Elhoffer Design was founded by Catherine Elhoffer to create higher-end apparel for geeks like her. She designs pieces that flatter the body, pulling from modern fashion trends, and helping her fellow geeks of the world to be both stylish and chic. She prefers a subtle geek nod in her designs, using silhouette, color, texture, and lines to tell the story of the character or fandom. Elhoffer is a high end line of clothes that is unique and distinctive. Designed and manufactured in the United States in Los Angeles, CA. High quality geek wear that celebrates a wide variety of fandom. This is a line of clothes for individuals who are looking to incorporate their love of geek into their daily lives in a sustainable way. These clothes are meant to last and they are meant to survive daily wear. Their high end price points may come as a shock to some fandom fans but it is well worth it. Often, as a fan or convention goer, all we can find at conventions in the way of fashion is your basic $20 graphic tee. And we get used to that. Well these items are anything but basic. These items provide a way to bound as some of you favorite characters. Bounding, if you aren’t familiar with it, is a way of combining subtle costuming and fashion to celebrate your fandom.
We have taken 5 items from the Elhoffer Design’s Galactic Apparel Collection and put them to the geek test. We tasked our models with finding different ways to style each item. To show off just how sustainable these looks are and how easily they could be incorporated into our every day looks.
Galactic Scavenger Cropped Sweater
The Galactic Scavenger Cropped Sweater is a PERFECT bounding piece! It hits the Rey look perfectly and serves your cosplay and bounding needs. The detail and the design of this sweater is beautiful. A few things that we really liked were that the arm warmers attach to the sweater and that the collar stands up just a tad. It is also really light weight. The arms are a bit tight, which is great for keeping the arm warmers up while you wear them, but as geek arms come in all shapes and sizes, be sure to check the sizing chart to ensure you order the correct size. We like how Catherine and Christina of Elhoffer deign refer to their products as a secret handshake between fans. This sweater is just that. Star Wars fans would instantly recognize this sweater as a Rey Sweater, but the look is subtle enough that it can be paired with everyday items in your wardrobe and would just look like part of a cute outfit. Cosplay Photographer, Katie York, showed off how you can wear this sweater the casually, while fellow geek girl and blogger, Alice, used the sweater for a bit of a dressier look. It is available in sizes XS-3X.
Galactic Smuggler Crop Top
Let me just say first and foremost, this shirt is the best! It is comfortable and soft. The fit is nice because it is tight at the waist but baggy all around. It looks great on different body types. It’s so simple yet so unique. It was one of those things where, you put it on and you just instantly say “Oh, wow, I like this!” We asked cosplayers Lane, Valerie and Destiny to put together a look they would wear this top with. They each paired their top with a different black bottom. We think it looks great all three ways! Making it one of those tops that you know you are going to wear a lot. Causal or dressy, it works either way. I love that it’a 3/4 sleeve and not a full long sleeve. I love the baggy sleeves. I think I was surprised to have fallen in love with this top as much as I did. It looked great on all three of our models.
Galactic Baron Wrap
Well. What can we say? This top came straight from Cloud City. This Lando inspired cropped top is just as stylish and just as extra as Lando Calrissian. This is a wrap top with a long train of a wrap tie. You have the option of wrapping the top around you several times or tying it and letting the tie hang. Our model Destiny styled it as a crop top and wrapped the tie into a bow behind her, while Katie and Alice both wrapped it around their waists to provide more coverage. The wrap tie is very fun, but it’s length could get tricky. We suggest you play with different ways to wrap it. To see what style suits you best. The sleeves are truly magic. The sleeves hang from your shoulders giving the impression of a cape. We think this style is flattering on all body types! We are really feeling this look! It’s instant swagger and style!
Galactic Bromance Shawl Cardigan
Motion Pictures
COMFY!!!! Guys! So comfy. This is your everyday sweater. The Galactic Bromance Sweater is the sweater you wear everywhere. I don’t know if it’s the cut or the style, but it has a fun vintage feel. The knitting on this sweater is so impressive. The design going down the side of the sleeve is absolutely great. They put a lot of work into making it feel just like the jacket that Poe and Finn share in The Force Awakens. It is the one piece that every model wanted to try on. It is very warm and cuddly. It is a much more casual piece. You could definitely get away with wearing this sweater to work. But would probably not work in a formal dress attire situation. This is your everyday running around town sweater.
Galactic Princess Crop Top
Motion Pictures
This top was the only piece in the Galactic Collection that we had a harder time styling. The Galactic Princess Crop top is very cute and screams “REBEL PRINCESS”, but it felt more like a costume piece. But just because we couldn’t figure out how to style this top for everyday wear, does’t mean it cant be styled that way. I would love to hear ideas from our readers on how to style this particular piece. The combination off the wide sleeves and the hood is absolutely perfect for a Leia cosplay or Dinsey Bound. It’s perfect for being worn on the floor of any comic book or pop culture convention! Want to walk around the convention feeling like Princess Leia with out actually cosplaying as Princess Leia, well this is your top! The fit is wide and loose. If you aren’t a fan of showing too much skin, we recommend a pair of high waist bottoms. Those land perfectly where the top begins. The material is heavy and can feel warm, but it’s loose enough to wear a t-shirt and tank underneath, in case you need to take it off at some point. Perfect for keeping you warm in the panel rooms at San Diego Comic Con. It is available in sizes xs-4xl and comes in black as well!!! BLACK?! Yes! A black hooded crop top like this can be used for so many different bounds! But really, we love this top for what it is, a chance to be our favorite princess! Comedian Riley Silverman paired her Leia top with a cute pair of shorts and fun accessories. Katie’s “hope” ring is giving us all the Leia feels.
What our models thought:
I’m always cold in the office and after putting the Bromance Sweater on I realized how perfect this would be for every day use. The sweater has a nice, cozy, comforting weight to it and it allows me a subtle wink to my favorite Rebel Pilot/Droid Dad. Which is PERFECT for those chilly days. The Rey cardigan made me feel like Rey. I wanted to go lift some rocks by using The Force after I slipped it on. -Katie
The Smuggler Top was super comfortable! And it’s perfect for being nerdy in a casual setting. – Val
Overall:
Our overall thoughts are that we are in love with this collection and the quality of these products. They are well worth the asking price and we have mad love for all of these outfits. I think there is a need in the geek community for more high end fashion like this. Fashion that is subtle and geeky. We need more designs that we can wear to work, church or dates that allow us to be ourselves and celebrate our fandoms while not being overwhelming in it’s design. Elhoffer offers you that chance for many beloved fandoms. I highly recommend you check out their website. They have much more in this collection than the five items we reviewed. They also have collections inspired by Hamilton, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, Super Heroes and more. We look forward to reviewing more of their collections soon! Give them a follow on social media! Do you have any favorites from the featured items? Let us know in the comments! We want to see how you styled your Elhoffer Designs apparel, tag us in your photos! Scroll all the way down for more photos from this photo shoot!
OK last preorder for a WHILE but it's still all in one day so apologies!
Galactic Puffin is finally up AND it's a team up with @LynleighLove! I fell in LOVE with her cosplay dress at Wondercon and have been working on an everyday version for all ya'll!! https://t.co/vDBqSjhDWm pic.twitter.com/SylLe1LNEz
— Elhoffer Design (@elhofferdesign) June 13, 2018
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