Article V. Costuming and Membership Requirements

Last Updated - Saturday, March 3rd, 2012

There are many exceptional Star Wars costuming sites on the Internet that welcome Star Wars costumers from around the world. The Fighting 501st Legion of Stormtroopers and The Rebel Legion are the two most well known. This Assembly is exclusively for light-side Jedi costumers.

All members of The Jedi Assembly must possess a Jedi costume. This costume can be representative of any of the styles seen in the Star Wars movies and animated televison shows, as described in the novels and magazines of the Star Wars expanded universe, or as depicted in Star Wars video games, but must adhere to the guidelines below. Please note that as TJA continues to grow and evolve, these guidelines may be changed frequently. Upon accepting membership into TJA, you must accept that costume requirements may be altered and understand that if this occurs, your costume might need to be altered or modified within a reasonable time period (i.e., six months) in order to meet the new guidelines.

  • This Assembly is for Jedi costumers of the light side of the Force only. No "dark side" Jedi, fallen Jedi or Sith costumes are permitted.
  • Dark Jedi costumes: Only Luke Skywalker (Return of the Jedi), Barriss Offee’s, and Luminara Unduli’s (Attack of the Clones) dark colored costume styles are being accepted at this time. To be allowed, the above-mentioned costumes MUST be specifically replicated. Anakin Skywalker's costume from Episodes II/III may be replicated with black or brown tabards.
  • Costume Requirements:
    • For basic Jedi costumes (i.e., a costume that is not an exact replica of an established character), all "earth tone" variations are acceptable. Earth tone designation means any shade of brown, tan, beige, ecru and cream - does not include white, black, or gray.
    • Outer tunic must be in earth tone.
    • Tabbards must be in earth tone and may be either Qui-Gon style - extending below the belt in both front and back or Obi-Wan style - ending at the waist in the back.
    • Inner tunic must be in earth tone and may be either full or false (dickie style), or may be an Obi-Wan inspired turtleneck. T-shirts may be worn under the inner tunic but must not be visible and may not take the place of an appropriately styled inner tunic.
    • Brown Jedi robe with accurate oversized hood is not required but strongly encouraged. The robe can be sleeveless (like Ki-Adi's) or full bell sleeved (like Obi-Wan's) and may be floor length or shorter with an elliptical hemline.
    • Brown Jedi belt. Recommended is a wide belt, minumum of 2 1/2 inches, with a narrower belt on top. It may be constructed from either leather or pleather. The narrow belt should have a decorative buckle in the front. Food capsules and pouches are strongly encouraged but not required; however, when presenting a complete canon costume, these should be included.
    • Brown boots must reach at least mid-calf in height or just below the knee. Boots may be leather, pleather or suede. No rubber or work style boots will be accepted.
    • Again, completely black costumes will NOT be accepted, except for specific replication of the characters listed in #2. In addition, the use of black tunics, undertunics, tabbards/obi, pants, or robes as a part of your costume is NOT acceptable unless you are specifically replicating a "face character" Jedi and that costume contains black elements.
    • EU costume colors, including bright white and gray, are NOT acceptable, unless you are specifically replicating a character's costume. Please see #6 below for details on EU costumes.
    • Creativity in costume design is acceptable and encouraged, as long as the costume is still recognizable as a “screen-accurate” Jedi (for example, from the movies or the animated television show); however, the Council MUST approve all “original” Jedi costumes. Potential members are encouraged to submit ideas for their “original” Jedi costumes to the Council for review and approval, or to submit photos if the costume is already complete. In addition, in cases where canon only costumes are required, an original costume may not be acceptable for certain events.
    On the membership application, the color of each costume piece must be indicated in writing, and a well-lit, full-length photo of the costume WITHOUT a robe must be provided. If your costume has a robe, then please submit an additional picture that includes the robe. If your costume is accepted and a picture is later posted to the site that does not match the membership description or photo, the member will be temporarily suspended while the costume is reviewed.
  • All Jedi must have a Lightsaber with a D-ring style or Covertec clip.  
    • Lightsaber: A member's lightsaber cannot be a toy or a flashlight. All Jedi props should appear more "screen accurate" than what is offered on the retail shelf. A hardware, machined, PVC or exact replica saber is mandatory as it completes the look of a professional Jedi costumer.
    • Optional props: aqua-breather, communicator, holoprojector, etc...
    • Lightsaber colors: When a saber is either rotoscoped for a costuming picture or recreated for a saber prop, a red saber can only be used in conjunction with a costume recreation of Mara Jade, Luke/Leia from the Dark Empire comics, and Adi Gallia. Furthermore, the only saber colors that the Jedi Assembly will allow are blue, green, purple, yellow, silver or orange unless dressed as a specific character. If a member wishes to recreate a Jedi character from the Expanded Universe, that character’s saber color must also be recreated. This is so characters and their respective saber colors are recognizable.
  • Members may not submit or wear Rubies costumes or Karate Gi’s as their TJA Jedi costume. We encourage both our members and prospective members to design/sew/acquire authentic screen accurate Jedi costumes. A Karate Gi may only be worn if dyed earth tone and altered enough so that its original look cannot be recognized. We feel that Rubies offers novice costuming to the public and as such is not acceptable at TJA.
  • Expanded Universe: Any exact replica of a Jedi costume from the Expanded Universe is acceptable ONLY after Council review. Members must cite their source (book and page number) as to what Jedi wore that particular costume, and submit it the Jedi Council for approval. This source MUST contain a full description of the costume, and it must indicate what each piece of the costume looks like in terms of color or style. If only one piece of the costume is described, then ONLY that piece will be acceptable. For example, if a description of an EU Jedi states that they wear blue tabbards, then the remainder of the costume must look like a "screen-accurate" Jedi costume in terms of style and color (browns and tans). Action figures are acceptable as a source for an EU costume; however, the figure must be produced by a Lucasfilm licensed source such as Hasbro. Custom actions figures are NOT acceptable as a costume source. Reference photos (if available) may be emailed to jedicouncil@thejediassembly.com. Please note that costumes that specifically replicate an EU Jedi which have been accepted for membership may not be acceptable for certain events.
  • Game Character Costumes:
    • Star Wars The Old Repubic: "Basic customizable characters" - that is, those you would start out with at the beginning of the game, must only be in earth tone colors as defined in #3. No highly customized characters are allowed. Your costume must have a basic Jedi look to it.
    • For other games: Face characters only. Costumes must be accurate to screen and have a Jedi look. No highly customized characters will be accepted. The general public must be able to identify you as Jedi, not as an elf, Ninja, etc. with a lightsaber.
    Applicants must site their source and email a screen shot of the character with costume pieces visible to jedicouncil@thejediassembly.com for verification.

As of January 5, 2012, all NEW members of The Jedi Assembly must adhere to the above costuming guidelines, and as indicated above, agree that their costumes must be upgraded (if necessary) as costuming requirements change in order to maintain membership. For those members accepted before this date, any costumes that do not adhere to the guidelines due to color (for example, EU colors) will be grandfathered in and remain acceptable. In addition, EU costumes accepted before this date will also be grandfathered in. However, any new costumes that are made by these members MUST adhere to the current guidelines. The Council maintains the right to periodically review each member's costume for adherence to current guidelines, and may request additional photos or information in order to complete such review. If a costume is found to be in violation of the current costuming guidelines, the member will have 6 months in which to bring the costume up to standard. If the necessary changes are not made within the 6-month deadline, then membership will be suspended and may be deleted altogether.