Right, but even if this is true, Carrie isn't Leia. In the context of the story she is a slave and forced. So the pop culture worship around this outfit has always been strange.
It's not the least bit strange. Mild BDSM fantasies are extremely common. As they say, there are two sorts of people: those who have BDSM fantasies, and those who lie about not having them.
Women's romance novels are filled with alpha male characters sweeping reluctant (but not too reluctant) women into their arms, and beds: CEOs, remarkably clean pirate captains, dukes, and similar. There's often an element of force involved: the couple are arguing, the woman slaps the man, he grabs her and pulls her in for a kiss, and she melts into his arms... I'm sure you've seen it a million times in romance movies.
In fact, outright rape fantasies are extremely common among women. Sex and power are intertwined, it is hardly surprising that people fantasize about the two together.
"Slave Leia" is almost the perfect combination of elements to trigger at least one of nearly everyone's fantasies. Count the fantasies:
1 We have the feisty, confident alpha princess who knows what she wants and doesn't need rescuing, in fact she's doing the rescuing.
2 But then she's defeated by Jabba and enslaved, so now she does need rescuing.
3 Until now, she has been very prim and proper, covered from ankle to neck like a good chaste princess should, but now she is forced to exhibit herself in a sexy costume like a bad girl.
4 She's so sexy that even literal giant slugs find her attractive.
5 Which introduces an element of danger and the threat of rape, with Jabba licking her in a very sexualised manner, heaven knows what else he's thinking of doing to her.
6 Fortunately he is so gross and disgusting that there is absolutely no chance that Leia will fall for him. No Stockholm Syndrome for this princess.
6 Which means that when the male hero arrives to rescue her, she'll be waiting.
7 At which point Leia turns the tables on her disgusting captor, kills him, thus proving that she is still the kick-ass princess we knew from the first two movies.
It's got everything: whether your fantasy is strong confident women, women that need rescuing, exhibitionism, rape fantasies as either the rapist or the victim, the thrill of danger, revenge fantasy, bondage, sado-masochism (Jabba has demonstrated that he is a cruel and merciless tyrant who enjoys inflicting torture and death on his victims). I don't remember whether Leia is barefoot or not, if she is, you can add foot fetish to the list.
So as you can see, there's something for just about everyone in the slave-Leia fantasy. It is hardly surprising that it has captured the imagination of so many people, men and women alike.