Why do Star Wars characters wear Middle-eastern clothing?

[fauchelevent]

I think it actually depends more on the environment. The Jedi wear robes like that wherever they are because they're the science fantasy equivalent of monks and that's what we're meant to think of when we see them.

On Tattooine, it makes sense for them to wear outfits like that. The environments are similar to that you find in the middle east. It's a matter of being practical but if you think about it, most of the characters are just wearing what's practical and expected of them, not always middle eastern style if it doesn't fit the context.

Han doesn't have a fixed planet and he doesn't dress in middle eastern styled outfits, he's dressed kinda like the rogue traveller you'd expect him to be:

upload.wikimedia.org/.../...ar_Wars_%281977%29.jpg

Lando also comes to mind. Lando doesn't wear middle eastern style clothing, he wears what you'd expect a fancy politician guy would wear. Again this supports the argument that the reason many characters wear middle eastern clothing is because it suits the environment (e. g. Tattooine) or the context (being a Jedi).

vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/.../latest

Padme is probably the third example I can think of. Her outfits are meant to show her high status. Since she has no reason to, she doesn't wear the middle eastern styled outfits.

static.giantbomb.com/.../1694478-front_padme.jpg

1.bp.blogspot.com/.../Padme+1.jpg

So, yeah, basically my argument is that it's only some of the characters and when they do wear those outfits, it's in a context that is entirely logical. I don't think it's because Star Wars was necessarily influenced by middle eastern culture, I think it's just because those outfits are what people would wear in hot, sandy places or because our association with monks is long robes.

[ThisDudeHere]

Because star wars is science fantasy, not science fiction. They wear clothing like that so that you could more easily think of them as these mysterious monk-like characters. Because otherwise, they'd have worn futuristic clothing.

That and budget. Such robes are easier to procure than the aforementioned futuristic clothing.

I mean, look at Darth Vader. The character is cool but you can't deny that his armour looks plain silly. If they had better technology and more money back when they made the original, perhaps this would have been Vader's design.
i.pinimg.com/.../...gure-darth-vader-star-wars.jpg

[Whatthefluff]

It’s sandy

[Plumy]

I think the jedi are like mystical people like monks and you can find monks in Europe and in Asia umm...
Movie was nice and if you can associate it with personal ideas it's 🆗

[Hyped_up_on_coffee]

Obi-Wan and Luke originally lived in Tatooine which is sandy so it fits. Also robes make people seem mistical. Also they must have carried the style over to the prequels so that it felt familiar?

Hey! At least they weren’t so blatantly obvious as to put a turban on Chewbacca.

[lilmissumshine]

I've never seen middle easterns dressed like dark vador

[TacosRAwesome]

Because of the similar environments. As in both are dry and sandy.

[JimRSmith]

Because it was filmed in Tunisia, and a lot of local clothing was used as props.

People in Tunisia still wear that kind of stuff (although less so now, than was probably the case in the late 1970s).

[MarkRet]

On Tatooine that would probably be a good choice. It would protect them from the sun. On the other planets, probably not a good choice. I also can't figure out why the Jedi would wear those loose robes. You'd think they'd want something tighter fitting for their light saber fighting.

[eziegler81]

If you think that is all and the only thing middle eastern people wear, you need to educate and culture yourself.

[BrianMerritt]

On the desert planets, they wear desert clothing. But characters from other planets wear clothes that suit other weather. Queen Amidala wears lavish robes, People in urban areas wear more high-tech clothing.

[Waffles731]

The robes? Jedi are supposed to be like a mix of western knights and Buddhist monks,
And that's really just them.
For example Han Solo, who is basically a space gunslinger
Lets look at his outfit

[Anon85]

They're just supposed to evoke imagery of monks and religious orders

[busterpark1234]

Theh r trying to imply that we are the empire. N the terrorist are actually good guys. Hidden message that awakes us

[Red_Arrow]

It takes place in the middle eastern part of the galaxy, far, far away.

[Metaanio]

It's cool in desert environment. Let's enough air flote, while still protecting skin from UV radiation.

Fits perfectly to any galaxy.

[Josht13]

Anakin Wasn't lying when he said sand gets everywhere

[SirRexington]

They wear clothes commonly worn while in hot and arid areas. They are not only for the middle east.

[BirdFly]

Jedi ropes and stuff are not about mid west. And tatooine is a sandy planet. It clothes should fit the place. They may use mid west type in tatooine.

[Guanfei]

Jedi are clothed as monks, most people are wearing western style clothes, only on tatooine people are somewhat middle eastern clothed.

[Kiran04]

Because that's what George Lucas likes. Not really any other reason for it.

[ntinoskost]

The only reason the do that cause thoae clothes fit with the hole concept

[MidnightCowboy]

It's desert-like

[Wwwyzzerdd]

Because sand and sun.