Star Wars Clothing for Her

by Amy Ratcliffe

I admit it. I’ve ransacked the boys section of most department stores to find my handful of Star Wars t-shirts. The extra large shirts work, even if I have to layer them over a tank top. The truth is that the lack of Star Wars fashion made for girls is glaring. The boys get the coolest prints. And sure, ladies can just get the regular shirts made for men, but it would be nice to have something a little more tailored to female curves. Also? It is okay to make shirts for females in a color other than pink and featuring characters other than Princess Leia and Padme. I am a fan of most of these things (sorry Padme), but how about some other options?

I’m not the only one that feels this way. A notice was posted on Facebook group We Want Star Wars Merch Made For Females about a new fashion line called Her Universe. The designer of this line knows her stuff; she is the voice of Ahsoka Tano, Padawan to Anakin Skywalker in The Clone Wars. Ashley Eckstein recognized the need for female Star Wars merchandise. When she started voicing Ahsoka four years ago, she was frustrated by the lack of Star Wars products and sizes available for women. She was told just to buy a men’s small because there weren’t enough women that would buy merchandise made specifically for them.

She, like every other female sci-fi fan, knew that just wasn’t true. Girls are a huge percentage of fans that have been missing out. She decided to do something about it. She joined forces with a merchandising company and entered into a multi-year agreement with Lucas Licensing. The goal of Her Universe is to create a line of girl-focused Star Wars products.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Lucas Licensing to address this dramatically expanding market of Star Wars female fans,” says Eckstein. “After four years of working on The Clone Wars, I have become a huge Star Wars fan and have noticed the rapidly increasing number of women who share my love for George Lucas’ amazing universe. Wanting to give these fans a voice and affirm that they play an important role in the world of Star Wars and science-fiction, we created the Her Universe brand especially for them. As a consumer, I believe that quality and creativity are of the utmost importance and those standards were paramount in my joining forces with The Araca Group.”

No more driving to a Target far, far away to find tees. You can buy your very own shirt from Her Universe’s online store soon. They will be selling their merchandise this summer at San Diego Comic-Con, Star Wars Celebration V, and Dragon*Con. The line is developing, and Ashley is open to suggestions. Make your voice heard over at the official Her Universe Facebook fan page, the company’s blog or Twitter page.

I’ll be buying the Ahsoka Tano and Plo Koon shirt first. Thank you Ashley, from this very happy Star Wars geek.

Amy Ratcliffe still has no idea what she wants to be when she grows up.  But until then, she will keep playing D&D, reading comics, and perfecting the ultimate chic lightsaber.  Strong female characters in the world of geek (movies, comics, & books) influence her attitude and costumes. Visit her blog Geek with Curves.

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10 Comments

  1. Jeff

    im sensing a pinkraygun clothing line

  2. We've had ideas along those lines. I have a background in apparel design, it's just a matter of time.

  3. Hi Amy! Thank you so much for doing this write up on Her Universe! I hope to meet you at a convention someday soon. We really appreciate all of the support that we have been getting from the fans so far, and we are working hard to get our online store open and product available! We will have more designs to show you soon. Thanks again!

    May The Force Be With You!
    Ashley :o )

    • Amy

      Hi Ashley, of course! I am so excited about this new line. I will definitely be stopping by your booth at San Diego. The designs that are already released are really fresh, and I love the cuts. I am so looking forwarding to seeing more. You really rock for starting this new brand. :)

      - Amy

  4. I'm pretty excited. I don't wear "girly" colors and I rarely buy t-shirts that aren't a ladies cut since I curve. I'm looking forward to seeing what they've got available. I've got a few fandoms in my closet, but nothing Star Wars.

    • Amy

      I like girly colors, but I rarely wear them. I don't like loose guy tees that just hang shapelessly on me either. So I am also super jazzed about these. The designs are fresh, and they've got some great Star Wars artists lined up. Yay!

  5. Robin

    That's very cool. It frustrating to still be having the "girls don't like sci-fi and won't buy merch" conversation, so I'm glad that Her Universe is doing something about it. It's not that we don't want to give the merchandisers our money. We do. Some of us just don't want to spend it on stuff that doesn't fit us properly.

    • Amy

      I know. You'd think at some point they realize that we are a growing group. I so glad about this company, and that it is started by a girl who feels the way we do. I'll be buying more than a few things. I can tell.

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