Jedi apparel

Jedi apparel is the term given to the attire of members of both the Old Jedi Order and New Jedi Order. Traditonally, Jedi wore clothes that befitted their monastic and attachment-free lifestyle, but variations on the theme were common, particularly after the rebirth of the order after the Galactic Civil War.

Traditional Robes
Sworn to a life of modesty and humility, Jedi were raised their entire life without possessions. Given what they needed and their desires controlled, most Jedi wore the traditional yet simple Jedi robes and did not feel the need for fancy and outstanding outfits. The simplicity of the Jedi apparel was in many ways symbolic of the selfless compassion that characterized the Jedi order.

Jedi robes were simple and comfortable, long, flowing robes, including tunics, pants, and a cloak, of which each generally varied in tones and shades of white, beige and brown. However, there were some Jedi that wore Jedi robes in other colors. Vandar Tokare and Zhar Lestin, for instance, would wear blue robes around the time of the Jedi Civil War, while their contemporary Vrook Lamar wore red robes. Four thousand years later, towards the fall of the Old Republic, Anakin Skywalker wore robes ranging from dark brown to black. The Jedi also wore utility belts, where they carried specialized field gear for their missions, and leather boots.

Whilst the exact apearance of the Jedi robes varied from individual to individual and from era to era, the basic concept of simplicity and functionality was present up to the time of the Jedi Purge.

Cultural influences
As they progress throughout their career and learn more of the heritage they left behind as children, some Jedi would customize their given costume into a reflection of pride and gratitude of their homeworlds, while others would wear traditional costumes of their homeworlds altogether but kept in the traditional color scheme of the Jedi apparel. Aayla Secura, like so many other Twi'lek Jedi, would wear garments approximating the traditional Twi'lek costumes, but kept in the characteristic brown colors of the Jedi apparel.Mirialan Jedi Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee wore traditional dark Miralan garments and facial tattoos. In other cases, the Jedi of specific planets would have traditions of their own in terms of clothing. Many Corellian Jedi, for instance, would wear green and robes of Otttegan silk, a tradition that Corran Horn would later carry on in the New Jedi Order.

Armor
During times of great conflict Jedi would sometimes require the use of battle armor. However useful battle armors were, they would often be a hindrance to the Jedi, as they might diminish the effect of many force abilities, and also block out a few completely, such as Force speed for instance.

Atypical Jedi outfits
Some Jedi of the old order did not wear the traditional Jedi robes, but preferred other types of attirements for various different reasons.

The New Jedi Order
In Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order, Jedi would wear various clothings including simple every-day clothes, elaborate traditional clothings as well as militarily based clothings and pilot's jumpsuits.

Variety of the New Jedi Order
While individual Jedi who did not adhere to the "dress codes" of the Old Order were few enough to make variety a rarity, the Jedi of Luke Skywalker's New order would dislpay much more variety. One reason was probably that most members the first generation of New Jedi were already adults when they were first introduced to the way of the Jedi and had already developed tastes and preferences for clothing in terms of both aesthetics and functionality.

While some swore to the traditional apparel of the Old Order or the culturally based variations of it, many would wear whatever clothes they felt more confortable in. Ganner Rhysode and Corran Horn, for instance, would wear more traditional garments, the latter often wearing the traditional robes of past Corellian Jedi knights to honor his Jedi ancestors. Kyle Katarn would wear the same outfits as in his mercenary days, while Mara Jade preferred whatever gave her the most freedom of movement, often wearing tight-fitting flexible black garments. Lowbacca preferred wearing as little garments as possible as was typical of Wookiee culture. Raynar Thul wore the colors of the Alderaanian noble Thul family.

Jumpsuits
During the era of Luke Skywalker's New Jedi Order most Jedi were accomplished pilots and this required them to complete missions in their jumpsuits. Because of this, Jedi became known not only from their Jedi robes but also their jumpsuits which they found to be flexible enough to accommodate their unique fighting styles.

Behind the scenes
In an interview Dan Thorsland, editor of the Tales of the Jedi comicbooks argues that wearing armor is not consistent with the way of the Jedi:

"You won't see Jedi wearing a lot of armor, and there's a reason for that. So we make sure no one's running around looking like King Arthur from Excalibur. That's not the way of a Jedi"

- Dan Thorsland

This is in contrast with the way that the Jedi are depicted in Jedi vs. Sith&mdash;set in the New Sith Wars&mdash;where most of the Jedi are armor clad. The Knights of the Old Republic games on the other hand preserve consistency with the typical Jedi appparel in that, even though the player may wear battle armor, doing so blocks the use of many Force powers, such as Force speed.