Obi-Wan Kenobi cloak found in British fancy dress shopTue Sep 6,10:05 AM ET
LONDON (AFP) - The original cloak worn by Alec Guinness in the blockbuster film "Star Wars" has turned up in a British fancy dress shop, where it had been hired out as part of a monk's outfit, the owner said.
The legendary British actor donned the famous brown robe for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 1977 George Lucas movie, one of the most successful films ever made.
Once filming finished, costumes from the movie were stored by London costume firm Angels and Bermans.
The cloak was thrown in with hundreds of monks' robes and later rented out to customers, also being worn by an extra in 1999 film "The Mummy".
An Angels and Bermans spokeswoman told AFP that the original "Star Wars" costume designer verified that the cloak was the one worn by Guinness.
Company boss Tim Angel said the cloak was only discovered during a routine stock check.
"One of the guys was sorting through this pile of monks' robes and saw this brown one with an odd-shaped hood," he said.
"He put it on and the manager said, 'Oh my God, it's Alec Guinness's cloak from Star Wars'. It's unmistakable, an iconic piece.
"All this time we have been renting it out to customers wanting to hire a monk's outfit for a fancy dress party.
"The robe would have come in just after filming on 'Star Wars' finished and before it was released. It didn't get any special treatment because at that point 'Star Wars' was just another sci-fi film. No-one knew how big it would become."
Estimates have put the cloak's value at 25,000 pounds (37,000 euros, 46,000 dollars).
Angel said: "We don't generally sell pieces but if something had a very high value maybe it's something we would think about, because what's the point of keeping it hidden away?"
The cloak is on display at London's celebrated Harrods department store until October 15.
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