I’d like to submit a theory here:
He’s NOT wearing Han Solo‘s clothes!
Seriously, Han Solo won the Millenium Falcon from Lando Calrissian. Mightn’t he have also won everything on board the ship, including the onboard wardrobe? Because Solo apparently won(*) the Falcon after Lando was already running Cloud City, it would make sense that Lando would shed all of his former smuggler identity when he lost his ship.
Thus, in point of fact:
Lando Calrissian is simply wearing his own old clothes, which had previously been used by Captain Solo.
For those who might argue hygenie/sizing issues with this, keep in mind that:
- both men are roughly the same size, and
- it’s fairly common for people to “try on” old clothes that have nostalgia value
- So-called “spacers(†)” would necessarily exhibit thrift-driven behaviors with regard to any supplies – when you don’t know when or where you may next land, you can’t be too picky about what to eat/wear, when to sleep, etc.
While Truly Evil Bob‘s answer evokes the Star Wars MMO or other video game logic, I think he is on to something – by putting his old outfit back on, Lando Calrissian is expressing/recalling his former smuggler days, which he clearly missed as a responsible colonial administrator.
[UPDATE]
Alexander Bogdan raises an interesting point about documented sourcing of Han Solo’s outfit depicted in semi-canon Star Wars novelizations, but since I’m already merely theorizing, let me extend into the Bat-verse for a supplemental defense:
Perhaps, much like The Joker in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, Han Solo’s stories about how and where he started wearing his iconic outfit changes with the telling, in order to distract attention from the truth of his background/true origins (which might be used against him somehow), or to increase his perceived reputation/leverage in a given situation.
(* this is mentioned in passing as part of the Millenium Falcon’s Wookiepedia article: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/M…)
(† In the Star Wars Universe, this would primarily represent people who roam from port to port, rather than having a single established planetary base of operations – smugglers, bounty hunters, traders, and the like.)
This answer originally appeared on Quora: At the end of The Empire Strikes Back, why is Lando wearing Han Solo’s clothes?
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