CT Jedi Robes: the must have fashion item of Tatooine.

So if we look at ANH we find out that Ben was a Jedi in hiding. The Empire had "hunted down" the Jedi & he was one of the few remaining, if not the only one. So he now goes by the name Ben instead of Obi-Wan. Makes sense though changing his last name might have been a good idea. What you wouldn't expect him to do was stroll around Tatooine dressed as a Jedi. Still calling yourself Kenobi & wearing your old Jedi robes would seem a bit reckless during the Purge. What ANH seems to suggest is that they're not Jedi robes at all. Merely the common desert clothing of Tatooine:



Even the Sandpeople wear something similar. & that makes sense. This is the kind of clothing we see desert dwelling folk wear here. Also shows that Ben is no fool. He's not going to parade himself around dressed as a Jedi while he's in hiding.
Then of course we find out that these were actually Jedi robes. Obi-Wan did wear his Jedi uniform all those years on Tatooine. The Jedi of the PT all wear this same kind of thing. Of course even in the OT Yoda wore something similar. Ghost Anakin also, although ANH told us that Anakin was from Tatooine or at least was there before he left to follow Obi-Wan on his crusade. So it wasn't completely clear. Then the PT confirmed that Ben, Yoda, ghost Anakin, Owen, & other Tatooine locals were essentially wearing Jedi robes after all! I guess by some amazing turn of good luck Obi-Wan exiled himself on a planet where Jedi robes blend in perfectly with local clothing styles

My conclusion is that back in ANH Lucas did depict these robes as merely Tatooine desert garb. Then beginning with Yoda in ESB he decided to make them the Jedi uniform. Does that sound about right or is there a different story?

As a separate but related point why is the new version of ghost Anakin wearing robes that he never wore as a Jedi?




Since Lucas inserted young Anakin from the PT why not dress him in the robes he actually wore? Anyway, none of this is a problem. Just among the many quirks that are present in this kooky Saga of ours

 

The idea was that Jedi were supposed to be humble, so their garb represented what "commoners" were likely to wear.

 

FWIW, the first draft of TPM's screenplay describes Obi-Wan as being dressed in black and Chiang's concept art reflects this:



Also, Hamill says in Making of ROTJ that Luke is wearing the uniform of a Jedi Knight. Furthermore, in a book on the costumes of Star Wars, John Mollo, the costume designer for ANH and ESB, mentions Obi-Wan wearing the robes that people wear on Tatooine.

 

There were no Jedi "robes" in the original Star Wars film. Kenobi wore the same thing that the other locals wore ... obviously, doing anything else would have drawn attention to himself.

 

Interesting info. I think GL should've given the Jedi different outfits like above, & like Luke in RotJ. Also the choice of robe for young ghost Anakin is just weird.

 

I think it's to show that Anakin has turned back to the light.

In the Prequels, he wears darker outfits, but once he's redeemed with Luke, his ghosts gets a normal Jedi outfit.

I hope that makes sense.

 

Your explanation does but the principle doesn't. The idea that the Netherworld would give a ghost lighter color fabric so they don't look as sinister is kind of nuts.

 

It's cos they just put Hayden Christensens head of Sebastien Shaws body. You can see that Anakins body as a force ghost has the exact same movement as it did in the version with Shaw before the edit (if you look at them side by side). Its pretty lazy to be honest, it would have barely taken any time to film a new force ghost sequence with Hayden, (I mean they must have done for his face, right? unless they took it from a clip in ROTS)

 

The whole connection between the robes of the Jedi and the Tatooine citizens is just dumb. You would expect Obi Wan to change his attire in hiding.

 

There is little reason to change your attire when you already blend in with the things you are wearing.

There is absolutely nothing that prevents robes being used by more than one kind of people. Astonishing concept, I know.

 

Personally, I'm glad they went with the more conservative robes and tunic design from the OT, than implementing crazy costumes like this. If there was one thing that I couldn't stand from the EU, it was the "superhero" costume designs of the New Jedi Order. They looked more like they belonged in X-Men, than in the Jedi Order...


I mean, really? Brightly color spandex with capes, miniskirts, and masks? What, are they fighting crime in NYC now? It was just so silly, and the more basic robes and tunic combo was much more appropriate for a sect of warrior monks.

 

Fair enough. But stormtroopers could more easily identify Obi Wan in robes than something else.

 

Well, they don't exactly wear t-shirts and jeans in the GFFA.

Something they teach us in journalism is to "dress for the story". You don't wear a suit to cover a battle, and you don't wear fatigues to cover a murder on the South Side. You wear what you need to in order to blend in with your environment, whatever makes you the least conspicuous. I always assumed the Jedi were the same. They wore whatever they needed to in order to blend into the culture they're on assignment with.

 

That idea made sense...and then Lucas had some bizarre idea to make it standard. The only way I can rationalize it is to say that it looks humble in comparison to the dark Sith robes.

 

That's true.

 

I would have preferred if they used that concept art up there as the basis for Obi-Wan's appearance and the look of the rest of the Jedi.

In a similar vein, I've always looked the Jedi outfit Obi-Wan had in Star Wars #24

 

Ack! Is Kenobi a member of the Fantastic Four?

 

Is everything that's not a Tatooine robe a "superhero costume" in your eyes?

 

No, just the skin tight, colored spandex ones. Especially if they come with a mask, cape, or colored undies.

 

I think GL should've gone with something more like Luke's RotJ clothing. In the PT maybe the Jedi could have worn robes & clothing more unique to their own home worlds, rather than all dressing alike. In any case it's certainly odd seeing Owen wearing Jedi robes.

 

A very special guest with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show!

 

Jedi Master Lars & his loyal Padawan Beru

 

My theory is that the Jedi order wore 'common' or 'modest' robes in order to look inconspicuous. I mean if they dressed as commoners did it would always serve the purpose of blending in, not just for Obi Wan on Tatooine but for any Jedi wanting to avoid standing out. It also fits in with the whole 'No material possessions or attachments' thing. I mean obviously they would still own clothes, but its the most basic garment they can own. Nothing flashy or stylish, just practical. It makes sense that native of Tatooine would dress in a similar fashion, whether youre fixing speeders or farming moisture you want something practical - It not Paris or Milan, no one is out to impress with stylish garms.

As Anakin was always 'searching for a life of significance' and wanted to be special, he opted for robes a little different to the norm. He probably wanted to distance himself from the kind of clothes natives of Tatooine wore, weirdly his slaves clothes look a lot more like traditional Jedi wear than how he dresses as a Jedi (apart from his weird necklace that i always used to think was a string vest he wore underneath a tunic until i got the DK visual Encyclopedia)

 

Sure but to nitpick it's pretty unlikely that in a vast galaxy of millions of worlds the desert living folk of Tatooine just happen to wear the same type of robes. Even the same style really when you look at Owen. Seems obvious to me that Lucas just considered them local desert clothing in ANH then liked them & decided to adopt them as Jedi robes.