Sith apparel Sith apparel was the term given to the general attire of members of the Sith Order in all its forms . Unlike the Jedi who did not believe in material possession , the position of Sith Lord was highly individualized and the personal attire of each Dark Lord reflected this . Although similar to the clothing and armor worn by the Jedi Knights of the Galactic Republic , Sith apparel was in fact much more personalized to the wearer than its Jedi counterparts ; for many Sith , their armor and robes were an integral part of their identity . For users of the dark side , their clothing and armor usually involved some measure of physical protection , such as traditional armor plates , cortosis , or even self - contained life support systems . Many Sith were most easily recognized by their distinctive garb and often used this to further intimidate or impress their foes and allies alike . History . The Old Sith Empire . The first Sith Lords were fallen Jedi that enslaved the Sith , a species hailing from the Stygian Caldera . This resulted in a mixed - race population with mixed cultural traits . The apparel of the Sith Order combined inspirations from both the Jedi , the guardians of justice and freedom in the Galactic Republic , and the Sith . Unlike their Jedi forefathers , the Sith Lords enjoyed flaunting riches and outstanding signs of their wealth . They adopted a fastuous fashion full of bright colors such as green , light red or purple , with ornamented parts of golden armor . They also favored extravagant headdresses , war helmets and capes accented with eccentric necklines . Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh were good examples of this . Most Sith Lords would feel pleasure and a sensation of power through the jealousy and greed their material possession aroused among their peers . This attitude was still present amongst the Sith millennia later — Master Qordis was known to wear only the finest silks and most expensive jewelry , and he possessed luxurious apartments on Korriban . Many Sith robes were Force - imbued in the making , so that they could be used to enhance or assist one ' s ability to channel the dark side of the Force and call upon more strength or wisdom than they naturally would . Some of those artifacts were still intact and usable at the time of the Old Sith Wars , such as Aleema Keto ' s or Crado ' s robes , and the dreaded Helm of Dathka Graush . Around 5000 BBY , some of the Massassi warriors who accompanied Naga Sadow on Yavin 4 were also known to sport specialized combat gear that allowed them maximum agility in dense jungle environments . Battle armor . The Sith Lords of the Old Empire each wore personalized battle armor designed to strike fear into their enemies . Each Sith Lord tended to have their unique set of armor , though standard models were known to exist . The Sith armors traditionally consisted of metal plates worn over dark robes , and were usually covered in sharp spines to be used as weapons . Some time prior to 3998 BBY , the young Onderonian metallurgist Shas Dovos made his own suit of Sith armor out of steel plates , following the instruction of an ancient book . Dovos later merged with his armor , turning him into a new and powerful being known as Warb Null . Millennia later , Darth Vader ' s heavy suit would follow this tradition of donning intimidating and fearsome - looking protective coverings . If the latter followed closely the making process of the ancient armors , it ' s quite possible they were made through the use of Sith Alchemy , in order to augment the user ' s physical strength and vitality . The Old Sith Wars . After the Dark Lords Exar Kun and Ulic Qel - Droma established their Brotherhood of the Sith , the first order to their new students was the Jedi pogrom , in which the apprentices were commanded to strike down their Jedi masters . As such , very few of them had the chance to change their Jedi garments which led to a yet less uniformed Sith Order . Kun went on with the tradition of the battle armor , as he himself wore one . Sith warriors wore robes designed with a hood which could conceal the wearer ' s face , keeping them from being identified . Some Sith Robes also came fitted with basic armor made of cortosis . These robes shared some similar fashion features with the Jedi Adventure Robe and the Ceremonial Jedi Robes . Revan ' s Sith Empire . At the time where Revan founded his new empire , the Sith likely chose to get more practical robes . The technology itself had known fundamental improvements in the previous decades , and gave a more austere and high - tech look to the whole Galaxy . This is probably why individuals such as Darth Bandon , Darth Malak or even Revan himself wore such unadorned sets of clothes . Darth Revan himself owned a special set of armored robes , including a full helmet of Mandalorian design . The many renegade Dark Jedi who joined Revan simply clung to Jedi garment style , adapted to the dark shades of their new allegiance . The Sith Empire also had huge numbers of minions at its command , including the Sith assault troopers and the Sith Assassins , whose outfits were highly specialized . In the aftermath of the Mandalorian War , the Republic officers who served under Revan turned and joined the new Sith Empire . They replaced their red and yellow uniforms with azure blue / gray jumpsuits , with higher ranking officers wearing caps . This uniform also came to be worn by the trainees at the Sith Academy . The Great War . Sometime after the Great War , a Sith robe was a popular choice of garment for Sith serving the Sith Empire and the Sith Emperor during the Cold War between the Sith and the Republic . It was heavier than what Sith usually wore before and after the events of the Great War and the Cold War . The Jedi developed a similar garment which was equipped by their military forces . They also had a special type of gauntlet , called Warrior ' s gloves , that they wore during the Cold War . The New Sith Wars . Throughout the New Sith Wars , the style of the Sith apparel evolved into a more sober form , though it still had a touch of the old elaborate fashion of the ancient Sith Lords . Brighter colors were left behind in favor of different shades of black , dark purple and gray . The Sith would generally wear black capes with cuirasses and multi - pouched belts with buckles featuring symbols similar to Sith tattoo s . Lord Skere Kaan and Darth Bane themselves were often seen dressed that way , and Bane even wore an armored pauldron and a vambrace to protect his left arm . Darth Bane later wore biological armor made from hard - shelled orbalisk s which , through a symbiotic relationship , increased his Force abilities . Order of the Sith Lords . The Sith Lords that came after the establishment of the Rule of Two were in hiding and generally favored simpler black garments . Their concealing black robes made them appear as if they were creatures of the night . Darth Sidious favored monk - like robes made of harsh zeyd - cloth . Most of those robes were black , with a raised waffle pattern on it and long sleeves that reached to just below the wrists . This gave the illusion , by the time of 4 ABY , that Palpatine , the alter - ego of Sidious , had merely been a simple man . It should be noted that Palpatine also possessed at least two other sets of Sith robes . One of them was made in a burgundy velvet - like fabric , ornamented with Sith symbols . Palpatine publicly wore it in front of the Senate when he addressed his Declaration of a New Order . Indeed , he knew nobody in the rotunda would recognize the origin of these clothes , and he estimated the time of hiding had come to an end for the Sith . The other garb was a gray robe with a large hood , a black velvet capelet and puffed sleeves as seen when he battled Yoda . When the reborn Sidious went on a trip to Korriban in 11 ABY , he adorned a shorter , more practical variant of his well - known black cape , complete with capelet and a long , straight walking stick . Sith apprentices wore special training gear during their training to become Sith Lords . An example of such training gear was worn by Darth Maul , and consisted of an uniquely tailored vest . Once Maul acquired the rank of Sith Lord , he wore the black garb of the Sith Order . In a more elaborate fashion than the standard zeyd - cloth cloaks , Darth Maul wore black robes and loose - fitting desert - like garb , and a collared coat belted at the waist . The very large hood would drape down the back while the sleeves were elongated and almost touched the ground . Where the sleeves attached to the main body of the robe , two slits were cut , through which Maul could put his arms . Darth Tyranus , Sidious ' second apprentice , retained the traditional garb of the Counts of Serenno . It consisted of a dark brown double - breasted Vjun tunic , a pair of horse - riding pants and an armorweave cape — the shape of which would enlarge the Count ' s silhouette . He also wore black boots made of rare rancor leather , reaching just below the knees . Though Asajj Ventress wasn ' t a Sith per se , she wore " the trappings of the Sith " , as Dooku himself noted . Her gear consisted of high - collared tight - fitting black and white shirt and leggings under a flowing black skirt . The skirt was easily removable by simply tucking the sash away . When Darth Vader needed to be put in the suit that he would later be known for , Darth Sidious insisted on creating an intimidating look and completed the design with a cape and tabard reminiscent of the traditional Sith garb . Vader himself provided his Secret Apprentice with an Imperial uniform that he mended himself many times over his lifetime . Starkiller ' s training gear was both simple and versatile seeing as it survived numerous training sessions and volatile missions . Starkiller used variants of his basic gear , such as the homemade Heavy training gear which provided protection in toxic and polluted environments . Another was the Light training gear which was suited for use in humid environments . One Sith . Sith of Darth Krayt ' s Order wore armor of various designs . Darth Krayt himself wore an imposing form of armor designed to instill fear into the hearts of his enemies . Darth Wyyrlok wore a set of combat armor over his robes , while Darth Nihl wore a strange set of armor designed to intimidate enemies . Behind the scenes . Sith robes production design As George Lucas envisioned the Sith as the dark counterpart of the Jedi , their robes were mainly designed as black versions of the Jedi apparel . The under - robes for the costume of Palpatine as an Emperor were in fact a Japanese kimono of black raw silk , as revealed in " " book . Ben Kenobi ' s inner robes were also made of the same material , but in a beige version . Darth Maul ' s attire was sewn from a hand woven fabric called Indian Homespun which had been dyed black by costume designer Trisha Biggar . " Tales of the Jedi " design Though the timespan covered by the Tales of the Jedi stories kind of fits " Star Wars ' Middle Age " , the style of the costumes rather reflects Antiquity . As for the Sith , they seem to be widely inspired by ancient Babylonian or Egyptian fashion ; for example , Naga Sadow ' s and Darth Andeddu ' s headdress are quite similar to Pharaonic and crowns . Also , rather than be limited to dark colors , the robes of these ancient Sith were quite vibrantly colored , extremely opulent .