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

If we saw commoners on planets other than Tatooine dressed like Uncle Owen/prequel Jedi, I would buy the "Jedi dress like commoners" explanation. The problem is that we never see commoners on any other planet dressed this way.

 

Prequel Jedi outfits do vary somewhat though - they're not all identical.

 

I dont know, I mean theyre just pretty basic robes and tunics. I dont think they are exclusive to tatooine or Jedi. My theory is that a ton of people in poorer systems in the outer rim etc. Wear a similar sort of thing, because theyre basic, cheap and practical. If were really going to nitpick then you can look at Tatooine and say that the climtae couldnt support any cotton type plant, or live stock that would require any kind of wool. I mean its just to hot and arid. Therefore you can assume those that made said garment had to have sourced materials from other worlds, or in fact, been traders from other worlds. If thats the case then said traders could have supplied them to countless species and planets.
However i think its much simpler than that. Standard brown and beige rags are probably the easiest and most cost efficient clothes to make in the galaxy, therefore theyre the most common.

I mean yes obviously i agree that Lucas made the connection between what Obi Wan and Yoda wore and decided they would be traditional Jedi wear in a film which showed a larger Jedi order.
But in world is hardly an implausible continuity error that more then one group of people could have discovered brown robes and beige tunics and adopted them as their normal day to day clothes. The Jedi came from very humble beginnings. There are far stranger things possible in the world of Star Wars.

 

There arnt many characters in the Saga that are commoners outside of Tatooine. On Naboo we meet members of the aristocracy and royalty. On Coruscant largely senators, bounty hunters and gangsters. (you can argue that gangsters are commoners but i think the Jedi would be unlikely to dress like gangsters) On Bespin we only really come across Landos staff who are all likely to wear a uniform. Planets like Geonosis, Kamino, Endor (a moon i know), Mustafar, Utapau, Hoth etc, dont have a large human population or are being used as bases during either the clone wars or the galactic civil war.

 

Jawas and Sandpeople show that the robes aren't exclusive to humans. Also, what happened to "show, not tell?" If we're supposed to believe that something exists when it's never seen or mentioned, the film failed at its job.

 

On the contrary, there is no need to show something like that at all. There is no point to do it in the movies, there's just no significance at all. There is however something wrong with the concept of "I didn't see anything like that therefore it doesn't exist". We also didn't see any toilets in the movies, that doesn't mean that we can assume that there is no need for them in the Star Wars galaxy.

 

my point is that robes arnt exclusive to Jedi or the people or tatooine but that they are a common item of clothing used by many. They are practical and serve a very basic purpose and meet the needs of Jedi, Jawa, Sandpeople, moisture farmers etc.

 

Actually, you were assuming that commoners on other planets wear the robes without any evidence to support that. That it's possible isn't evidence.

 

Robes in general would be quite common, you're right. But the particular Jedi style should not be:



They are too similar IMO to be coincidence. They're same type, style & look. It's tricky to explain in-universe, but not a big deal.

 

ok I concede defeat. I presented a theory in an attempt to rationalize a decision made my George Lucas. In my opinion its not too crazy to think that multiple species and organisations would wear basic brown or beige robes/tunic. I assumed this because I believe said garment would be cheaper to make, more practical, and easier to design than some of clothing worn by people on Naboo for example. I am not a textiles expert. I can not show you side by side designs of robes and other such garments that exist and explain why they would be cheaper to make or would more suited to farming moisture of fighting sith. No i have not provided evidence to support this, and until Disney release Star Wars: The Emperor Wear Prada - an in depth analysis of the clothing worn my Minor and Major characters alike i will struggle to find any evidence for you. It was my understanding that you interpret these sorts of details in the films without them being explained for us. Perhaps i should have chosen my words better, I was speculating as to why i thought Owen, Obi Wan and the Bartender in Mos Eisley might be wearing similar clothing. Forgive me if speculation is not alowed on this forum. You are right, it is unfathomable that glorified brown rags could exist on more than one planet.

 

I probably read more hostility into your post than you intended. My bad.

 

No sorry lads its my fault, i am off work today and going insane for something to do. Ive already watched ESB and guardians of the galaxy andwalked the dog 3 times!

 

He did.

This is exactly like the outfit the Jedi wear in the prequels. Luke's is only dyed black.

Then again, we never see any simple commoners on other planets either. We don't need to to see robes as a sign of humility.

 

Those outfits were what everyone present wore to begin with, before their training. Tionne Soulsar, who is the blonde in front of Luke wore that outfit when they first met. Kirana Ti was wearing the outfit of the Singing Mountain Clan from Dathomir, first established in "The Courtship Of Princess Leia". Streen was a Tibanna gas miner who lived alone on Bespin. That was based on his choice of clothing. Dorsk 82's outfit is based on Dorsk 81's and what his people wore. Kyp Durron's outfit is based loosely on what he wore at the time.

Luke's Jedi were the first of a new breed who didn't wear uniforms right off. Han and Leia's children didn't wear robes either.





Nor did Tenel Ka.



And if you really want to get technical, even before the age of the film era Jedi, they didn't dress that way.

 

Do we see commoners in TCW or Rebels? If so, what do they wear?

 

Not these robes that's for sure.

A few in the Coruscant lower levels wear similar cloaks though, like Spots Podal.

 

Very true, that is their "traditional" cultural clothing, but also keep in mind, a lot of the EU "costumes" I suppose you could call them were very exotic. They often included intricate costumes. Ahsoka Tano and Aayla Secura, for example, would have fit in more with the EU look than they would have the "traditional Jedi" look that we see in the movies (in fact, Aayla is the only Jedi we see in the movies who doesn't dress traditionally). I honestly think that if they were to go back and redo the entire "New Jedi Order" era, it would have turned out a bit less extravagant, and more like how the New Airbenders were in The Legend of Korra:

A bunch of people who are suddenly told they have special powers that they need to learn how to hone, in order to rebuild an extinct culture. They're thrown together, told to put on these itchy old robes, and are taught how to become Jedi.

 

The explanation that the robes were originally the humble attire of commoners in the GFFA is the one that makes the most sense to me. In the films, the only commoners we see are on Tatooine, and many of them wear robes similar to Kenobi's. We don't see common folk on any other planet, with the possible exception of Ewoks, but they don't appear to have invented the spindle or cloth yet, so they don't really count. It's reasonable to conclude that the lower-class denizens of other planets besides Tatooine also wear such robes, possibly attesting to some ancient culture of an unknown (to us) planet, from which all humans in the GFFA ultimately derive. By the time of the prequels the robes may be identified with Jedi, so that such attire can be called "Jedi robes", but originally that wasn't the case.

 

Barriss Offee and Luminara Unduli also dressed unconventionally.



The NJO Jedi did start to wear traditional robes, starting with "Union".



Which continued into the NJO series itself.

 

Looks like the average cloaked look to me, a bit on the catsuit side, but they're still recognizable as Jedi robes by Jedi standards. Nothing nearly as unique as Aayla or Ahsoka.

Also, isn't that Mara's and Lukes wedding? Mara has been more typically known for her tight leather catsuit look.

 

Yes, she did wear the Jedi robes for the wedding. But was in her regular outfit as seen on the cover for "Sacrifice."



I assume she did wear the robes from time to time. The books don't go into it much.

 

Yeah, I'd say Return of the Jedi really confused matters by turning Obi-Wan's outfit into the Jedi standard, as seen on Anakin. By the time of the prequels, they were just being consistent. But for A New Hope, it is a bit confusing when you take all of that into account. Though it's more confusing when Qui-Gon deliberately disguises himself to look like a local farmer, knowing his Jedi garb would be too recognizable.

 

See post #43. It's really not that confusing.

 

Whether it was the color or the style Luke's didn't look like Tatooine robes. So that was a good thing.

If that was established your theory would be a good one.

 

Well, thanks! For the record, the explanation that the robes are common and the Jedi chose them to be humble is found in the DK TPM book, 1999. The only speculation on my part is that in ancient times more people wore them, but now that time has passed they're more closely identified with the Jedi.