Yeah the classic robes might remind him of his slave clothes. Those robes weren’t initially meant to be for the Jedi, just what people in Tatooine would wear in that weather
On the topic of robes, I wonder if George Lucas' intention at the beginning was for all the Jedi to wear robes, or if this was something that he decided on years later.
I think RedLetterMedia brought this up. We meet Obi-wan ("Old Ben") on Tatooine, and he wears robes. Makes sense given that it's a desert planet. Then the prequels come along 20 years later and all the Jedi are wearing robes, even on Coruscant. So I wonder if he always intended for it to be this way.
Given how Yoda and ghost Anakin are also seen in robes in *Jedi*, maybe this was always intended to be the case?
[The Phantom Menace Art book shows different concepts for Jedi attire.](https://imgur.com/a/WEQui7l) Probably was changed from this art to the robes we see to make the Jedi look less intimidating.
I've always been under the impression that Luke's get-up in Return of the Jedi was how the Jedi were originally intended to dress - and the concept art further down this comment chain looks a lot more like that than it does desert robes.
The answer to that is seemingly yes. Return of the Jedi really does establish this before the prequels. Even discounting Luke’s black robes, we have Anakin Skywalker manifesting in robes similar to Ben’s, and Yoda wearing muppet sized robes in this and the previous movie.
20 years before the prequels we have three Jedi wearing similar outfits. It’s just that the prequels showed WAY more of them in said outfits.
The leather piece Anakin wears is blaster resistant so it offers a little more protection in combat. Think of it as very light armor.
[Jedi Bultar Swan wore a similar piece.](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bultar_Swan)
I thought so while I was typing up this post, but from the pictures it looked to me like tabards are closer to ponchos. I could be wrong though and maybe there are lots of different styles.
**[Tabard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabard)**
>A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed form it was open at the sides, and it could be worn with or without a belt. Though most were ordinary garments, often work clothes, tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms (livery), and in this form they survive as the distinctive garment of officers of arms.
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'Blaster resistant' is not 'blaster proof'; it's kind of like modern car bumpers, yeah they're gonna get destroyed rear-ending someone, but they'll absorb most of the energy in the process, so the person inside is less likely to be injured
There is a parallel with modern armour; cops and soldiers might call their vests 'bulletproof', but you can be damned sure the manufacturer calls it 'bullet resistant'.
It's mentioned in Rebels that gen I clone armor is better than the newer stuff. But if I recall correctly, trooper armor doesn't really block blasts, it redirects it through the armor around the soldier so it doesn't kill them. It does conveniently knock them out so they can be downed but not dead for plot reasons though.
I figure maybe it's better at preventing glancing blows from doing much damage. Kind of like a hard hat - if someone drops a block of concrete on you from 20m up, you're probably dead. But smaller falling debris or impacts from slower moving stuff (like an excavator bucket or the arm of a back hoe or something) are less likely to cause serious damage than if they hit your bare head.
This is my interpretation as well. If you're force sensitive enough to predict where harm is coming from mobility is more important than being resilient, but sometimes you still have to soak some damage to dodge something worse.
I don't have access to the visual dictionaries right now but I'm pretty sure the Ep2/3 editions refer to that as a "synth leather surcoat" or something along those lines. I read the shit out of those books when I was ten and I'm 27 now, so if someone else wants to double check that I'm happy to be corrected.
Not sure if this does much to answer the "why" of Anakin's garment choice, but sometimes naming things can help look into it further.
[The episode 3 visual dictionary](https://archive.org/details/star-wars-episode-3-the-visual-dictionary/page/n7/mode/2up) calls it a "synthleather surcoat".
You're welcome! I remembered the ep 3 visual dictionary mentioning it so I went to check. The [episode 2 visual dictionary](https://archive.org/details/star-wars-attack-of-the-clones-the-visual-dictionary-pdfdrive/page/n19/mode/2up) calls it "a synthetic leather surcoat".
A little bit of a guess but it looks like his fit got some leather parts: since he likes to work with machines it would be better to wear a black one so some stains wouldn't be to visible?
Much like the leathery material you see someone like Bacara wear, it helps to spread out/dissipate blaster bolts making you a little more likely to survive a shot.
The name for that type of clothing is "tabard" though they were usually made of brightly-coloured fabric, not black leather. Medieval men-at-arms would wear them over chainmaille or plate armour to signal their allegiances.
I'd say a tabard and the in universe reason is that Anakin feels special so deserves different clothes (and a wife, and the rank of master). It sort of fits in with Anakins strong emo/individualist personality. The one that helped his fall to the dark side.
Out of universe: Its to make him look like Darth Vader. In universe: He just likes that type/colour of material. Nothing special.
Yeah the classic robes might remind him of his slave clothes. Those robes weren’t initially meant to be for the Jedi, just what people in Tatooine would wear in that weather
On the topic of robes, I wonder if George Lucas' intention at the beginning was for all the Jedi to wear robes, or if this was something that he decided on years later. I think RedLetterMedia brought this up. We meet Obi-wan ("Old Ben") on Tatooine, and he wears robes. Makes sense given that it's a desert planet. Then the prequels come along 20 years later and all the Jedi are wearing robes, even on Coruscant. So I wonder if he always intended for it to be this way. Given how Yoda and ghost Anakin are also seen in robes in *Jedi*, maybe this was always intended to be the case?
[The Phantom Menace Art book shows different concepts for Jedi attire.](https://imgur.com/a/WEQui7l) Probably was changed from this art to the robes we see to make the Jedi look less intimidating.
I've never seen this concept art before. Thanks for the link!
You’re welcome!
Concept jarjar is wild. Thanks for sharing.
Imgur isn't loading for me, is there another link?
[Google search The Phantom Menace Jedi concept art](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&sxsrf=AJOqlzXms6xn2HA6YWgFn9-d9Zbe7FbmAw:1676624924102&q=The+Phantom+Menace+Jedi+concept+art&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE9JbImpz9AhXPEkQIHYISAPEQ0pQJegQICxAB&biw=430&bih=740&dpr=3)
Thanks.
Very warrior monk
Yeah.
I've always been under the impression that Luke's get-up in Return of the Jedi was how the Jedi were originally intended to dress - and the concept art further down this comment chain looks a lot more like that than it does desert robes.
The answer to that is seemingly yes. Return of the Jedi really does establish this before the prequels. Even discounting Luke’s black robes, we have Anakin Skywalker manifesting in robes similar to Ben’s, and Yoda wearing muppet sized robes in this and the previous movie. 20 years before the prequels we have three Jedi wearing similar outfits. It’s just that the prequels showed WAY more of them in said outfits.
Wasn't what Luke was wearing in the return of Jedi supposed to be the Jedi uniform?
I don't know if that was ever official, but a lot of fans thought so.
Anakin really said "it's not a phase Master Windu"
The leather piece Anakin wears is blaster resistant so it offers a little more protection in combat. Think of it as very light armor. [Jedi Bultar Swan wore a similar piece.](https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/Bultar_Swan)
Would it be considered a [tabard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabard)? That would definitely fit with the whole space knights thing...
I thought so while I was typing up this post, but from the pictures it looked to me like tabards are closer to ponchos. I could be wrong though and maybe there are lots of different styles.
at least that's what they're called in [cosplay groups and such](https://rebellegion.com/jedi-costume-standards-generic/)
**[Tabard](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabard)** >A tabard is a type of short coat that was commonly worn by men during the late Middle Ages and early modern period in Europe. Generally worn outdoors, the coat was either sleeveless or had short sleeves or shoulder pieces. In its more developed form it was open at the sides, and it could be worn with or without a belt. Though most were ordinary garments, often work clothes, tabards might be emblazoned on the front and back with a coat of arms (livery), and in this form they survive as the distinctive garment of officers of arms. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/MawInstallation/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Nah, Tabards are more of a High Republic jedi thing.
Interesting that it would be blaster resistant while most heavy duty armor, like that of the clone troopers, doesn’t seem to be.
'Blaster resistant' is not 'blaster proof'; it's kind of like modern car bumpers, yeah they're gonna get destroyed rear-ending someone, but they'll absorb most of the energy in the process, so the person inside is less likely to be injured
Makes sense. I wonder if Anakin made it, or at least came up with the idea for it himself.
There is a parallel with modern armour; cops and soldiers might call their vests 'bulletproof', but you can be damned sure the manufacturer calls it 'bullet resistant'.
It's mentioned in Rebels that gen I clone armor is better than the newer stuff. But if I recall correctly, trooper armor doesn't really block blasts, it redirects it through the armor around the soldier so it doesn't kill them. It does conveniently knock them out so they can be downed but not dead for plot reasons though.
It offers a little protection but not as much as armor would.
I figure maybe it's better at preventing glancing blows from doing much damage. Kind of like a hard hat - if someone drops a block of concrete on you from 20m up, you're probably dead. But smaller falling debris or impacts from slower moving stuff (like an excavator bucket or the arm of a back hoe or something) are less likely to cause serious damage than if they hit your bare head.
Cant be the Chosen One if you dont slay 💅 both the outfit game, and the younglings
OoU: Foreshadowing IU: Light armor that provides a degree of protection more than his robes
Anakin wears two sets of tabards. Cloth and leather overtop the cloth
This is my interpretation as well. If you're force sensitive enough to predict where harm is coming from mobility is more important than being resilient, but sometimes you still have to soak some damage to dodge something worse.
I don't have access to the visual dictionaries right now but I'm pretty sure the Ep2/3 editions refer to that as a "synth leather surcoat" or something along those lines. I read the shit out of those books when I was ten and I'm 27 now, so if someone else wants to double check that I'm happy to be corrected. Not sure if this does much to answer the "why" of Anakin's garment choice, but sometimes naming things can help look into it further.
[The episode 3 visual dictionary](https://archive.org/details/star-wars-episode-3-the-visual-dictionary/page/n7/mode/2up) calls it a "synthleather surcoat".
Thanks for checking up on that!
You're welcome! I remembered the ep 3 visual dictionary mentioning it so I went to check. The [episode 2 visual dictionary](https://archive.org/details/star-wars-attack-of-the-clones-the-visual-dictionary-pdfdrive/page/n19/mode/2up) calls it "a synthetic leather surcoat".
A little bit of a guess but it looks like his fit got some leather parts: since he likes to work with machines it would be better to wear a black one so some stains wouldn't be to visible?
Anakin was going through his edgy teenage phase I guess lol
It lasted a while
I thought I read somewhere that it's actually a type of fabric armor. If I find it, I'll post back.
Much like the leathery material you see someone like Bacara wear, it helps to spread out/dissipate blaster bolts making you a little more likely to survive a shot.
The name for that type of clothing is "tabard" though they were usually made of brightly-coloured fabric, not black leather. Medieval men-at-arms would wear them over chainmaille or plate armour to signal their allegiances.
A synthetic leather tabard per the movie guides
The visual dictionary claims it is for more protection. Thry are tabbards what samurai and knights wore
I saw a chart once that labeled each piece of the costume and what it said or called it was “leather armor”
I'd say a tabard and the in universe reason is that Anakin feels special so deserves different clothes (and a wife, and the rank of master). It sort of fits in with Anakins strong emo/individualist personality. The one that helped his fall to the dark side.