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Princess Leia's slave costume could fetch $120,000 at auction

You might have to bid against Jabba the Hutt for the right to own a set-used Princess Leia costume from "Return of the Jedi."

Amanda Kooser
Freelance writer Amanda C. Kooser covers gadgets and tech news with a twist for CNET. When not wallowing in weird gear and iPad apps for cats, she can be found tinkering with her 1956 DeSoto.
Amanda Kooser
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Slave Leia costume
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Slave Leia costume
This rarity could be yours. Profiles in History

Jabba the Hutt is not one of the most pleasant characters in the "Star Wars" universe. He kept Han Solo frozen in carbonite and made Princess Leia wear one of the most (choose one: ridiculous, sexist, sexy) outfits in the galaxy. It infamously became known as the "Slave Leia" costume.

An exceedingly rare, set-used version of the costume from 1983's "Return of the Jedi" is headed to auction on October 1 through auction house Profiles in History's Hollywood Auction 74.

The skimpy ensemble is made from gold-painted urethane rubber. "These original flexible pieces were used on set before being returned to the ILM model shop and replaced by altered versions, since several elements had to be resized due to Carrie Fisher's weight loss during shooting," reads the auction description. The fabric and chain are re-creations.

More than just the costume is on offer here. The lot includes "all of the one-of-a-kind original wax masters sculpted by artist Richard Miller" and "all of the alternate Slave Leia masters first deemed too complex by George Lucas." Masters are the original designs for a costume piece that molds can be made from to produce the piece multiple times for filming.

The lot comes with early production slides showing a model sporting the outfit, design drawings, photos, notes and Carrie Fisher's measurements. It's not just a Leia costume, it's the entire history of the costume that's up for auction.

Early birds can place online bids for the costume, starting at $80,000 (about $51,500, AU$111,800). The estimated top-end selling price is $120,000 (about £77,300, AU$167,800), which sounds a little low for such a key piece of "Star Wars" costuming history.

(Via The Standard)