The Queen's handmaidens wore costumes that enhanced those of the Queen. They often had symbolic meanings — such as the 'Defiance of the Sunrise' dresses worn by the handmaidens during the Trade Federation's occupation of their planet.
— In-universe symbolism[14]
Flame-colored robes are costumes worn in Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace by all of Queen Amidala's handmaidens—Eirtaé (Friday "Liz" Wilson), Rabé (Karol Cristina de Silva), Saché (Sofia Coppola), Yané (Candice Orwell), and later Sabé (Keira Knightley). It's also one of Padmé's (Natalie Portman's) costumes when she poses as one of her own handmaidens while Sabé wears Queen Amidala's black travel gown. As a rough breakdown, each costume's visual parts are:[n 4]
- Outer layer: orange-to-yellow ombré robe/dress with hood and wide sleeves
- Inner layer: red hood projecting over the wearer's eyes; red fitted sleeves
- Red waist sash
- Yellow low-heel shoes
Costume overview[]
Scenes[]
The costumes are worn throughout much of the film for the following scenes:
- A group of Naboo descends a staircase in Theed Royal Palace, including Sabé in Queen Amidala's black travel gown, followed by real-and-fake handmaidens in flame-colored robes. They're surrounded by Trade Federation battle droids, along with Nute Gunray and Rune Haako. When Nute tries to apply pressure, Sabé responds, "I will not cooperate."[9]
- Outside the palace, battle droids leading the royal retinue to intended imprisonment are instead intercepted by Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who then escort everyone to the palace hangar. As "the Queen" asked about her next move, Sabé first directs her words to Padmé, "Either choice presents great danger... to us all." Padmé responds, "We are brave, Your Highness." Sabé replies to Qui-Gon, "Then I will plead our case to the Senate." The party splits to board the royal starship, leaving behind Saché and Yané.[9]
- Rabé, Eirtaé, and Padmé stand behind Sabé as she's seated on the throne. Sabé commends R2-D2 for his assistance in breaking through the Trade Federation blockade and directs Padmé to clean him up. She takes that opportunity to have conversations.[9]
- During a sandstorm on Tatooine, Sabé-as-Queen, Rabé, and Eirtaé silently listen as a hologram from Sio Bibble describes events on Naboo and requests that the Queen contact him.[9]
- En route to Coruscant, Padmé has changed back into these robes (after her peasant disguise) and watches the hologram. Anakin is hunkered down, freezing cold, and Padmé covers him with a red and white-accented jacket. He gives her a japor snippet necklace to remember him by.[9]
- The party arrives on Coruscant, still in these costumes to meet Senator Palpatine and Supreme Chancellor Valorum and then travel in air taxis to their destinations.[9]
- When it's nighttime on Coruscant, everyone heads back to the starship, with Queen Amidala in her purple travel gown and flame-colored robes worn again by Rabé and Eirtaé, plus Sabé.[9]
- Aboard the ship, Rabé and Sabé stand behind Queen Amidala and Eirtaé by the door for their final scene in these looks. Amidala's going to "take back what's ours".[9]
In-universe[]
Now her friend and handmaiden Sabé wore the white face paint and the black feathered gown and headdress of the Queen, and Amidala was just ... Padmé, who wore the same flame-colored robes as the rest of the Queen's handmaiden-bodyguards.
— This costume is first named in-universe[1]
The junior novelization of the film provided this costume's in-universe name through Amidala's internal narrative.[1] "Flame-colored robes" was re-established as the New Canon IU name by The Visual Encyclopedia[2] and Queen's Peril.[3]
In Legends as in real life, the hood is used to hide the wearer's face. The "gown" (meaning the orange-to-yellow garment) is "tinted with spectra-fade dye"[n 5] and it has "oversleeves in the Naboo style".[16] One of the materials is "soft trevella cloth". The original Visual Dictionary and its reprint in The Complete Visual Dictionary has this label pointing to the inner sleeves; in the Expanded version, it instead points to the gown's oversleeve.[16][n 6]
Further appearances[]
A pin-up illustration of this costume was created by Justin Ridge during development of the The Clone Wars episode "Rookies".[25] The trivia gallery for "The Hidden Enemy" notes that "Naboo handmaidens" are among the pin-ups seen in the clone barracks.[26][n 7]
In Legends[]
Behind the closed doors of the Queen's private chambers, Sabé dressed in one of Amidala's ceremonial gowns. She put on a magnificent headpiece and then painted her face and lips with the marks of royalty. Meanwhile, Queen Amidala changed into the clothes of a handmaiden. She slipped into a hooded cloak, and she braided her hair. The Queen was now disguised as a handmaiden named Padmé.
— Life-or-death dress-up[27]
Three illustrations in The Queen's Amulet show Padmé in the costume: she and Sabé stand side-by-side, then she holds her amulet out to Sabé, and finally they stand together by a set of ornate doors. In the first two, Padmé has the hoods down, showing her braided hair.[27]
Further information: Padmé Naberrie's amulet
Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala includes two photographs, both repeated across multiple pages/chapters. She notes in Entry 2, "I have slipped into the more simple dress of Padmé".[28] In TPM, Padmé isn't wearing the jacket she puts on Anakin like a blanket,[9] but in this book, "I slipped out of my over-jacket and draped it around his shoulders."[29] The junior novelization calls it a "red silk over-jacket".[30]
In New Canon[]
The easiest way to get Padmé alone was to be the handmaiden who helped her get ready for bed, and so, for one last time, Sabé put on the hooded orange robe and pulled the cowl up over her hair. This was the outfit Rabé and Eirtaé had designed to draw attention. This was the silk Yané had shredded to send the messages Saché had carried through the camp. The bright color swallowed them up, made them icons instead of people. There were windowpanes in Theed that were decorated with this image, and no thought given to the girl inside.
It was her first suit of armor, and Sabé needed it.
— Wearing the costume again post-Attack of the Clones[31]
Costume gallery[]
Development
Concept art by Iain McCaig
Photography: Official
Three-quarters view, Padmé
Three-quarters view, Padmé on the royal starship
Photography: Fans
Full view, on a mannequin
Antique guipure lace motif on inner sleeve, dyed red; orange-to-yellow ombré on outer sleeve
Screenshots
Sabé in Queen Amidala's black travel gown; flame-colored robes worn (from left-to-right) by Rabé, Saché, Padmé, and Yané
In the queen's royal starship, same costumes as before on Rabé, Sabé, Eirtaé, and Padmé, along with Captain Panaka
Flame-colored robes worn by Rabé, Eirtaé, and Sabé; Queen Amidala in her purple travel gown; plus Qui-Gon Jinn and Captain Panaka
Same costumes, with Rabé to the left and Sabé to the right of Queen Amidala
Fan resources[]
- "Flame Handmaiden Costume" by Maggie on The Padawan's Guide to Star Wars Costumes. (Archived on 2022-11-13)
- "A look into Star Wars: Padmé's Dresses. Annex A." on The Costume Vault. Published 2016-07-24. (Archived on 2023-11-21)
- César Villar Toro's photography — Flickr gallery of photographs of Doncella Real (Royal Handmaiden) from Star Wars In Concert, taken on 2010-04-10 in Madrid, Spain
- "Handmaidens" photography by Kathy KayDee — ImageEvent gallery for FIDM "Dressing A Galaxy" Exhibit
- "The Flame Gown" by Adi on Star Wars: Fit for a Queen. (original link down; URL was: <http://www.rebelshaven.com/SWFFAQ/flamepromo.php>) (Archived on 2023-04-27)
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fan-created nickname
- ↑ Red is used on solid-colored parts of the costume: the inner hoods, under-sleeves, and sashes. These sometimes appear to be a very saturated orange, including in the film,[9] but Trisha Biggar describes them as red in Dressing a Galaxy[4] and they consistently photograph as red in costume continuity photographs and when they're in public exhibitions. The way this red seems to be orange can be attributed to various factors, such as differences in color timing across The Phantom Menace releases and media types, being set against the orange outer hood, and a person's perceptions of the colors.
- ↑ Padmé Naberrie's election as Queen Amidala and all events of The Phantom Menace take place in 32 BBY,[18] so that date applies to Queen's Peril.
- ↑ We'll come back to this thought, but the parts these costumes appear to have differ from their actual construction. Just looking at them in the film, it's not apparent that the hooded robe has at least two pieces instead of being all one garment. Fans don't seem to know if the inner hood and sleeves are a single garment or separate, if the inner sleeves attach inside the robe's sleeves, etc.
- ↑ What is "spectra-fade dye'? It's a dye used on this costume. And that's it, that's all we get. Theorizing here: since one literal meaning of spectra refers to the continuum of color produced by dispersing white light, and orange-to-yellow is part of that spectrum, maybe spectra-fade dye produces one color fading into the next on the spectrum, like this orange-to-yellow ombré.
- ↑ Soft trevella cloth is... Uh oh, here's a long note about a naming mess, with emphasis ours:
- IRL, the fitted inner sleeves are silk crepe, not silk and viscose velvet like the sleeves on the outer robe. Does the change of the VD label's target mean anything for the qualities of soft trevella cloth, like what IRL material it's equivalent to? Are the costume parts made of the same material IU, unlike IRL? Or was this an unintentional change when rearranging the page layout for the Expanded version and it doesn't actually mean anything?
- This material comes up again in reference to the clothes of Amidala's handmaidens: "Whether cut from soft trevella cloth or heavier material decorated with the Naboo royal insignia, the gowns served to emphasize the regal splendour of the Queen's garments."[20] In a later story, it's with a capital T when Han Solo tries to offer "two bolts of Trevella cloth and a bantha hide" as a trade.[21]
- In Star Wars: The Old Republic, the Artifice and Synthweaving professions use the material Travella Cloth.[22] Is this meant to be something similarly named or the same thing but wrong spelling?
- Wait, what about those Hapan males in "attired in elegant shimmersilk tunics and fine tavella doublets"?[23] This came before SWTOR, so is Travella a misspelling of tavella instead of trevella?
- And then there's New Canon's Official Guide for Solo: A Star Wars Story, in which party guest Damici Stalado's outfit has the label: "Metachromatic trevalla cloth". The outfit is mostly bright orange with some pink, purple, and splotches of black.[24] Easter egg for Legends fans or yet another similar name?!
- And aside from their different continuities, are (t/T)revella, tavella, Travella, and trevalla all different, the same, or what?!
- ↑ Lists of where this can be seen in The Clone Wars are available elsewhere, but this wiki hasn't gone on our own pin-up scavenger hunt.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Legends · Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, chapter 4, by Patricia C. Wrede. Published 1999 by Scholastic. Junior film novelization.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 New Canon · Star Wars: The Visual Encyclopedia, "Culture" — "Royal Outfits", by Adam Bray, Cole Horton, and Tricia Barr. Published 2017 by DK Publishing.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New Canon · Queen's Peril, chapter 8, by E.K. Johnston in the series Queen's Series. Published 2020 by Disney • Lucasfilm Press.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Real World · Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars, "Chapter Two: Royalty", by Trisha Biggar. Published 2005 by Insight Editions.
- ↑ Real World · "All Costumes" by Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service on Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume. Published 2017. (original link down; URL was: <http://www.powerofcostume.si.edu/allCostumes.html>) (Archived on 2023-02-06)
- ↑ Real World · Rebel, Jedi, Princess, Queen: Star Wars™ and the Power of Costume. Exhibited 2015–2018. Produced by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in consultation with Lucasfilm Ltd.
HANDMAIDEN Ombré Travel Gown with Hood, 1999 Episode I: The Phantom Menace Ombré-dyed (dipped in layers of color) silk and velvet
The hood of this costume extends out, creating deep shadows over the wearer's face—allowing Padmé Amidala to travel safely in disguise among her handmaidens. Rich colors and mysterious atmospheres found in paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood—a group of nineteenth-century English artists—influenced the design.
— Placard for costume - ↑ Real World · Dressing a Galaxy: The Costumes of Star Wars, "Costume Index", by Trisha Biggar. Published 2005 by Insight Editions.
- ↑ Real World · "Production Notes: Costume Design" on StarWars.com — Episode I. Published 1999-05-01. (original link down; URL was: <http://www.starwars.com/episode-i/features/production/costume.html>) (Archived on 2001-02-10)
- ↑ 9.00 9.01 9.02 9.03 9.04 9.05 9.06 9.07 9.08 9.09 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 9.14 9.15 9.16 9.17 9.18 9.19 9.20 9.21 Legends & New Canon · Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace
- ↑ One Forces of Destiny story, adapted multiple times across different media formats:
- New Canon · Forces of Destiny, Season 1, Episode 6: "The Imposter Inside"
- New Canon · Forces of Destiny: Daring Adventures, Volume 1, "Part 3: Padmé", by Emma Carlson Berne. Published 2017 by Disney • Lucasfilm Press. Chapter book; also adapted into an audiobook performed by January LaVoy, co-produced by Blackstone Publishing.
- New Canon · Forces of Destiny: Tales of Hope & Courage. Published 2017 by Studio Fun International. Young-readers book; fictional journal of Maz Kanata.
- New Canon · Forces of Destiny: Ahsoka & Padmé by Beth Revis. Published 2018 by IDW Publishing. One-shot issue.
- ↑ New Canon · Shattered Empire, issue #3 by Greg Rucka. Published 2015 by Marvel Comics. Part of Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 New Canon · Padmé Amidala in the series Star Wars Encyclopedia. Published 2021 by De Agostini. Content reprinted from The Official Star Wars Fact File (note: exact words/phrases may or may not be present in each specific translation into English, Spanish, and/or French).
- ↑ Legends · The Official Star Wars Fact File, Issue 104, Weapons & Technology: Garments and couture (GAR8) — "Exiled Splendour". Published 2004 by De Agostini (original series). Content reprinted in the 2014 relaunch Part 29, "Naboo royal garments" (GAR4).
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Legends · The Official Star Wars Fact File, Issue 110, Weapons & Technology: Garments and couture (GAR9) — "Royal Glory". Published 2004 by De Agostini (original series).
- ↑ Legends · The Official Star Wars Fact File, Part 29, Weapons & Technology: Naboo royal garments (GAR2) — "As Befits a Queen". Published 2014 by De Agostini (relaunched series).
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Legends · Star Wars: Episode I: The Visual Dictionary, "The Queen's Handmaidens", by David West Reynolds. Published 1999 by DK Publishing. Content reprinted in Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary (2006) and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace: The Expanded Visual Dictionary (2012)
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 New Canon · Queen's Peril, chapter 18, by E.K. Johnston.
- ↑ New Canon · Star Wars Timelines, "Naboo Royalty".
- ↑ Real World · The Art of Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, "Naboo: The City of Theed", by Jonathan Bresman. Published 1999 by Del Rey.
- ↑ Legends · The Official Star Wars Fact File, Issue 37, Characters: Amidala's Handmaidens (HAN1-2) — "2002". Published by De Agostini (original series).
- ↑ Legends · Shinbone Showdown, chapter 4, by Ryder Windham in the series Adventures in Hyperspace. Published 2010 by Scholastic.
- ↑ Legends · Star Wars: The Old Republic, Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion. Developed by BioWare and released in 2018.
- ↑ Legends · Tempest, chapter 7, by Troy Denning in the series Legacy of the Force. Published 2006 by Del Rey.
- ↑ New Canon · Solo: A Star Wars Story: The Official Guide, "Chapter 4: Place Your Bets" — "Party Guests", by Pablo Hidalgo. Published 2018 by DK Publishing.
- ↑ Real World · "Rookies Concept Art Gallery" (slideshow image 7 of 10) on StarWars.com. "Scenic art, clone trooper barracks pin-up art." Art by Justin Ridge. (Archived on 2023-02-02)
- ↑ Real World · "The Hidden Enemy Trivia Gallery" (slideshow image 11 of 12) on StarWars.com. "The clone barracks include pin-ups of Twi'lek girls and Naboo handmaidens." (Archived on 2022-12-27)
- ↑ 27.0 27.1 Legends · The Queen's Amulet by Julianne Balmain. Published 1999 by Chronicle Books. Illustrated by Matilda Harrison.
- ↑ Legends · Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala, "Entry 2: Invasion", by Jude Watson. Published 1999 by Scholastic.
- ↑ Legends · Star Wars Episode I Journal: Queen Amidala, "Entry 10: Some Great Evil", by Jude Watson.
- ↑ Legends · Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, chapter 15, by Patricia C. Wrede. Published 1999.
- ↑ New Canon · Queen's Hope, chapter 26, by E.K. Johnston in the series Queen's Series. Published 2022 by Disney-Lucasfilm Press.