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Within the Jedi Order, it seemed to be that the brown robe over the lighter coloured tunic, pants and belt was more uniform than merely a customary wardrobe for Jedi Knights and Jedi Masters. I can't recall any other Jedi who wore any kind of variation from this outfit (I can only think of the Jocasta Nu who was the librarian in Episode II in the Jedi Archives, but she was at that time a Jedi Knight of some standing).

And then there was Anakin in Episode III, in his black robe and tunic, looking very different from any other Jedi. I realise that he was a big war hero, but he wasn't even a Jedi Master so it seems unlikely that his choice of attire would be welcomed by the Jedi Council.

So my question is this: Why was Anakin Skywalker, as a mere Jedi Knight, allowed to wear his black robes instead of the typical Jedi brown?

DavidW
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Jane S
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    The librarian was a Jedi: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Jocasta_Nu – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 12:25
  • @Richard Nonetheless, she was a Jedi Knight of some standing. (Sorry, deleted my previous comment when I saw your edit with the link) – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 12:29
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    He was allowed to wear all black so even the laziest viewer could easily pick out the guy who would eventually turn evil and wear all black body armour even amongst other Jedi. ;) Plus his kid wore a black jump suit in his third movie too, so, what choice did he have.... :D As for a real (in-universe) answer: my only guess is that since he was in the midst of fighting a war, he just kept wearing his flight (jump)suit, which happened to be black. He was also forced to wear a glove. The tunic just completed the image, so the Council thought it fitting the Chosen One contrasted from the rest? – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 12:37
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    Do the words "emo" and "goth" not mean anything to people anymore? :) Expressing his unique snowflake individuality, young Ani tried. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Jan 14 '16 at 12:39
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    The "uniform" seems to be more of a guideline anyway. Mace is dressed very differently from the other masters and had a fancy pink sabre too. – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 12:44
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    @Richard It was purple! :D – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 12:45
  • @BMWurm Out of universe, umm... yep! In-universe, while it might be his flight suit, it seemed to more or less be a black (with leather inserts) version of the normal Jedi robes. As far as his being the Chosen One, I am still not sure that would be reason enough for such latitude when arrogance is already a trait he clearly carries. – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 12:49
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    Interestingly, "Force Ghost Anakin" is wearing normal Jedi Robes... – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 12:52
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    Jedi Robes were not even an absolute requirement to begin with. See Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano. – phantom42 Jan 14 '16 at 13:10
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    @JaneS ... to be fair, arrogance and a feeling of superiority wasn't a trait only Anakin showed, the whole Order, including the Council, had become a bit.... let's be diplomatic and call it "complacent" after "a thousand generations" – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 13:14
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    @phantom42 Ooh, true! I had forgotten Aayla Secura. I think I am still repressing most of the prequel movies...! ;) – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 13:15
  • @BMWurm True, however Anakin's was certainly far more overt in his manner, especially towards other Jedi about his perceived (and likely actual) capabilities. – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 13:16
  • The Jedi order was not sufficiently genre-aware. – MartianInvader Jan 14 '16 at 18:32

3 Answers3

32

You do see a lot of brown robes in the Jedi Order, but there are several exceptions that no one seems bothered about. It seems like Anakin was just another exception that everyone was okay with.

The padawan Ahsoka Tano did not wear "typical" Jedi robes:

Ahsoka Tano wearing a brown sleeveless tunic, brown arm guards and grey leggings

Neither did the Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her padawan Barriss Offee:

Luminara Unduli wearing a loose floor-length black dress that has an embroidered gold panel hanging down from the waist in front and a black wimple and Barriss Offee wearing a black dress that is fitted down to the waist and gathered below, dropping to the floor, with a half cape and cowl

And Jedi Master Aayla Secura definitely did not wear "typical" Jedi robes:

Aayla Secura wearing a midriff-baring tight-fitting long-sleeved brown top

The Jedi Master Quinlan Vos was close to traditional, but he preferred to go sleeveless:

Quinlan Vos wearing a brown and beige tank top with a yoke-style collar and a single shoulder plate on the right side. He has his forearms wrapped.

The Jedi Master Rig Nema (a doctor in the Jedi Temple) did not wear traditional robes:

Rig Nema wearing a shoulder-baring long grey dress with long sleeves loose at the wrists and a grey belt

DavidW
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William Jackson
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    Hmm. The Jedi seem to have a very relaxed policy about skin-tight, midriff-exposing outfits for female Jedi. Are there any male equivalents? – Valorum Jan 14 '16 at 15:51
  • I edited to make your post easier to read by making the images smaller. Unfortunately, the first one does bad things at the "medium" size, so I had to use the "small" size. Can you maybe post a non-transparent version of the image that can be resized more easily? – Martha Jan 14 '16 at 16:18
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    There was also that Jedi from The Clone Wars that didn't wear a shirt. The hunter guy. – Jack B Nimble Jan 14 '16 at 16:18
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    @Richard A long time ago... female Jedi back then didn't have the same rights as female Jedi today. Skin tight belly tops were mandatory for hot ones. – Daft Jan 14 '16 at 16:39
  • @JackBNimble Do you mean Aayla's former master Quinlan Vos? http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Quinlan_Vos He shows his bare arms, sure, but otherwise ... – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 16:43
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    @BMWurm we're very close to searching the web for half naked Jedi men... – Daft Jan 14 '16 at 16:51
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    Well, those examples surely are all Jedi that either just came from or were ready to leave on assignments where they had to wear mission-specific clothing.... apparently when the call to Geonosis came, Aayla was working ... in a cantina, somewhere in the Outer Rim (maybe even Chalmun's) .... incognito... so that lightsaber at the hip.... she had to hide in a secret pocket of her clothes... somewhere ... probably... maybe – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 16:53
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    @Daft I'd just leave the men part out, that way the search would probably be far less effective, but much more fun ... until you run into really bad cosplay of either gender... – BMWurm Jan 14 '16 at 16:56
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    @Daft we're very close to searching the web for half naked Jedi men... Not seeing a problem here... ;) – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 20:27
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    @Richard I thought bare female midriffs were impervious to all forms of attack. – corsiKa Jan 14 '16 at 20:47
  • Thanks for your answer! While it doesn't give an in universe definitive "Jedi can wear how they please", it gives enough counter examples to the wearing of the traditional brown robes to indicate that it is indeed the case :) – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 21:39
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    I don't think that any of the silly cartoon characters count since JJ Abrahams took over. Thank the maker! – Darth Egregious Jan 15 '16 at 02:18
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    @user973810 Yet, those silly cartoon characters do, in fact, count... The Clone Wars (and Rebels) is "Disney" canon. – BMWurm Jan 15 '16 at 14:45
  • @BMWurm I'd prefer if they had removed the prequels too. – Darth Egregious Jan 15 '16 at 16:43
23

The Jedi apparel was generally based on their almost monastic lifestyle, however there weren't guidelines to say what color this needed to be. From Padawan and above, they had the freedom to choose their own style, however their choice could be judged by the elders as an indication of their personality. Take for instance Obi-Wan, who is very much studious and lives by the Jedi code of honor in everything he does:

Obi-Wan wearing a beige tunic with a dark brown belt and the brown collar of an undergarment showing at the neck, brown boots and a loose floor-length cloak over top. The sleeves of his cloak are long enough to cover his hands, his cowl is thrown back and his lightsaber in his right hand is lit and pointed forward and down

Anakin is shown to wear brown robes too:

Anakin and Padme on Tatooine with Owen and Beru; Anakin is wearing a brown tunic over brown and beige underlayers, with a brown belt and brown cloak.

However, the contrasting black robes were an indication of his personality. He was different, over-confident, brash, and sometimes reckless. He most likely wanted to feel like he was special, and wearing a color which makes his figure stand out seems befitting.

Of course, out-of-universe, he wears black robes because Lucas was setting the scene for his turn to the dark side, and among other more important things (like some decent acting), it probably wouldn't have seemed to have the same dark-side-like impact, had he not been wearing black.

DavidW
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John Bell
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  • He was still a padawan in the picture with brown robes :) Do you have any canon to back up the statement "The Jedi apparel was generally based on their almost monastic lifestyle, however there weren't guidelines to say what color this needed to be. From Padawan and above, they had the freedom to choose their own style..."? – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 13:10
  • (For the record, there's nothing wrong with your answer, I was looking if there was any canon about their robes, that's all :) ) – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 13:12
  • Well the basic answer is no, there isn't that I can find. The brown robes were a tradition, not a must. It's also of interest to note that Palpatine wears a brown robe when dueling with Yoda. I think there might be a misconception here that because most Jedi wear brown, the few that don't must have some kind of special pardon. It's an easy thing to think though I have to admit. – John Bell Jan 14 '16 at 13:44
  • While I do like your answer, I'm afraid that William Jackson's answer shows more exceptions to the wearing of the traditional brown robes, which gives more evidence that it is indeed merely a convention rather than a rule. Thanks for your answer! – Jane S Jan 14 '16 at 21:35
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    Agreed. I'm happy to receive upvotes anyway, and I'll leave the answer here along with the other answer, as it displays further aspects of Jedi attire. – John Bell Jan 15 '16 at 10:59
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This is discussed (and answered) in the Star Wars: Episode II - Visual Dictionary. In short, brown Jedi robes are traditional but not mandatory for anyone of Padawan rank or above. Anakin's choice of outfit "draws concern", but evidently only in private.

Part of a page from the Visual Dictionary; the text, under the heading "Dark Knight," is below

The tunic, robes, and cloaks worn by Jedi are honored traditions, but not uniforms. From the time they become Padawans, Jedi are free to dress as they choose. Anakin Skywalker breaks with tradition in his garments, both in their color and material. His distinctive dark clothing makes him stand out at the Jedi Temple and draws concern from Jedi elders.

DavidW
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Valorum
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  • Nice! I thought that while he obviously got away with it, his choice or attire would not have exactly been a favourite :) – Jane S Jan 17 '16 at 11:37
  • Don't worry, I had thought of that. It's just really late in my part of the galaxy so I was going to look at it again in the morning :) – Jane S Jan 17 '16 at 12:38
  • I've accepted this answer as it is the only one that provided a canon source, not just empirical evidence. Having said that, both the existing answers are very good, but I really was looking for an actual quoted source :) – Jane S Jan 17 '16 at 21:10
  • @Richard What are the Jedi elders' concerns? That he is too tryhard to stand out, or that dark is evil? – thegreatjedi Jan 20 '16 at 20:01
  • @thegreatjedi - They seem to be very worried that he really doesn't act like a Jedi. He was never indoctrinated in childhood and is far too individualistic. – Valorum Jan 20 '16 at 20:04