Clothing
Clothing is a category of items in the Animal Crossing series, consisting of types such as tops, bottoms, and accessories which allow the player, as well as villagers, to customize their appearance.
Several types of clothes are available in the series. Most clothes are obtainable from the botique Able Sisters, but some are only available from certain events or from special characters such as Gracie. In addition, players can create custom designs and have them worn.
Types of clothing
Tops
Tops are clothing typically worn between the neck and the waist. Available since the start of the series, the player and villagers are free to customize their tops, either from an item or from a custom-made design.
In Animal Crossing, tops are the only articles of clothing available.
Prior to New Leaf, only short-sleeved tops are available for players to wear, and a top worn by a female player extends to her knees, making it resemble a dress. In New Leaf, there are three different types of tops: long-sleeved (commonly referred to as "shirts"), short-sleeved ("tees"), and sleeveless ("tanks"). In New Horizons, this number increases to six: tank tops, short-sleeve tees, long-sleeve dress shirts, sweaters, hoodies, and coats.
Prior to New Leaf, tops are the only type of clothing villagers can wear. Prior to New Horizons, while villagers can wear any type of top they choose, the sleeves are "cut" so that they do not appear. In New Horizons, these sleeves are no longer truncated. Additionally, prior to New Horizons, sheep wear clothes as if they are scarves.
In Animal Crossing and Wild World, tops that are displayed in a house or in a shop are depicted as long-sleeved. In City Folk, they are instead depicted as short-sleeved, similar to how they appear when worn by the player.
Bottoms
Bottoms are clothing worn between the waist and the knee. Prior to New Leaf, it is not possible to customize the player's bottoms. That is to say, male players always wear gray shorts, while female players don't wear bottoms at all (they wear long tops). New Leaf introduced three types of bottoms: shorts, pants, and skirts. More types of bottoms are introduced in New Horizons, such as long skirts and three-quarter pants.
Villagers have never been able to wear bottoms at any point in the series.
In New Leaf, Mabel will be surprised if a male player were to try on a skirt.
Dress-up
Dress-ups are clothing encompassing the top and the bottom. This type of clothing is introduced in New Leaf, where they are known as dresses, and have either long, short, or no sleeves. In New Horizons, there are six types: sleeveless dresses, short-sleeve dresses, long-sleeve dresses, round dresses, balloon-hem dresses, and robes.
Prior to Happy Home Designer, villagers do not wear dresses. While it is possible to freely customize a villager's appearance in Happy Home Designer, they will wear the dress as if it were a tank, similar to how they wear tops. In New Horizons, the sleeves of the dress-ups that villagers would wear are no longer truncated, although the hems of certain dress-ups would either be slightly truncated or have their bottom half excluded to resemble tops instead.
In New Leaf, Mabel will be surprised if a male player tries on a feminine dress.
Accessories and headwear
Accessories refer to clothing worn on the player's face, while headwear refers to that worn on the player's head. Both items are introduced in Wild World. Glasses and feathers, for example, are considered accessories, whereas wigs and helmets are considered headgear. A player can wear an accessory and a piece of headgear at the same time, although it is possible that the headgear encompasses the entire head, such as some helmets. A player may also choose not to wear either.
In Animal Crossing, the player wears a non-customizable, non-removable hat—a horned helmet for males, and a princess hat for females. The headgear's design is shared with the top the player is currently wearing. This has been changed starting in Wild World.
Prior to New Leaf, villagers cannot wear accessories and headgear. In New Leaf, there are some occasions where villagers may wear headgear, such as during Countdown or Halloween. In Happy Home Designer, it is possible to freely customize a villager's appearance, making them wear headgear and accessories that are available, but only one at a time. Starting in Pocket Camp, it is possible for villagers to wear both an accessory and headgear at the same time.
In New Horizons, villagers can be seen wearing either, out of their own volition or due to special events or weather conditions. During the Fishing Tourney, villagers will be wearing outdoor hats. In Countdown, they will wear New Year's hats. When it is snowing in New Horizons, they will wear knit caps.
Some villagers such as Kid Cat appear to bear headwear, although this is just part of their design, and making them wear headwear just places them on top of their heads. Others such as Raymond, Audie, or Jacques bear accessories or headwear from the start, and the player can choose to have them wear something else.
Socks and shoes
Socks and shoes are items worn on the player's feet. While the player wears footwear in all games, customization of footwear was introduced in City Folk, with sock and shoe items being introduced in New Leaf.
In Animal Crossing and Wild World, all male players wear green stockings with blue striped shoes, while all female players wear blue striped stockings and red shoes. In City Folk, Kicks can shine the player's shoes for 500 Bells, changing their appearance. The player's socks also change in the process. Starting in New Leaf, footwear are now available as items to purchase and wear. Since then, it is also possible for players to remove them entirely.
Villagers have never been able to wear footwear at any point in the series.
Bags
Bags are wearable items that have been introduced in New Horizons. They are worn at the player's back or hanging from the player's shoulder.
Tote bags
Tote bags are handheld items introduced in New Horizons. Unlike bags, they are held instead of worn, so they cannot be seen when the player accesses the wardrobe.
Villagers can be seen holding tote bags occasionally.
Umbrellas
Umbrellas are handheld items that the player may use anytime. Prior to New Horizons, umbrellas are a way for players to modify their skin tone, such that choosing to hold one under the sun will prevent them from getting a tan, while letting themselves exposed will cause their skin to darken.
In all games except for Pocket Camp, villagers have their own default umbrellas which they will use whenever it is raining, but they can also use umbrellas gifted to them by the player. In City Folk, they may wear umbrellas under the sun. In New Leaf, Happy Home Designer, and New Horizons, frog villagers will never carry umbrellas. Frog villagers can carry umbrellas in amiibo Festival, even though the game was released after New Leaf and Happy Home Designer.
Pressing A while holding the umbrella will cause it to spin.
Wet suit
Wet suits are special clothes that allow the player to go swimming to catch sea creatures.
In New Leaf, wearing a wet suit will cause the player's top and bottom, or dress, to be placed in their inventory. In New Horizons, the wet suit can be put on and taken off without having their current clothes stashed away in their inventory.
Villagers cannot wear wet suits.
Availability chart
The tick marks can be clicked on, leading to a list of clothing items of their corresponding category in their corresponding game. In addition, the links at the columns will lead to the lists per game.
| Clothing in the Animal Crossing series | ||||||||||
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| Animal Crossing | Wild World | City Folk | New Leaf | New Horizons | ||||||
| Tops | 
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| Bottoms | 
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| Dress-Up | 
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| Headwear | 
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| Accessories | 
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| Socks | 
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| Shoes | 
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| Bags | 
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| Umbrellas | 
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Miscellaneous
Flowers can be worn by the player as headwear starting in Wild World, although roses will be treated as accessories and are placed in the player's mouth. In New Horizons, it is possible to wear a stack of flowers with the same effect as only wearing one, that is, with no visual distinction. Similarly, Festivale feathers can be worn as headwear.
Designs
Designs are a way for players to create custom articles of clothes. They can be designed with the help of Able Sisters, through the game's menu, or through the NookPhone app. Players can share their designs by putting them up for display in their or another town's Able Sisters. In New Leaf, designs can be shared through QR codes, and in New Horizons, by accessing the kiosk in their Able Sisters and downloading designs through there. A town's designs can also be shared in dreams.
Wendell also gives designs in Wild World and City Folk.
Sources of clothes
Able Sisters
The Able Sisters is a shop run by Mabel and Sable and has been present throughout the game series. In Animal Crossing, the shop only offers designs that the player can take or replace with their own. In all subsequent games, the shop sells clothing items in addition to offering designs.
Gracie
Gracie is a fashion designer giraffe who specializes in expensive, high-end fashion. In Animal Crossing and Wild World, she visits the town and offers the player special clothing when finishing her challenges. In City Folk, she opens up a store named GracieGrace which sells fashion and furniture for prices much higher than in Able Sisters. In New Leaf, she will only set up GracieGrace after completing enough of her fashion checks.
Kicks
Kicks is a skunk who specializes in footwear and bags. In City Folk, he can be found in the City where the player can choose to have their shoes "shined", that is, customized. In New Leaf, he operates a shop named Kicks where shoes and socks can be sold. In New Horizons, he is a visitor who sets up shop in the Plaza who sells socks, shoes, bags, and tote bags.
Town store
The town store, managed either by Tom Nook or Timmy and Tommy, is a shop present throughout the series. This is the only place where clothes can be bought in Animal Crossing}, as Able Sisters only presents designs in this game. In New Horizons, wet suits and umbrellas can be bought from here.
Dump and Recycle Box
The dump is a location in Doubutsu no Mori, Doubutsu no Mori+, Animal Crossing, and Doubutsu no Mori e+ where the player can drop off and find items. There is a 40% chance for clothing to spawn each day. The dump was replaced with the recycle box in subsequent games. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, there is a 45% chance of any item (clothing or not) to appear in the box each day, it is the only place in New Horizons where certain types of clothing such as the shattered glasses and moldy dress can be obtained. Items in the dump and recycling bin are free for the player to take.
Balloons
Balloons occasionally float in the air carrying a present. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, balloons have a chance of carrying a random piece of clothing. The chances of it being clothing varies based on certain circumstances.
Villagers
Completing a quest such as hide-and-seek or any favor gives the player a chance to obtain a random piece of clothing from the villager as a reward. Villagers also have a chance of sending the player a clothing item as a gift through the mail each day. In Animal Crossing: New Horizons, gifting a villager an item with a resale value of 250+ Bells will have a chance of the villager gifting the player a clothing item. Gifting a villager any item below 250 to 0 Bells will reward the player with nothing but the satisfaction of gifting the villager something. The chances of receiving a clothing item varies based on the current friendship level with the villager. Example; if the current friendship level with a villager is level 1-2, than the chances of receiving clothing or a furniture item is 100%. But if the friendship level is 5-6, that chance decreases to 15%. This is due to room being made to have a chance of obtaining wallpaper, furniture, or the villager's Photo.
Events
Special events will feature some characters who offer special clothes unavailable anywhere else. For example, in the Bug-Off in New Horizons, Flick may offer clothing items as prizes. In Shamrock Day in New Leaf, Isabelle will give the player a Shamrock Hat in the Plaza.
In New Horizons, seasonal items may be bought from Nook Shopping. Several items have been added in the past updates.
Mechanics
For the most part, wearing clothes yield no effect on the player's gameplay, save allowing customization. Villagers may comment on what the player is wearing, and may even gift them clothes that they believe would suit their attire. Villagers will also comment on what they are wearing and who gave them that piece.
Some events require the player to wear certain clothing. For example, it is not possible to scare villagers in Halloween in New Leaf without wearing a full Halloween ensemble. Characters such as Gracie in New Leaf or Label in New Horizons will ask players to wear clothes with a set of criteria, and will reward the player if they have done so successfully.
On games that incorporate luck, wearing certain articles of clothes will cause the player's gameplay to tilt in their favor. In addition, the King Tut Mask will cause the player to visibly trip when they run.
Gallery
Inside Able Sisters in Animal Crossing.
The player and various villagers wearing clothes in Animal Crossing.
A custom design worn as a shirt and a hat in a beta of Wild World. The design window is revised in the final release.
Wearing custom designs in New Leaf
Mannequins in New Leaf
Using a wand in New Horizons
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