This post must really be credited to The Padawan’s Guide, as they are the one who really brought it to our attention. As with most of these posts for Aesthetic Influences there is nothing we have found so far that says for sure these are the influences. Padawan’s Guide says that Trisha Bigger said that this costume was based on a Russian ball gown, clearly from the way the gowns look this is likely the case. So far we have not been able to find the interview with Trisha Bigger so we can add quoted texted.
The general shape of the dress, the yoke that covers the top of the shoulders, the cowl and crown/headdress combo. The sleeves being tight around the wrists and the sleeves been puffed slightly, in general the dress that Padme wears is very similar to Russian ball gown. Please go check out The Padawan’s Guide look at these similarities.
Queen Amidala, and other queens of Naboo, have some very recognizable makeup, this post is about Queen Amidala’s makeup, which, while having similar makeup, other Queen’s of Neboo have slightly different makeup and will not be featured in this Amidala specific post.
These are good videos the show the application technique for the Queen Amidala makeup.
(Note: That the makeup technique for applying is helpful, however, it it not movie accurate.)
(Note: These may also help with the application of makeup for other Queens from Naboo, however, other Queens of Naboo’s royal makeup is not the same as Amidala’s even though it is similar so there will be some differences.)
Makeup Application To Avoid For Movie Accurate Makeup:
Winged Eyeliner
Eye Shadow (of any kind, other then white for setting powder)
Tight Lining Or Lining The Water Line
Colors Other Then White For The Setting Powder
(Note: using setting powder other then true no color or if you can’t get that white will change the color of the cream base)
Forgetting To Use Red Setting Powder For The Lips And Dots, which can result in smearing
Colors Other Than White For The Base
(Note: the makeup used in the movie was a porciline white, it is a warmer softer white not as harsh as clown white.)
(When its suggest that colors other then white should not be used, this means that even the lightest shade of regular foundation is not going to be light enough for Queen Amidala’s face base makeup, the makeup used in the film was a specific movie foundation.)
(TPM: Queen Amidala: Royal Naboo Makeup Chart) (Images From: Fit For A Queen)
EYE LINER (BROWN/BLACK) + MASCARA: GIVENCHY PRIZM TOME
*PILLAR BOX* OR BRIGHT RED
DOTS EITHER SIDE OF CHEEKS
‘LIKE’ LIP PEN
+ SAME COLOUR ON TOP LIP
+ SEMI-CIRCLE ON LOWER LIP.
NARS FIRE DOWN BELOW.
LANCOME EW?VCIL BLACK MAICAEA? OR MAICACA
WHITE BASE COLOUR
THE RESULT OF THIS MAKE UP GIVER A JAMNESE ‘KISUKI’ EFFERT, SO MUST BE EXECUTED WITH BOLDNESS FOR MAXIMUM EFFECT, “
Makeup Suggestions:
When applying Queen Amidala makeup remember to color in the eyebrows and pay attention to the shape that is seen in the movie.
Use brown/black instead of true black may help keep the dark color without having a harsh line.
RCMA has a no color powder that may be helpful for setting the base face makeup without changing the color and without using a white powder which may also change the color a little.
Queen Amidala’s Royal Naboo Makeup, though similar to other queens of Naboo, is unique to her. This is a breakdown of the approximation of Amidala’s makeup placement and techniques. We will be looking at both Padme and Sabe wearing the makeup because Sabe is wearing the Amidala makeup as her decoy. Colors and brands will be covered more in part – 2 of this post.
Breakdown:
Face Base:
Queen Amidala’s white face makeup is cream makeup base from RCMA. This was made special for the Star Wars movies by the company. An important note about this makeup is that though it is called Porcelain, other makeup’s with that name are not the same shade. In this case it means that it is a specific shade of white with a warm under tone to it which was special made for the Star Wars’s movies. The white base covers the entire face and is lightly applied over the ears and down the neck. Note that the white base is blended more with the skin on the ears and neck so make a less harsh white color.
Eyes & Eyebrows:
the royal Amidala makeup has a eyeliner and masquara as well, both are applied lightly, the liner applied above and blew the lashes, not at all on the water lines. The liner is also slightly smudgy so it is not a harsh line.
The eyebrows are filled in too lightly, the brow is filled in naturally, not over drawn, but simply to make a darker more dramatic line.
(Amidala eyebrows filled in, natural shape)
The image of Amidala in the makeup chair is very nice because it shows not only the application of the brow liner, but also shows the lid clearly, though this is in the middle of the makeup so we cannot know for sure, it is a good bet that only setting powder is applied to the lids, no real color. We do think that maybe it’s a white or pearl white possibly, however, a no color setting powder would also do very well.
(Amidala in makeup chair, filling in eyebrows)
Cheek Dots:
The cheek dots are the same color as the lips, which in this case is Nars Fire Down Red.
(Amidala cheek dots, center lines up with outer edge of eye ring)(Amidala cheek dots, center lines up with outer edge of eye ring)
Looking at the placement of the cheek dots we can see that the center of the dots lines up roughly under the outer edge of the iris ring.
(Outer edge of cheek dot lines up with outer corner of eye)(Outer edge of cheek dot lines up with outer corner of eye)
The outer edge of the cheek dots line up roughly with the outer corner of the eye.
(Center of cheek dots line up with center tip of nose)
The cheek dots center are roughly in line with the tip of Padme’s nose, as you can see in the images below for both Padme and Sabe the lines below and above the dots are more or less in line with the tip of their noses.
Lips:
The lips are the same color as the cheek dots, the top lip in filled in naturally with no over drawing. the bottom lip is filled in white with the face base with a small rectangle of the red lip color in the center of the lip. This lower stripe of lip color is squared at the bottom, though some pictures show a slightly more pointed angle to it bottom lip, the majority of the images show it to be square. This lower lip stripe is also roughly the width of the philtrum.
The Lake dress that Padme wears in Attack of the Clones is one of light flowing material, notably the beauty of the multi color ombre dyeing makes the gown even more stunning. Though like most of the posts in this series there is no proof that this gown was influential in the designing of Padme’s lake Dress, however, the pink and yellow light fabric seems to share a similar aesthetic.
The Valantino Gown is a vintage gown which we have not been able to find much on, however, it dose share similarities in fabric and color, light fabric has a flouting quality in both dresses. the gradient pink and yellow also are shared, however, the order is in reversed, Padme’s dress has yellow on top and pink on the bottom fading into other colors.
Mock-Fortuny pleating is featured in several Star Wars Costumes, all of them from Naboo. It seems to be a Naboo easthetic in the Galaxy Far Far Away. Unfortunately Fortuny Pleating is a lost wonder of the fashion world, in a nutshell the means to create the pleating died with Mariano Fortuny the man who invented it and as of yet has not fully been recovered. The Padawan’s Guide has already touched on the similarities between many of the Naboo clothing and Fortuny Pleating.
The Fortuny Dresses are sometimes refereed to as The Delphos Gown, and where very created to be a house dress and later a tea gown worn by wealthy woman at the turn of the 19th’s century. The wonderful thing about these original gowns is that they must be twisted into a small ball for storage, which means they take up very little room.
In Star Wars, Padme and her Handmaidens wear gowns with a similar pleating. Though it is not stated anywhere we have found yet that this was that the Delphos Gowns where an influence on the Naboo aesthetic, the light silks and unique pleating of the gowns makes a good case that they where.
Star Wars has many known and unknown inspirations and influences, this series will be focusing on similarities, possible influences and possible inspiration that helped shape the look of the Galaxy. Silhouettes, fabrics, and color palette among many, many other factors will all be looked at and explored.
Though there is no evidence we have come across to support this as fact, nevertheless, it is undeniable that Padme’s Green Velvet Gown that she wears in Revenge of the Sith shares many similarities to the The Arnolfini Portrait. Because of of these similarities we are looking at the possibility of this painting being the partial inspiration for the esthetic of Padme Green Velvet Robe.
The similarities between the gowns can be seen in
the color, dark greens,
the weight of the fabric, the paintings is a heavy wool and Padme’s is a heavy velvet.
long sleeves,
special linings, the Portraits is fur, Padme’s is patterned and purple
purple belts, though it is a little harder to tell if the paintings belt is purple for sure, never the less the belt placement is the same
a hood (Padme) and hood silhouette to the veil (Mrs. Arnolfini).
Special decorations on the sleeves,
long flowing gown that comes out from under the bust.
According to A Stitch In Time Episode 2, for a very long time people believed that the woman in the Arnolfini Portrait was pregnant. Though this is not the case, it is very easy to see why that would be assumed, she dose look pregnant, without a particular knowledge of the fashion and time period it is essay to assume. The woman in the painting has a silhouette that is similar to Padme’s, who is pregnant.
This is one of the few garments that we think is a spastic influence on a spastic dress instead of simply sharing a more common aesthetic.
Padmé’s Meadow Picnic Dress from [Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones,] has a complicated underskirt to figure out. Photo’s from The Padawan’s Guide suggests that the underskirt is a multi colored pastel skirt of sheer fabric.
(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Underskirt Colors) (Image from Padawan’s Guide, Exhibit Photos, Breakdown Photos) (Left Image adjusted to show the colors brighter, Right Image original)
The three distinct colors that can for sure be seen in the above photo are pale pink, pale yellow, and pale green. These are similar to the colors that appear in the ribbons on the sleeves of the dress, so it’s possible that the same colors that appear in the ribbons also appear in the underskirt.
A close examination of photos from the movie and promo stills from The Padawan’s Guide, shows that there are visible colors underneath the gold/yellow over-skirt. The photo below shows a distinctive pink color to the underskirt.
(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Underskirt Colors) (Pink Is Clearly Visible In This Photo)(AOTC: Padmè: Meadow Picnic Underskirt Colors) (Pink Is Clearly Visible In This Photo)
The photo below shows the underskirt as having both pink and yellow in it distinctively.
(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Underskirt Colors) (Pink And Yellow Are Clearly Visible In This Photo)(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Underskirt Colors) (Pink And Yellow Are Clearly Visible In This Photo)
The ribbons appear to be light green, pale green, pale pink, pale yellow and pale cream-yellow all in pastel colors.
(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Dress: Sleeve Ribbon Colors)(AOTC: Padmé: Meadow Picnic Dress: Sleeve Ribbon Colors) (Note: That There Are Two Colors of Yellow and Two Colors of Green)
One fan made costume took what appears to be the approach of making the underskirt with pastel colors fading into one another stripped diagonally across the skirt. (Note: that in the second photo below, with the over-skirt down, the fan made costume looks very slimier to the photos of the actual meadow picnic dress. With fain colors showing through the gold/yellow over-skirt.)
(AOTC: Padmé: Fan Made Costume: Meadow Picnic Dress: Underskirt Colors)(AOTC: Padmé: Fan Made Costume And Real Costume: Meadow Picnic Dress: Underskirt Colors)(AOTC: Padmè: Fan Made Costume And Real Costume: Meadow Picnic Dress: Underskirt Colors)
It appears that the direction of the pastel colors of the underskirts run more or less vertically.
(Note: The Padawan’s Guide says that “the skirt is only two layers “ of fabric. However, there is so much fabric that it may look like there are more layers then there actually are.)
The Dressing the Galaxy book, says that something like 50 yards of fabric where used in the making of the over-skirt. There is some debate on whether 50 yards could actually have been used. However, as it is a very tightly pleated skirt made out of very thin sheer fabric, 50 yards is not unrealistic, for this skirt. whether using 50 or 10 yards of fabric the underskirt should have the same volume as the over-skirt, a lot of fabric will be needed, in either case.
This products is simple to use, the color is a dark mat gold with a metallic gold thread accent. The product is good quality and is what you would expect from a crochet thread, the only con is with a lot of unraveling the gold metallic thread comes away from the base thread.
Products Pros:
Easily accessible
Affordably ($3.50, roughly)
Easy to use
Color seems accurate to movie
Products Cons:
Metallic Thread comes unwound with a lot of unraveling so if you need to restart your project several times this can be an issue.
Review:
Using Aunt Lydia’s Crochet Thread in Gold/Gold, is simple and very much like using any other crochet thread. The only complaints that can be maid about using the thread is that if you have to unravel your crochet several time, (3 or more) then the metallic gold thread will start unwinding from the old gold colored crochet thread base. This makes it more difficult to have a nice finished look and the metallic thread can get tangled on the hook and makes it difficult to crochet. However, if you don’t have to unravel your crochet thread, multiple times, it seems to be fine. The crochet thread is affordable and for the purposes of making Padmé’s bun covers only one skein is required. Be advised, while crocheting the thread can get twisted so much that it starts twisting in on itself, however, this seems to be more of a problem with the technique of crocheting instead of a product defect.
Padmé wears this Purple evening gown in Star Wars The Clone Wars, Season 2 Episode 4, Senate Spy. If looking for a very sexual costume from Star Wars without the problematic issues of Slave Leia, then this might be a good choice.
(In summery: Slave Leia is problematic when taken out of it’s story context as a position that Leia is forced into by Jabba. The difference between Padmé and Leia wearing sex-ulized outfits is consent. Padmé elects to wear her revealing clothing Leia does not.)
Because this dress only appears in cartoon form there will have to be some adjusting to translate into the real world. It can be easy to translate cartoons into the real world exactly, however, this often times can looks very cartoonish and if that is not the aim isn’t important to pay attention to the details. Being careful of watching proportions so that translating it into the real world looks good. Also consider that all of these proportions will have to be adjusted for each individual Padmé.
Fabric:
Because it is a cartoon that is specifically designed to look like painted wooded puppet, the fabric Padmé’s dress is made out of is difficult to figure out. The dress seems to be made out of a fairly heavy fabric the way it moves, the dress appears to be made out of a semi shiny fabric, such as a heavy satin. The gown color is a dark dusky purple, there is a light purple color on the front of her dress that makes up the symbols on her gown. (Because its used so widely in Star Wars, silk would be a good fabric to use for this dress, silk often times has a semi shiny look while not being overly lustrous.)
(A possible fabric for making this gown might be Silk Crepe De Chine, as its a light silk fabric with a lot of drape and movement, it was also used in Leia’s Classic Political Gown in A New Hope 🙂 )
Dress Skirt:
Padmé’s purple Clone Wars evening gown has a fishtail skirt, also known as a mermaid skirt. Padmé’s dress also appears to has a narrow ‘A’ line skirt, meaning that the skirt of the dress does not fit tightly around her legs, instead it it snug around the hips and follows an ‘A’ shape down to the hem. (Note: That the ‘A’ line dress, is a more narrow ‘A’ line so it resembles a closer fitting fishtail dress.)
Padmé’s evening gown also has a clear train, the train is noticeable, however, it is not very long. a good estimate would be a little over a foot so many 14″ for the train. this of course depending on each individual Padmé.
Padmé’s skirt is very full, there is a lot of fabric moving when she comes down the stairs, the fishtail part of the skirt which is the widest part of the dress is very full.
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Lots Of Fabric, Very Full Skirt)
Padmé’s dress also goes all the way down to the floor and her shoes cannot be seen when she is standing. The floor length of the dress seems to be just touching the floor in front and a small but significant train in the back.
The bodice of Padmé’s dress has a slight sweetheart neckline, the bodice also does not come up very high on her chest.
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown:)
The bodice appears to come up to roughly top of the triceps below Padmé’s shoulder,
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown:)
Padmé’s bodice is open on the side, there is no back to her dress, the bodice comes completely around her breast and onto the side of her ribs (see green line for edge of breast and pink line for edge of dress in picture below).
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown:)
The bodice of Padmé’s dress is also very structured, from the top down to the bottom of her rib-cage. The bodice hugs closely to her body, until the bottom of her ribs, then the fabrics of her dress becomes somewhat less structured and is looser and has a very slight drape around her lower back and side (see blue arrows for drape of fabric in picture below).
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Structure of Bodice and Back Gaping)
Back:
The gaping between Padmé’s dress and her back is more obvious in the picture below, however, note: that the gaping in not very much just enough to tell that the dress is not structured in its lower half.
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Gaping On Back Of Dress)
There is no back too Padmé’s gown, Padmé’s dress comes down very low into a soft round shape. The dress back is lower then Padmé’s natural waist, and appears to show her upper lower back, much like her lake dress from Attack of the Clones. (See blue line for bottom edge of dress, green for waist and red for shape of back of Padmé’s dress.)
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Back Of Dress)
Gloves/Sleeves:
The gloves that Padmé wears with her evening gown also double as sleeves, these gloves have a cut out that is the shape of an rectangle with rounded ends. The top of the cut outs on the sleeves falls in line the middle of Padmé’s chest. The bottom of the cut outs on Padmé’s gloves falls roughly in line between the bottom of Padmé’s rib cage, and her natural waist, the cut outs also end several inches above the elbow.
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Glove Sleeve Cut Out Shape and Position)
Padmé’s gloves are cut very high, the fabric goes up to her underarm but does not attack to the dress in any way and also does not have a lot of extra fabric there.
(SWTCW: S2: Ep4) (Padmé Purple Evening Gown: Glove Sleeve Not Attached To Dress & But Up To Under Arm)
The top of Padmé’s glove is a rounded shape that comes up over her shoulders, the sleeves also seem to be structured. Note: that the rounded top of the sleeve that covers Padmé’s shoulder is flush to her body. This indicates a form of structure that also allows glove to stay in place on her arm, (see blue arrow). The lower half that comes around the under Padmé’s arm is not flush with her arm, (see green arrow).
Padmé’s gloves also have a detail on the top rounded part that covers her shoulders, it appears to be cut wide enough to allow for several small folds to occur through the structured part of the glove. almost reminiscent of a very, very slightly puffed sleeve (see link for reference image of puffed sleeve).
Padmé’s hair is styles in a simple three strand braid down from the base of her back and down her back, the braid falls down to middle of Padmé’s back. Her braid is fastened at the end if a apparently metal semi cone shaped decorative fastener.
The Shoes that Padmé wears with her evening gown are the same color of purple as her gown. though it is hard to see it appears that she has a squared/rounded toe to her shoe, in the lower second picture vaguely appears to be middle average in height high heals, or more accurately pumps they appear to have some kind of back to them.
Padmé carries a bag with her evening gown, one of the few times she is ever seen with a bag. Her clutch bag is the matched to her dress and is the same purple color with silver accents like her hair fastener.
Aunt Lydias Crochet Thread is a grate option for making Padme’s meadow picnic bun covers. The color is a dark gold/yellow with metallic gold thread running through it much like the thread used in the movies.
Note: working with this thread is fairly simple, however, it is important to know that unraveling the project a lot will cause the metallic thread to come away from the gold/yellow base. Also note that this thread will wind up on itself.
Level of Difficulty: = Padawan
Youngling
Padawan
Senior Padawan
Jedi Knight
Jedi Master
Jedi Council Member
Grand Master Jedi Council
Force Ghost
Amidala for DIY Galaxy found the thread featured in the pictures at Jo-Ann’s Fabrics, however, it can also be found online at other stores.
