Resource Concerning in-universe clothing terms

Hello. Sometimes it can be hard to come up with the right name for a piece of clothing, especially alien clothing, or maybe you know it has a name, but aren't quite sure what it is. If you have a question about clothing or fashion words in the GFFA, ask it here! The first question is:


I have a question I have been trying to get answered for a long time, and have been unable to answer it to my satisfaction. I'm hoping I can get it answered here.

Twi'lek women are generally shown wearing a leather head band in the movies and series, and only very rarely do you see their heads bare (in the comic books and such). What is the name of that leather garment? What is its cultural and social significance? I'm wondering if Twi'leks consider it indecent for females of their species to not wear one in public.

I've even written to Leeland Chee, but got no response on this, and I'm guessing it's something like a bra for women, to help restrain the lekku to some degree, as well as denote some social standing with the greater elaborateness of it, or perhaps display family/clan symbols.

I write fan fiction, and surprisingly, this came up, so I have taken to calling it a cha'andar, a name of my own creation, and treat it similar to a bra, where the character is embarrassed by the indecent behavior of another Twi'lek woman not wearing one in public.

Please help!

 

Last I checked, it was simply a headdress. At least one source had said that the headdress served to protect sensitive Twi'lek ears, but I'm not sure if that was retconned, as I don't recall seeing anything to contradict it.

 

I've heard them called headwraps. According to Wookieepedia,

...since Twi'leks can communicate to each other by twitching their lekku.

 

The wiki article Jabari quoted was the first thing that came to my mind as well. I think there's plenty of wiggle room to make the headdresses have whatever name or significance you wish; from what the article says, it sounds like they went from a restraint device to a form of adornment and might have any number of meanings to the Twi'leks who wear them. Associations with modesty like you describe seem plausible. However, I suspect from the number of Twi'leks who wander around without one that it might not be a thing that all of the clans subscribe to (clan seems to be a fairly important marker for them and amounts to something like a city-state in some sources.) Or it may be a thing in transition, like real world clothing where there are changes occurring over time (but some find it scandalous, like with your character's reaction.) Personally, I find it interesting to see thought put into the character's sense of appropriate dress; it's the kind of detail that makes their species more than a mere visual detail. Whether it conflicts with something said in paragraph 3 on page 232 of an Essential Guide (published before or after the fanfic was written) really does not matter that much unless it matters to the writer themselves. TBH, my attitude is that the EU is more of a framework and some neat, inspiring details rather than an ironclad rulebook. See every discussion of the Clone Wars ever for what happens when trying to make it a rulebook.

 

Hello. Normally we don't allow threads for questions on specific stories, and normally I'd lock this thread and redirect the conversation to the writer's desk. However, there has been specific threads for Star Wars terminology for specific things like diseases/medical stuff in the past, so I'm going to leave this open, but I'm going to edit the first post to allow anyone to ask questions/discuss clothing terminology here.

 

Thanks, Briannakin
I've seen twowolves as this question in a number of places, always being re-directed to other sections of the Boards without ever finding someone who could answer. It can be quite a challenge to find the right place to ask. I'm glad he can now get the chance to get a few answers.

 

This is probably the best answer I've received yet. Yes, I've been redirected several times, which is okay in a way because it means more exposure to readers who may be able to provide insight. Unfortunately, there is not a lot on the twi'lek species in the new encyclopedias (which is where I got the bulk of my information from when I began my fanfic novel).

It seems in the movies (and in most printed media) that twi'leks wear the headdress, although this may just be a conceit of the special effects because it disguises where the latex tails meet the skin of the actresses wearing them, with the print media reflecting the movies out of hand without so much thought going into why some twi'leks wear these.

Your comment about the clans brings to mind another question, is there a source where all the clans, or all the clans so far, are listed? I really am going for the reaction you displayed in the thought put into the character's dress. Too many times, it seems like the characters in the novels are...two-dimensional. I prefer to delve into their psyche and show the reader why they do what they do, which makes them more real.

One further question which is slightly off topic, but the debate over such detail has apparently been opened so...

Is there a source you can recommend for a) Twi'lek name generation; and b) travel times in hyperspeed. I found one source in another thread for the latter, though I was disappointed to see it did not allow for whether or not travel was done along a major hyperspace corridor or not (which, from what I have read, would greatly affect travel times). I will be posting this elsewhere, too, as I know this isn't on-topic, so no groans, please!

Thank you again, one and all for your comments and help. It is greatly appreciated. I am truly glad to have stumbled across this website as all of you have made me feel very welcome here.

 

What I do for names is go to Wookieepedia and look up the species. There will usually be a list of the major characters of that species. That way you can see if there is a pattern to their names. With Twi'leks, it varies a little - traditional names run together: Nawar'aven, or they can be split into a "Core name": Nawara Ven, or some just go by one name, or three. A quick glance at the page shows variations from Orn Free Taa to Sienn'rha to Bib Fortuna to Numa. Honestly, in this case, as long as you come up with something not too "human" sounding, I think you'll be fine. If I had to come up with a pattern for Twi'lek names, most seem to have one long and one short name that, if necessary, can be combined into one long word. Also, a lot of the names have the letter "a" in them, and some have double vowels.

My own current Twi'lek character is named Yuulia Ven, or Yuuli'aven. Yulia is an alternate form of Julia, I added an extra U to make it more "Star Wars-y", and it is similar to existing Twi'lek names (Yuthura Ban, Nawara Ven, Oola, etc).

 

I can't cite a source, but I once heard that the head-wraps that Twi'lek women in particular wear also suppress the development of forehead bumps (like Bib Fortuna) as they age.

Of course, the real reason for Twi'lek head dresses is to cover up the seam lines on the prosthetic make-up.

 

Nice! lol My character's name is Mika'la Ventura, but now that I have the nomenclature down, I might shorten her last name to Ven, so it would be Mikala'ven, and for short, her name is just Mika. I know Ven is a clan, I just wish there was a list of clans. Are there any Twi'leks of note that belong to Ven? I've not yet encountered Nawar'aven, but I will check the name on Wookieepedia.

 

Of course that's the real purpose of the wraps! lol I'd actually read in Insider (back when they still had Ask Lobot) that the human ears/ear cones, and head bumps/no bumps are indicative of a human-Twi'lek hybrid which explains the more humanized versions.

 

Here's another question that comes to mind. Are the lekku fully prehensile, or only capable of small movements?

 

Nawara Ven is a former lawyer who becomes a member of Rogue Squadron in the X-Wing books. At one point the squadron goes to Ryloth, and the Twi'leks call Wedge Wedgean'tilles, which means "Destroyer of Stars" or something, since "Wedge Antilles" in Twi'lek means something generously translated as "one who would induce vomiting in a rancor".

As far as I know, the lekku are only capable of small movements.