In the same vein as Knights in White Tunics: why do Naboo officials wear such elaborate outfits?

"Because it's tradition." Yeah, sure. Check out the clothes (and the suspiciously familiar white facepaint) Queen Elizabeth I wore just four hundred years ago, or the crazy costumes of Louis XVI's court - that's our tradition in the West, but you don't see anyone dressing like that anymore, do you? You notice men don't wear silk stockings anymore either. Judges still wear black robes, and British barristers still wear wigs, but that's about it - and that's not very elaborate, really. Traditional costumes as elaborate as Elizabeth's or Amidala's just don't stay in fashion; they're too much of a hassle to put on and too cumbersome to wear. Furthermore, taxpayers get awfully troublesome when they're expected to pay for your manicures. Besides, when you have a country - or a planet - to govern, you just don't have time to spend four hours getting dressed and primped.

So why? Is the over-the-top fashion a sign that the Republic's decadence and corruption have reached even Naboo? Is it a clue that the office of Queen is usually just symbolic? (Maybe part of the reason Amidala was so beloved was because, unlike most Nubian monarchs, she actually did something.) It because it looks cool (and don't get me wrong, I love Padme's clothes) and the queen needed to be able to swap places with a handmaided without anyone noticing?

Come to think of it, none of those are mutually exlclusive, so why not all three?