Jedi attire, also known as Jedi apparel, was the clothing worn by members of the Jedi Order. The most iconic example consisted of monk-like clothing and robes, often referred to as Jedi robes. While Jedi were permitted to choose their own attire upon becoming Padawans, the majority opted for the traditional garments associated with the Order, although figures such as Aayla Secura and Ahsoka Tano provide notable exceptions. Jedi apparel came in a range of colors, but was typically tan or brown. In the closing years of the Galactic Republic, the dark Jedi robes worn by Anakin Skywalker caused concern among the Jedi Masters.
During times of war, armor was sometimes used in conjunction with traditional Jedi robes; the Clone Wars led to the creation of Jedi Commander armor, which combined Jedi garments with modified clone trooper armor. Following the Great Jedi Purge of Order 66, some surviving members of the Order continued to wear Jedi robes. After the end of the Galactic Empire's rule, Luke Skywalker trained a new wave of Jedi apprentices who also donned Jedi robes. After his temple's destruction, Skywalker retained a set of traditional robes, intending to wear them for his final Jedi ritual.
The Jedi tradition placed importance on the worship of the Force and complete commitment to its principles. As such, members of the Jedi Order were typically dressed in simple robes, showing less concern for their outward appearance. Although the Jedi didn't have strict uniforms, Jedi apparel generally followed a pattern, including an undertunic, an overtunic, a cloak with wide sleeves and a deep hood for anonymity, loose-fitting trousers, a tabard, a wide sash tied around the waist with a belt, and tall boots. These items of clothing and footwear were usually in light earth tones, such as tan and brown, although some Jedi were known to wear darker versions. To some, such as the Kalleran scoundrel Janus Kasmir, Jedi robes made the wearers resemble monks.
Adopting a simple and disciplined lifestyle, most Jedi chose to wear traditional earth-tone robes. These clothes were comfortable and warm, and despite appearing restrictive, they allowed for a wide range of movement. In addition to not limiting the Jedi's mobility, the robes created a "swirling" effect that could distract opponents in combat. Beyond their combat applications, Jedi robes provided protection from harsh weather, making them particularly useful on planets like Kamino or those covered in deserts. The Jedi Order also allowed members to wear robes from their homeworld, such as Barriss Offee's hybrid Mirialan-Padawan outfit or the elegant garments worn by the high-born Dooku of House Serenno.
Grand Master Yoda and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker both wore traditional Jedi robes. Yoda used his cloak's hood for disguise, and Skywalker reserved his traditional garments for his final Jedi rite.
Jedi Commander armor was a type of personal protective armor used by some Jedi Order members during wartime. Costing 5,000 credits and distributed to Jedi after the passage of the Jedi Military Integration Act, Jedi Commander armor was a modified version of clone trooper armor. It was developed during the Clone Wars and used by the Jedi Generals of the Grand Army of the Republic, who fought alongside clone troopers on numerous battlefronts across the galaxy. Despite their Force powers and lightsaber combat skills, the Jedi were vulnerable to blaster fire and therefore wore armor over their ceremonial robes during the conflict against the Separatist Droid Army, which consisted of billions of battle droids.
Another type of armor used by the Jedi was the Jedi Reconnaissance Armor. Priced at 4,000 credits, it was created during the Clone Wars to alleviate the clone troopers' concerns for the safety of their generals. The Jedi thus used lightweight armor that provided some protection against blasters without hindering their movement.
Throughout Jedi history, there were changes in overall robe styles, but the Jedi Order did not enforce a strict dress code. Jedi could choose their attire after becoming Padawans, and some Padawans even adopted clothing that didn't match the Order's typical apparel. Nevertheless, most Jedi chose to wear the traditional Jedi robes, with only a few deviating from the traditional style that served as a prescribed dress code.
Some species within the Jedi ranks needed to modify the basic appearance to suit their needs. Kel Dor Jedi, such as Master Plo Koon, wore goggles and an antiox breath mask for safety when off their homeworld of Dorin. As a hair-covered species, a Wookiee Jedi didn't necessarily need to wear Jedi robes; the Padawan Gungi wore only a sash, a belt, and a bandolier. However, other Wookiee Jedi—such as Burryaga Agaburry, who had both mission and Temple attire like other High Republic Era-Jedi, and Arkoff—did wear the Order's apparel.
During the High Republic Era, Jedi wore brown robes with golden trim, known as mission robes. They also had access to white and gold garments called Temple robes. These fine ceremonial clothes were used at formal events like the dedication of the Starlight Beacon. Kufa of the Ro family mocked the golden robes as overly ostentatious, dismissing the Jedi as people who didn't understand the Force, based on her distorted understanding passed down from the Path of the Open Hand cult. To sneak into the Temple of the Kyber in 382 BBY, Path member Yana Ro was given a set of slightly outdated robes by her reluctant ally, the corrupt chief archivist Feric Oranalli. Ro sarcastically thought that Oranalli's description of the apparel as outdated made it seem like the Jedi cared about staying ahead of fashion trends, but the robes worked well enough to sneak in.
During the High Republic Era, Barash Silvain and Porter Engle developed a sibling-like bond. Despite working closely together as they traveled the galaxy, they adopted contrasting clothing that reflected their opposing attitudes; Engle wore dark robes, with lighter central robes and sleeves, while Silvain wore radiantly white apparel. Much of her outer robes and hood were tan. After Silvain stepped away from active Jedi duty in what became known as the Barash Vow, Engle reported his sister's actions to the Jedi High Council while wearing cream-colored robes.
During the High Republic Era, one Jedi Wayseeker—a Jedi who operated outside the Jedi High Council's orders—was Orla Jareni, who always wore white robes, making her stand out among brown-robed Jedi during missions. Jedi Padawan Reath Silas found her entire look, partly due to her outfit and Umbaran appearance, to be as individual as her decisions, with her blank robes making her white skin seem more colorful. As a Padawan, she had worn white robes during the Eiram–E'ronoh crisis, a mission where Cohmac Vitus also wore white robes. As a Jedi Master, Vitus wore the brown robes with golden trim more commonly seen as the era's mission attire.
OrbaLin, a blob-based Ugor, wore special attire: an environment suit with a dome-like top to maintain a humanoid appearance. His suit was white and gold, resembling Temple robes. OrbaLin was the first of his species to join the Jedi Order. After losing his EVA suit, OrbaLin continued his service as a Jedi in his natural blob state.
During the conflict between the Nihil marauders and the Republic, a battle erupted on Gallimere, leading a human citizen to find a fallen lightsaber. Deciding that Gallimere needed a hero, the human impersonated a Jedi, donning robes and wielding the lightsaber against the Nihil, but underestimated their numbers. Sometime after the establishment of the Nihil marauders' Occlusion Zone with the stormwall as its border, Jedi Master Keeve Trennis arrived on Gallimere, hearing rumors of a lone Jedi fighting the Nihil. Discovering another Nihil raid on Gallimere, Trennis found the robe-wearing, lightsaber-wielding human, who confessed to not being a Jedi but wanting to give the locals hope. The individual helped Trennis defeat the Nihil force, and the Jedi Master assured them that hope was all they needed to serve the light side of the Force.
As the Jedi Order continued during the Republic Era, the white Temple Robes disappeared, and the mission robe became increasingly common, used both on missions and within temples. Even then, the golden trim from the High Republic Era mission robe vanished from the overall brown and tan robe design. Nevertheless, a strict "dress code" still didn't exist, even though most Jedi followed tradition. Among the more individualistic Jedi, who strayed from tradition to showcase their personal traits, was the Twi'lek Aayla Secura, who wore fitted clothes that allowed complete freedom of movement and left her midriff exposed. Another Twi'lek Jedi, Finn Ertay, wore a long-sleeved, high-necked full-length dress that flared below the waist. Mirialan Jedi Master Luminara Unduli wore dark robes and a headdress that set her apart, with her apprentice, Barriss Offee, wearing her own unique blue robes.
With the passage of the Jedi Military Integration Act in the early weeks of the Clone Wars, the Order officially received military positions in the Republic Military and, with that authority, were granted pieces of body armor created from clone trooper armor, identified as Jedi Commander armor. Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi were given armor after the act, but didn't immediately adopt it. In time, however, Skywalker and Kenobi both began wearing armor as part of their outfits; Skywalker had made the shift by the time of the Battle of Arantara, while Kenobi had taken on the gear by the time of the mission to Krystar.
During the Clone Wars, Skywalker wore dark robes, which concerned older Jedi members. His robes, completed by Jedi armor, included a red and blue fitted tunic with dark armor plates, including a heavy, arm-length glove over his cybernetic right hand. His left hand featured a vambrace with a comlink. Later, he adopted an outfit without clone armor, although he kept the comlink-equipped vambrace and long glove. His new robes were dark brown/maroon, with even darker outer robe portions, although he shifted back to his prior outfit for the mission to Batuu and mission to Mokivj. During that operation, the Chiss commander Mitth'raw'nuruodo noted the practical applications of Skywalker's Jedi robes. In time, Skywalker shifted to even darker robes with a leather vest but no armor, retaining his cybernetic arm covering but leaving his left hand ungloved.
After Kenobi began wearing protective armor as a Jedi General, his gear was fitted over tan Jedi robes, its design derived from the clone troopers in his 212th Attack Battalion. He eventually shifted away from so much armor, only wearing two forearm pieces adorned with the symbol of the Open Circle Fleet, and later dropped armor altogether. The Kiffar Jedi Quinlan Vos favored sleeveless tunics, and occasionally wore a black leather outfit.
The Togruta Ahsoka Tano served on the Clone Wars' frontlines as Skywalker's Padawan learner. Like Skywalker, she didn't adhere to the traditional Jedi 'dress code,' preferring a sportier, more youthful style. She initially wore a bandeau top and skirt, which she had worn since before meeting Skywalker. During her apprenticeship, she also owned clothing that covered more of her body without compromising her freedom of movement. She later fully adopted an outfit that covered more skin while still allowing great freedom of movement, wearing it for the remainder of her Jedi service, only changing her attire after leaving the Order due to losing faith in the organization.
By the end of the Clone Wars, the Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Sidious had succeeded in converting Anakin Skywalker to the dark side of the Force. They quickly moved to restore Sith rule to the galaxy by destroying the Jedi Order. As a result, the newly-anointed Sith apprentice Darth Vader retained the dark robes he wore as a Jedi Knight. During the siege of the Jedi Temple, Vader discovered a group of Jedi Initiates hiding in the Jedi Council Chamber. Still dressed in his Jedi garments, he was mistaken for a Jedi by one of the younglings, who believed Skywalker had come to help them.
Vader continued wearing Jedi robes during his mission to the volcanic world of Mustafar, where he executed the leadership of the Confederacy of Independent Systems for his Sith Master. However, his duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi across Mustafar's magma-covered plains led to Vader's immolation, in which his Jedi attire was burned and replaced by a black suit of armor.
With the Galactic Republic replaced by the Galactic Empire, the surviving Jedi scattered into exile to escape the Great Jedi Purge. While some Jedi, such as Yoda, Kenobi, and Ferren Barr, continued to wear Jedi robes during the Imperial Era, Cal Kestis and Caleb Dume adopted non-Jedi attire—in Kestis' case, the work clothes of the Scrapper Guild on Bracca—while hiding as fugitives under Order 66.
Anakin Skywalker's son, Luke Skywalker, became the last Jedi after the death of his mentor Yoda. Taking the title of Jedi Master, he trained multiple apprentices, including his nephew Ben Solo. The new generation of Jedi wore Jedi garments from the start of their apprenticeship, as did Skywalker, who wore woven Jedi robes with a traditional Jedi belt buckle.
After the destruction of Luke Skywalker's Jedi temple, Solo sought to join the Knights of Ren. Because Ren disapproved of Solo's Jedi attire, the former Padawan replaced his tattered robes with darker garments reminiscent of the Knights' battle gear.
Skywalker fled to the Jedi Order's ancestral homeworld of Ahch-To, where he stored Jedi relics and a set of traditional Jedi robes that he intended to wear only for his final Jedi rite. Disillusioned by the Order's past defeats and his nephew's transformation into Kylo Ren, Skywalker wore his traditional robes when he tried to burn a uneti tree that served as a repository for the last traces of the Jedi religion.
In the wake of the Battle of Starkiller Base, Rey, a scavenger hailing from the planet Jakku, located Luke Skywalker in his self-imposed exile on Ahch-To. At their initial meeting, Skywalker was dressed in his classic Jedi attire, while Rey's outfit featured "a loose openweave tabard in Jedi tradition." Before departing Ahch-To, Rey changed into Jedi training clothes before her face-to-face confrontation with Kylo Ren on the Supremacy. Similar to her previous attire, the training garments showed Jedi influence, and included "a loose open weave tabard."
By the time the Battle of Crait unfolded, Skywalker had reversed his decision to bring an end to the Jedi Order. Although his physical body remained on Ahch-To, he managed to project an image of projection himself onto Crait, extending his presence across the galaxy via the Force. General Leia Organa, his twin sister, was surprised to see Skywalker in his Jedi robes, as he intended to rescue her Resistance from the First Order and its new leader, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren.
Skywalker's projected image was of a younger version of himself, wearing the same Jedi robes from his time as Ben Solo's Jedi Master. The sight of his former teacher enraged Ren, preventing him from noticing the inconsistencies in Skywalker's appearance. Consequently, Ren failed to eliminate the remaining Resistance forces as he had planned. However, the exertion of projecting himself across space and time resulted in Skywalker's death. As a result, his physical form vanished along with his Jedi clothing, leaving only the outer robe after he became one with the Force.
Rey, now committed to learning the ways of the Jedi, began wearing white clothing inspired by her earlier attire as a scavenger. In addition to paying homage to her origins on Jakku, Rey's outfit featured a lightweight synthetic capelet that symbolized the Alderaanian heritage of her mentor, Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan. She also wore trousers with padded knees while participating in the athletic exercises of her Jedi training on the planet Ajan Kloss.
During the New Republic Era, Karr Nuq Sin inherited the Jedi robes that once belonged to his great-grandfather, Padawan Naq Med, who had left the Jedi Order prior to the Clone Wars. Inspired by his Jedi lineage, Nuq Sin dedicated himself to rediscovering the forgotten history and artifacts of the Jedi Order.
Following the Order's downfall, the Jedi became mythologized figures, even being deified in legends. These tales painted a romantic picture of Jedi Knights dressed in brown robes and wielding "laser swords." Rose Tico, a technician in the Resistance, mockingly called the Padawan braid a "little rat tail" after Finn told her about Rey's search for Skywalker.
Jedi clothing was first seen in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, although it wasn't until Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace that they were established as standard attire for the Jedi.