The Mandalorian has been the greatest gift to cosplay culture, the elaborate militarized costumes are not just fun to create, but they also let cosplayers, prop makers, and costumers get creative and improvise. Cara Dune has been one of the most interesting characters on the show, not just because of her dynamic with Mando, but also because as a newly-written standalone character, she has a lot of merits as a Gen-Z icon.
Cara's costume is definitely a dream for cosplayers, as there's a lot of room for them to add fun detailing and to channel their individual vibes. But, it's no cakewalk re-creating the empowering, military-leaning ensemble which has several key aspects one needs to focus on to get the look right. Here are some of the best Cara Dune cosplays:
The Savior
The best cosplays are the ones that can capture the spirit or the ethos of a character with some improvised action or even with expressions. 21-year-old German cosplayer Julie does exactly that; she re-imagines a scenario that could actually happen in the next season.
Not to spoil the fantastic season finale of The Mandalorian Season 2, but let’s just say Grogu may have been taken by a certain Tatooine farm boy-turned-Jedi Master and Julia imagines Care rescuing him. In fact, she even takes a lot of pain to shoot the cosplay in a really interesting background to make it believable.
Power Pose
The key to acing a Cara Dune cosplay is identifying the key elements, including the color notes. Cara’s uniform is somewhat regimented and features some aspects of armored detailing, and yet the colors are all moody, rested, and dark. Cosplayer, gamer, and makeup artist LindsayLove gets the basics of the look right.
She does take some minor liberties like replacing Cara’s belted, heavy boots with regular leather ones and toning down the metal collar plates, but gets the tonal quality of the look exactly right. Her icy green belt even matches her Grogu action figure!
Perfect Picks
This Irish cosplay couple teamemeraldcos up the detailing in the Cara Dune costume and introduces some fun, adaptable improvisations. The chain link-style upper torso vest is the most believable aspect of the costume. But, we also love how believable the arm cuff plates and the blaster feels.
She also sticks to some key colors which really helps make the look more plausible. Plus, she gets rid of the extra metal accents to give the costume a muted vibe so it actually complements The Mandalorian’s metal armored costume.
DIY Wonders
What would the world of cosplay be without the DIY fanatics? Robin Jungbluth is a preschool teacher, a mum, a World of Warcraft gamer, a budding costumer, and, of course, a Star Wars fan. She made the most incredible and believable DIY Cara Dune costume with her home tools. She even shared snaps from her process on her Instagram.
This was her entry for the Rebel Legion, a worldwide costuming organization dedicated to Star Wars. Robin revealed that she used Velcro in lots of places to hold the armor and collar together and also to get the trim on the vest and waistband on her pants.
Suit Up
Cosplayer Fabiola goes to great lengths for a believable Instagrammable Cara Dune cosplay, including getting the perfect life-sized Grogu figure. Fabiola went the full mile to get every detail of Cara’s costume right, with the help of a professional prop maker.
Cara’s costume has many separate attachments, from the armor plates to layered belts and metal knee pads and Fabiola got every one of these details right. But, the one thing that really helps her cosplay are the tonal quality of her armor, she goes for a green that’s neither too icy nor too grim, and it works out great.
Easy Breezy
The Canadian cosplayer allure_cosplay dresses up her dog as Grogu, and, the major wholesomeness of the cosplay aside, the Cara Dune look is actually really inspirational for DIY costumer makers. She actually picks an upper body armor that extends up to her neck so she didn’t have to arrange for separate neck plates.
Plus, she does away with Cara’s leather gloves altogether and opts for wrist plates that match her shoulder armor, and, for a fun twist she opts for classic, tie-up leather boots which is a great way to channel a personal vibe.
Cosplay Queen
This is perhaps the most accurate and well-planned Cara Dune cosplay we’ve come across so far. Cosplayer Talia uses a combat vest for the body armor and gets a little creative with her outfit which totally works in her favor. She goes for a low-effort utility belt and holster and ditches the metal knee pads for leather ones. But, she sticks with the leather gloves and goes for rather simplistic black leather boots instead of the heavy, belted ones.
Cute N Cara
General adorableness aside, the reason LA-based Star Wars fangirl indiespeeder is so great with her Cara Dune cosplay is that she’s a pro with Star Wars-related costumes and has cosplayed every major figure from Kylo Ren, to Rey to Ahsoka, Leia, and, of course, Darth Vader.
The mini-Cara outfit is really functional, and definitely a lot fuss-free, which makes it a great long-wear ensemble for kids. The mesh base is a good idea for the outer vests and definitely more convenient than leather or velcro.
Ready For Action
Cosplayer Sapphire relies on some convenient detailing and leather accents for her Cara Dune cosplay, and she shared some details about her DIY armor on Instagram. “This is my first solo armor build (maybe had a little help with sanding and spray painting, my arm just wasn’t having it) this is my first Star Wars build, I always thought I would make Padme as my first but I’m glad to show some love for Cara, she’s super cool and curvy and tall which is awesome. Just need to finish the gloves and style the wig and I’m ready for a photoshoot,” she wrote.
Cara Approves
LA-based cosplayer Leiaaurora focuses on a militarised, stripped-down styling for her cosplay, and it’s a great idea because layering belts is a great way to jazz up the basic armor vest. She also revealed on Instagram that, since she is trained in martial arts, she pictures Cara as someone who’s really deft at self-defense and possibly a pro, as well.
“Little known fact is I studied #Kajukenbo for 10 years. Learned a lot & still retain a lot of that knowledge to this day. I totally see #CaraDune knowing a form of self-defense like #Judo or #ChineseBoxing. Girl can throw a punch,” she wrote.