Clothes

Clothes are the outfits that Sims wear. Sims are only without clothes when bathing, streaking, skinny-dipping, or WooHooing. Otherwise, Sims are always clothed wherever they go. Although clothing is largely cosmetic in nature, certain categories of clothing may affect gameplay; for example, wearing inadequate clothing in cold temperatures will make Sims uncomfortable. In addition, other Sims may react differently depending on the clothes a Sim is wearing—or lack thereof.

Sims are able to change the clothes they wear, either by using a dresser or on the spot before they perform certain interactions or go to certain places. In most circumstances, Sims will change their clothes simply by spinning around quickly. In console games prior to The Sims 3, Sims would produce changing booths before changing their clothes. Starting with The Sims 3, Sims no longer require a dresser or closet to change clothes, and can change into any category of clothing anywhere at the player's discretion.

Throughout all main games, common categories of clothing are everyday, formal, sleepwear, swimwear and (in an expansion pack) winterwear. Sims will change into everyday when heading out, formal for a wedding party, sleepwear when going to bed, swimwear when swimming, and winterwear as protection from extreme temperatures. The athletic category was carried forward from The Sims 2, making Sims change into it when exercising. Swimwear did not initially appear in The Sims 4, but was added back in a patch soon after launch.

This article deals with the way clothes are acquired and used in gameplay; technical aspects of the way they work is covered in skin.

The Sims
In The Sims, a Sim's clothing is not separate from the Sim's skin, and clothes are often referred to as "skins". There are seven different standard categories of clothing:
 * Normal
 * PJs
 * Swimsuit
 * Formal (adults only)
 * Winterwear
 * High Fashion (adults only)
 * Princely (Prince Sims only)

There are also several categories of costumes, which can only be selected from the Porta-Parody Costume Trunk included with House Party. Note that the Formalwear and Swimsuits options are entirely separate from the standard Formal and Swimsuit categories.
 * Costumes
 * Disco
 * Formalwear
 * Beachwear
 * Clubwear
 * Swimsuits
 * Togas
 * Westernwear

Sims wear Normal clothes by default, and they are the only clothing category available in Create a Sim. All other categories have a default outfit, which is automatically assigned to Sims when they are created. It is not possible to purchase Normal outfits, as wardrobes contain all available everyday clothes. Prior to Hot Date, the wardrobe's "Change Clothes" option would change a Sim into the next available Normal outfit for his or her age, gender, and skin tone, even if it didn't use the same body type. If Hot Date or a later expansion is installed, the "Change Clothes" option opens a dialog which allows the player to flip through previews of the Normal outfits available for the Sim's age, gender, skin tone, and body type. However, custom wardrobes based on pre-Hot Date wardrobes still work in the old way.

Hot Date introduces the ability to purchase new outfits for other categories, which can be bought on community lots. However, the new outfit replaces the old one, meaning that a Sim can only have one of each type of clothing at any given time. Vacation introduces Winterwear, Superstar introduces the High Fashion category, while Makin' Magic introduces Princely attire exclusively for Prince Sims.

Every category of clothing has its own individual clothing rack, which only allows Sims to buy that type of clothing. There are also two racks that allow Sims to buy several different categories of clothing. One, included in Hot Date, is for adults, while the other, included in Vacation, is for kids. In addition to the specially designated kids' clothing rack, children can use the racks for Swimsuits, PJs, and Winterwear, as long as they're in one of the community areas that kids can travel to.

Players can have Sims try on outfits before buying them. The Sim will go into a changing booth, change into the selected outfit, and pose in front of a mirror. After a short time, the clerk will approach the Sim, and the player will be asked if they want to have the Sim buy that outfit. If the answer is "Yes", the Sim will follow the clerk to the register and pay for the outfit. A Sim who is on a date can buy for his or her companion, and can have that Sim try on an outfit.

Clothing racks included in Hot Date and Vacation are not carried forward from those expansion packs. Games with later expansions installed may feature the alternate clothing, and allow the player to use it, but have no object to purchase it from. Players will be able to access it by using a third-party utility or a hacked wardrobe.

The clothing racks, by expansion pack, are:

In Makin' Magic, Sims can kiss toads, which may result in one turning into a Prince. A Prince will gain an extra clothing category, "Princely", consisting solely of gold and purple finery. There are no other options for Princely outfits, and as it is not considered a true category in the game's code, it is not possible to custom create additional options.

The Sims Online
The Sims Online contains the same basic categories as The Sims; Normal, Formal, PJs and Swimsuit. However, several new costume categories are introduced, each accessed from their own unique trunks:
 * Costumes
 * Old World
 * Sci-Fi
 * Sport
 * Toga
 * Uniform
 * Vaudeville
 * Vegas
 * Wedding

The Sims 2
In The Sims 2, there are seven different categories of clothing:
 * Everyday (§200 - available as tops, bottoms, or whole outfits)
 * Formal (§400)
 * PJs (§75)
 * Undies (§50)
 * Swimwear (§150)
 * Athletic/Gym Clothes (§100 - not available for toddlers. Available for children with FreeTime)
 * Outerwear (§300).
 * Special (hidden - contains uniforms for NPCs)


 * If FreeTime is installed, Sims with a Silver or Gold talent badge in sewing can make any type of clothing except Outerwear and Everyday tops and bottoms for §120.

Sims receive a new set of clothing when they age. Otherwise Sims must go to community lots to purchase more clothes. While clothing is expensive, it lasts forever, never needs washing, and one size really does fit all. Clothes can be placed in more than one category. For example, an Athletic outfit may be cross-categorized as Everyday. Even if an item of clothing is in more than one category, it only needs to be bought once. Likewise, some toddler and child clothing is flagged as unisex, and only needs to be bought once to be available to both boys and girls. Clothing is available as soon as it is paid for, though a Sim's ability to access it on community lots depends on which expansion packs are installed.

Beginning with University, a Sim's career outfits were added to the family wardrobe, but FreeTime reverted this to pre-University behavior. If a career outfit that is added to the family wardrobe has a teen version, that outfit may also be added to the wardrobe, even if no teen in the household has the job which uses it.

Sims can change and plan outfits with a dresser. Most outfits are one-piece outfits. However, Everyday clothes for children through elders can also be bought as separate tops and bottoms, which allows players to mix-and-match tops and bottoms for unique Everyday two-piece outfits. Beginning with Bon Voyage, changing booths could be used as dressers, giving Sims the ability to wear outfits they had just bought.

Clothing racks
In The Sims 2, all clothing racks sell all types of clothing. Since clothes are bought for the household, not for the individual Sim, Sims can buy clothes for other ages, and for the opposite gender. So, teens, adults, and elders can buy for toddlers and children; and teens and adults can buy for their next life stage. However, young adult clothing can only be bought on college community lots, so teens cannot plan their college wardrobe ahead of time. Also, young adults getting ready to leave campus cannot buy their adult clothing in advance. (Young adults can go to other areas and buy adult clothing, but will not keep it when they leave campus.) Items selected for purchase will be marked with a green check-mark. They can be unselected by clicking on the shopping cart icon, clicking the item to be unselected, then clicking on the slashed shopping cart icon. Items which are already in the household's wardrobe will be tagged with a small icon that resembles a dresser. These items can be tried on or applied to the "mannequin" figure, but cannot be bought.

Players can have Sims try on outfits for their own age and gender. If the Sim is to try on Everyday clothes, the player can select both a top and a bottom, or a whole outfit. Having a Sim try on clothes can be useful, as the "mannequin" figure that appears when using the Buy option for the Sim's age and gender isn't always a good representation of the Sim. For example, the "mannequin" will generally be light-skinned, even if the Sim is not. Also, while children cannot buy clothes, they can try them on. The player will not be given the option to add tried-on clothes to the Sim's cart, so having them buy those clothes will involve using a clothing rack's Buy option, and finding them again. When a Sim tries on an outfit, he or she will go into a changing booth, change into the outfit, and pose in front of a mirror. After a short time, the Sim will go back into the booth, change back into what he or she was wearing before, and go back to the rack. It appears that the Sim will use what he or she considers to be the closest available booth. If the Sim decides that that booth is inaccessible, he or she will spin-change at that point, pose briefly, then change back and return to the rack. If there are no changing booths, the Sim will spin-change into the selected outfit, then quickly change back out of it.

Clothing racks use the same thumbnails that Create a Sim uses, but do not give access to the collections that are available in CAS. When using a clothing rack, the game may pause for some time while the thumbnails load.

Clothing racks in businesses
In a Sim-owned business, clothing racks become point-of-sale objects which allow the business to sell clothes. A side-effect of this is that all outfits sold from a rack in an owned business have the same price, regardless of their normal cost. Pricing appears to be based on the normal §200 cost of Everyday outfits.

If the lot is being played as a business, a controllable Sim can suggest a type of clothing to a customer. If this sale is successful, a selection dialog for the customer's age and gender will open, and the player can select the outfit which the Sim will buy. If Everyday was suggested, the player will be able to select a top and bottom, or a complete outfit. This dialog is different from the normal Buy dialog in several ways. While the "mannequin" figure is not a perfect representation of the Sim, it should at least have the Sim's skin tone. Also, it is taller, has larger thumbnails, and does not allow the player to select a different age or gender. Once the outfit is paid for, it will be set as the Sim's current outfit of that type, so if it is the type of clothing the Sim is wearing, he or she will change into it. If it is an Everyday outfit, the Sim's in-game thumbnail will be updated. It appears that these sales may not, or may not always, decrease the number of items available on the rack.

Also, customers may shop at a rack autonomously, without an outfit being suggested. Sales socials can be used on these Sims, but these sales appear to be "phantom sales". While the Sim pays at the register, the business gets the money, and the number of items on the rack is decreased, the dialog does not open and the Sim does not actually get anything.

If the player sends Sims to an owned business that sells clothing, those Sims will be able to use the clothing racks as they would in an unowned shop—with two exceptions. All outfits will have the same price, and the Buy dialog will contain a meter showing how many items are left on the rack.

Clothes and moving
Since clothes are bought for the household, they travel with the household, not necessarily with individual Sims. If the household moves from one lot to another, the household's wardrobe should go with it. However, when individual Sims move from one household to another, whether directly or via the Family Bin, they might not carry any clothes other than the ones they are wearing and any special outfits they may have acquired. However, this will not necessarily apply to career outfits; career outfits earned by household members may travel with the household rather than with the Sim who earned them. The game appears to maintain this distinction even for single-Sim households. If a Sim who is the only member of a household marries or moves into another, that Sim's wardrobe may not travel with him/her.

With FreeTime, Sims can carry sewn outfits in inventory when they move, and even when they go to or return from college.

The Sims 3
In The Sims 3, there are different categories of clothing:


 * Naked (live mode only)
 * Everyday
 * Formalwear
 * Sleepwear
 * Swimwear
 * Athletic
 * Outerwear
 * Singed (live mode only)
 * Martial Arts (live mode only)


 * Career
 * Firefighting (live mode only)
 * Makeover (styling station only)
 * Skinny Dipping Towel (live mode only)
 * Scuba Diving (live mode only)
 * Racing (horses only)
 * Jumping (horses only)
 * Bridle (horses only)



There are no longer clothing shops as Sims have access to all outfits except special career outfits. In The Sims 3, players have the ability to customize the pattern and color of every article of clothing. Shoes are now separate from the rest of a Sim's clothes, and every outfit category has the ability to choose different tops and bottoms. Sims can now choose one of three different outfits from each category of clothing and wear them periodically. Also, hair can be assigned to an outfit, as featured in The Sims 2: Seasons. However, in order to assign hair to an outfit, the Sim must be wearing that category of clothing; which was not necessary in The Sims 2: Seasons. This method is difficult to use in the game because it involves changing a Sim's outfit with a dresser, then changing the Sim's head with a mirror. This can be done more easily by using the makeover station from The Sims 3: Ambitions.

There are many categories of clothing in The Sims 3. Sims can choose their outfit for everyday, formalwear, sleepwear, swimwear, athletic, career, and outerwear. The undies category has been merged with sleepwear, so Sims will wear sleepwear after they WooHoo, for instance. Career outfits can be customized since patch 31, equivalent to Showtime, which enables more choice for Sims in their career or profession. Outerwear is worn by Sims during winter or cold weather, and it keeps Sims warm longer than wearing anything else.

The rest of the categories are only used for special occasions, and they mostly cannot be customized. Naked and singed categories are used when Sims take a bath or get singed. Sims gain martial arts clothing as they earn more skills in martial arts, and this clothing is used when they practice martial arts and spar. Firefighting is used when Sims respond to an emergency if they work in the firefighter profession. Skinny dipping towel is used when Sim's clothes are hidden while they are skinny dipping, forcing them to wear a towel to cover themselves. The ability to change a Sim's outfit by clicking on the Sim is locked, so they have to change clothes using the dresser. The racing, jumping, and bridle categories are for horses only. The game shares Sim and animal clothes as the same type, but their outfits are restricted to their species only.

Due to the way the game handles the caching of clothing, Sims will appear to freeze before they change their outfits. The game's clock will continue to progress during this time, which will result in several Sim minutes being wasted. To reduce the amount of time lost when changing clothes, players should pause the game and wait a few seconds after instructing Sims to change their clothes; this will allow the game to load the clothes of the Sim while the game is paused, thus saving time.

The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, clothes can be changed with dressers, mirrors, and closets, or selected when creating Sims. The clothing categories currently in the game (or confirmed to be added in the future) are:
 * Everyday
 * Formal
 * Athletic
 * Sleepwear
 * Party
 * Swimwear (added in Patch 7 for children and older, and in Patch 68 for toddlers)
 * Hot Weather (added in Patch 68)
 * Cold Weather (added in Patch 68)
 * Situation (hidden - assigns non-career "uniforms" to NPCs in certain social situations)
 * Career (live mode only)
 * Naked (live mode only)
 * Towel (live mode only)
 * Bathrobe (live mode only)
 * Walking (dogs only)

They function the same way as clothes do in The Sims 3, therefore players are unable to purchase clothing. With Get to Work, Sims can purchase pre-made outfits on mannequins. Sims can have up to five different outfits for each category that can be accessed in Create a Sim. The hairstyle of a Sim's first everyday outfit is automatically applied to every other category, unless the player manually chooses a different hairstyle for a particular outfit. Dogs have access to two clothing categories, everyday and walking, and cats only have access to everyday. However, they can still be given five different outfits for each category.

Sims wear party outfits for most social events, except when the event has a specified dress code (for example, Sims dress in formal outfits for weddings). Sims will also wear their party outfits to nightclubs. The situation category exists to dress NPCs for roles that are not their careers, such as tourists or festival-goers in San Myshuno. Contrary to previous games, Sims also have the option to "Change Into Nude". However, they can only do this if there are no Sims who are teen or younger nearby. They will get embarrassed if an underage Sim sees them naked, but there are otherwise no associated moodlets.

Clothes can be unlocked through various activities:
 * Getting promotions in careers.
 * Leveling up in various skills.
 * Purchasing certain club perks.
 * Purchasing a restaurant perk.
 * Purchasing merchandise from a festival.
 * Completing the curry challenge.