Padme Represents Women in the 2000s

Here is the basic look of young Padme in The Phantom Menace. Her dark brown robes allow her to blend in with the buildings on the sand planets she finds herself on. She holds a blaster here representing her willingness to fight to protect the ones she cares about. 

This offers a full look at the details of the outfits. The gold embellishments by the sleeves and waist remind us that she is royality and a political figure. While she is wearing pants, her coat leaves the outline of a skirt around her legs 

This outfit represents a pregnant Padme in her nightgown. The glamour and beauty that is portrayed in this silk silver nightgown really shows the change from the sexy female body to the beautiful one. Here you can notice the pearl embellishments and the emphasis on her small shoulders 

The back of the nightgown shows the draping in this look. The simple fabric rolls down her back in this beautiful almost waterlike allusion. 

This gives a closer look at the baby bump and the neckline of her dress. The beautiful jewels hold up the fabric on her body and give off the feeling of soft and dainty beauty 

Here is Padme in her peak mid 20s outfit. She is seen wearing her skin tight white pants and white shirt that has been ripped into a crop top while fighting. She still has her blaster because she remains ready to fight-- but there is much more of an emphasis on her female form 

Here is a side by side view of the outfit. You can see the arm band embellishments and her waist band around the edges of her pants. This outfit is perhaps one of the most iconic and replicated of Padme's outfits 

The Star War’s Prequels represent many different things for many different people. For some, it was their introduction to the world, and it helped them fall in love with the galactic badasses we met in the first three films. For others, the prequels deviated too far from the original three and ruined the characters they loved. Either way, the prequels brought forward a new galactic badass—Padme.  

Padme was both a queen and a senator on top of fighting with the Jedi to save the galaxy. We were introduced to her at an early age. Her she is seen as poised but still energetic, always ready to fight for what she believes is right. Her outfits are more embellished than her male counterparts, but they remain simple when she is undercover with the Jedi.  

As Padme grows into a woman in her 20s, we begin to see similar sexualization as we did with Leia in the original films. Her outfits get ripped off her body—revealing her stomach. Her pants are practical—but still skintight. Her color scheme matches Leia as her white pants and cropped shirt shine against the sandy space backdrop. So, while her outfit allows her to be a badass—the audience is still reminded that she is also sexy and the love interest of the main protagonist.  

Padme introduces the concept of space women maternity clothing in her final film. Here we see her not as a sexy fighter—but as a soon to be mother. The emphasis falls more on her softness and beauty than on her body. Her bump is visible for most of the film, but her dresses make sure to show off her thin frame against the rounded belly. The maternity clothes featured are shimmering, bright and heavily embellished with jewelry. She is now only able to fight with words, so her clothing no longer has to offer the option for mobility.  

Overall, the prequel series offer a similar view of the female body in space as was seen in the first trilogy. A woman can be a badass—but she must do so while looking aesthetically pleasing for her male viewers. The only time she does not have to do this is when she is a child—and even then, it is always made known in embellishments and silhouettes that she will grow into a woman and once she does the way people view her will change. If there is one major takeaway from the galactic badasses of the 2000s it is that women must be sexy when they fight.