A suspensa was a kind of fashion accessory from Naboo, characterized by a decorative, dangling element. These ornaments could be made of materials such as strings of veda pearls or delicate orichalc metalwork. Both Queen Padmé Amidala and Apailana, who also reigned as Queens of Naboo, were seen wearing suspensas on numerous occasions.
Naboo fashion included suspensas, which were essentially dangling ornaments, such as strands of pearl beads or thin metal chains. These were worn for aesthetic or symbolic reasons. They are particularly associated with Monarchs of Naboo, for example Queen Padmé Amidala and Queen Apailana. Often, multiple suspensas would cascade from headresses, framing the painted faces of the wearers.
In 32 BBY, after she had to escape to the planet Coruscant due to the invasion of her homeworld by the Trade Federation, Amidala was seen wearing suspensas. When she visited Senator Palpatine in his apartment, she wore her lilac visitation outfit complete with a Shiraya fan headdress that featured white suspensas. During her initial speech to the Galactic Senate, her Senate gown was complemented by an escoffiate headpiece adorned with orichalc finework suspensas. Similarly, her black foreign residence gown was accessorized with matching black suspensas.
During Padmé Amidala's funeral in 19 BBY, Queen Apailana, representing the Royal House of Naboo, wore a Shiraya fan headdress featuring veda pearl suspensas, also referred to as mourning beads, which symbolized the tears of Naboo. These many strands varied in length, some reaching her waist while others only reached her shoulder blades, encircling most of her head without obscuring her face.
The first appearance of suspensas was in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, part of the prequel trilogy. In the official Star Wars canon, their identification first occurred in the 2016 reference work, Star Wars Character Encyclopedia: Updated and Expanded, authored by Pablo Hidalgo. The name originated within the Star Wars Legends continuity, debuting in the 1999 reference book Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary, written by David West Reynolds.