After having his armor returned to him in Star Wars: The Mandalorian, Boba Fett took the time to restore and patch it up, returning it to a luster unseen even in the original series. However, rather than just receiving a new paint job, Boba Fett's armor was fundamentally altered and refined. In part, this might be due to its time lost in the Sarlacc Pit or its retrieval by Jawas, but some decorative material seemed to be missing.
By comparing the new armor to a detailed guide of Boba Fett's original armor, the differences become apparent. Among the changes made to the paint, two features have been removed from the armor. This not only refined its style, but also erased some impractical -- even disturbing -- implications for the bounty hunter.
Boba Fett Lost His Cape
Star Wars: The Mandalorian showed that Boba Fett was willing to part with his cape. Classic Boba Fett armor had a side-cape that draped his body, reminiscent of the poncho belonging to Clint Eastwood's infamous Man With No Name. However, while the cape is cool looking, it is also entirely without any practical utility, unlike his various hidden weapons and reinforced layers of armor.
If anything, a cape might even hamper him. Following The Incredibles, it is hard to see capes as anything more than a potential disaster waiting to happen. Capes can become caught in something else, dragging the wearer off. Considering how Boba Fett was originally defeated because his own equipment was used against him, he was probably eager to replace any hazardous equipment.
This practical decision might very well be what protects Boba Fett in the future from anyone who wants to grapple him or suck him into a propeller. It also serves to further streamline his appearance, making him a formidable opponent.
Boba Fett Lost His Collection of Braided Wookiee Scalps
Most people watching Star Wars: The Mandalorian might have overlooked that the braids around Boba Fett's shoulder are missing. These braids are obviously ornamental, a type of trophy that Boba Fett keeps on his person. These trophies, however, have since been discarded in favor of his more streamlined design.
However, the question remains: whose hair did those braids belong to? As of 1997, according to writer Bill Smith, they were a braid of scalps that belonged to the Wookiees Boba Fett had slain over the years.
Much of what Bill Smith, author of Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology, wrote in the text attached to this picture is incorrect. After all, Boba Fett was not "Journeyman Protector Jaster Mereel." The book was written in 1997, several years before Star Wars: Attack of the Clones revealed that Boba Fett was the genetically created son of Jango Fett. However, the trivia that Boba Fett wore braided Wookiee scalps has never been retconned.
It is possible that the scalps were devoured by the Sarlacc or lost to the deserts of Tatooine, as the braids weren't on the armor when Cobb Vanth saw it displayed in the Jawas' collection. That means that Boba Fett had to get rid of his trophies whether he wanted to or not. Regardless, he has a far greater trophy now, one that overshadows his Wookiee scalps: the greater collection of Jabba's treasures and assorted riches, having stolen it after slaying Bib Fortuna.