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[Kayl]

Hi everybody! After following this forum for a little while I've decided to jump right into it and make my own original Mandalorian design. I've previously done a Din Djarin for cosplay purposes, but never anything original, so I'm a little intimidated.
Anyway this is my original concept, the boots are something I already had that I hope will be allowed, I checked the official guidelines for footwear and they seem to meet them, I'm hoping a little weathering and small modifications will do.

I've already started on my flak vest and I think I have my flight suit figured out, I'm probably just going to buy the same set of scrubs I have on in the pic, but in purple, and get a second pair of the pants to add to the top as sleeves as I've seen others do., as well as remove/close the pockets seeing as they seem to fit me well.

(bad lighting as it was getting dark, the vest is the below color)

(Ignore the front piece being two halves, I cut it out as one after I took this and forgot to take a photo)
There are definitely a few things I need to fix on my vest like the right princess seam, but my machine hates sewing leather so I've kind of given it a break for now, as well as shortening it but I wanted to wait until I have my armor pattern figured out so I don't shorten it too much by accident, I'm also thinking about adding a second layer of leather to the sleeve part to stiffen it a bit for the shoulder plates to have more to sit on.
I hope this design is okay.

[Chro]

Looking good so far! I'd have to double check on the boots, but I like where the vest is headed, good design overall.

[Kayl]

Thank you very much! I’d definitely appreciate them being checked over to make sure they’ll work, I did find the site with manufacturer specs as far as height etc if that’s helpful.

I think I’m going to reinforce the sleeves with another layer tomorrow so the shoulder plates have more support, they’re a little floppy, I’ll probably extend them width wise too so they reach a little further down on my shoulder blade in the back.

I couldn’t find anything in the guidelines about parachute buckles and webbing, do they have to match your vest color if used as side closures? I think those would be more secure than Velcro for such a dense material.

[Tramp Graphics]

Thank you very much! I’d definitely appreciate them being checked over to make sure they’ll work, I did find the site with manufacturer specs as far as height etc if that’s helpful.

I think I’m going to reinforce the sleeves with another layer tomorrow so the shoulder plates have more support, they’re a little floppy, I’ll probably extend them width wise too so they reach a little further down on my shoulder blade in the back.

I couldn’t find anything in the guidelines about parachute buckles and webbing, do they have to match your vest color if used as side closures? I think those would be more secure than Velcro for such a dense material.

No, they don't. I use polished brass parachute buckles to secure the straps that hold my cuirass closed on the sides, as well as for my utility belt, gun belt, and holster's thigh strap.

[Kayl]

Thank you for clearing that up! 
Those will definitely be more doable if I don’t have to try to color match them.

[Tramp Graphics]

Thank you for clearing that up! 
Those will definitely be more doable if I don’t have to try to color match them.

the only type of closure that needs to be color matched on a vest is a zipper, and, even then, the pull tab must still be covered or otherwise hidden. I wear a front closing vest with a zipper, the zipper is black, like my vest, and my collar plate covers the pull tab.

The only "restriction" on buckles is that, if they're plastic, they need to be painted to look like metal, or otherwise made to look "in universe". This is stated under Armor Strapping in the CRLs here:

Armor Strapping:
External strapping must be of an in-universe material. Examples include but are not limited to tactical web belting (such as nylon or cotton) and leather.
Elastic strapping is generally unacceptable for external use with the following exceptions:
Knees, elbows and “Boba thongs” only and dyed or painted to match the flight suit as best as possible as to not stand out.
Nylon strapping does not need to match the color of the flight suit.
Parachute clips should be modified to fit the Star Wars aesthetic or hidden. Examples of such modifications include painting them to appear metal and applying weathering to match the costume. At minimum, the weathering must be consistent with the rest of the costume.

So, my suggestion is to go with metal parachute buckles.

[Chro]

I don’t want to contradict, but webbing/strapping used as a side closure or armor attachment should be color matched.

No matching rule on buckles or hardware though, fair game on those.

[OriKad]

I'll second using metal buckles.  They look better.

Color matching the straps is not required by the CRLs (Which Tramp helpfully quoted right there), but it may be a good idea to choose the color so it doesn't look like a haphazard add-on.  That would mean either a matching color or a well-chosen contrast color, or even a single strap color for the whole kit.

[Tramp Graphics]

I don’t want to contradict, but webbing/strapping used as a side closure or armor attachment should be color matched.

No matching rule on buckles or hardware though, fair game on those.

Nope. Only elastic straps used for elbows, knees, and "Boba thongs" must be color matched. Nylon or cotton webbing, or leather straps don't need to color match.

Acceptable Armor Attachment Methods:
Velcro
Magnets
Snaps
Bolts
Rivets
Screws (if visible, screw head must be filled and sanded smooth)
Strapping
Leather and nylon strapping may be exposed.
Elastic strapping must be concealed EXCEPT on knees, elbows, and “Boba Thongs” where they must be color matched to flight suit.
 

[Kayl]

Thank you so much to everyone for your input, I don’t want to get started wrong and have to change a whole bunch of stuff once everything’s done, I’d rather make little modifications as I go so it’s less daunting. 

With that being said, I'm thinking about cutting my own straps from the same leather as the vest and using these buckles if they'll work (With weathering of course)

They’re metal and about the right size, plus I already have a bunch of them on hand (came off an old pair of boots that wore out)