than her abilities. So, while Star War’s did help show that women can be fighters and more than just a love interest, they did reiterate the fact that women should look good while doing it  

In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Leia in Star Wars A New Hope, spoke about her different costumes throughout the films. When talking about the first film she said,  "I only wore two outfits in the first Star Wars and three or four in the second. Then there was the bikini. I was running around for a long time with guns and dresses and no underwear" 

The white dress featured above has been an iconic costume in the history of Hollywood. Many people mimic the look for Halloween. Its simplicity yet elegance is fitting for a character who is meant to be both a political figure and a sexy princess. She stands her ground with the boys and has cemented herself in galatic badass history. 

In The Empire Strikes Back, Leia is introduced on a snowy and cold planet. Her costume is different from the first film, especially since it is pants. But the color scheme reminds us that she is still the same princess we met in the firts film. 

She remains a symbol of galatic badasses in the ways that she wears pants and carries a blaster to help save the kingdom. She is regal and dangerous. 

In an article for Disney's Star Wars 40 year anniversary they discuss Leia's new costime, "Leia’s transformation is the more dramatic of the two, even though she’s still wearing mostly white. Aesthetically, she fits in with the other rebels with her quilted jumpsuit and puffy-collared vest, but the white, off-white, and gray hues in her look still visually recall the princess we met in A New Hope" 

The image of the princess strewn across her captor is a gold bikini is one that has captured the mind of many. It has become a sex symbol, a halloween costume, and the subject of both aclaim and ridicule. Despite it becoming known as "slave Leia bikini" it is important to remember that it was in this outfit that Leia saved her friends by killing her captor and one of the galaxies most notourius gangsters. 

In an interview with Men's Health Carrie Fisher spoke about whether the sexiness of this outfit should be considered okay. She told the parents out there that were concerned about telling their kids about the outfit to, "Tell them that a giant slug captured me and forced me to wear that stupid outfit, and then I killed him because I didn't like it. And then I took it off. Backstage."