Pokemon Sword and Shield: How to customize your character's outfit, hair style, and eye color

Pokemon Clothes Store
Pokemon Clothes Store (Image credit: iMore)

Are you fed up with staring at the same character design for hours on end? Simply don't like what your character is wearing or your hairstyle? Want to be different from everyone else? Want to have rainbow-colored eyes or even fireballs? If so then you've come to the right place, find out how to break away from the crowd and personalize your look here!

Prepare beforehand

Prepare your Nintendo Switch itself Ensure that all updates have been downloaded and installed and then either insert or download Pokemon Sword or Shield and start the game!

Select your character: You start the game with only one main outfit which depends on which character you pick. A dress and a jacket for the girl and a shirt and trousers for the boy. You can change your clothing, hair, and make-up after the game starts so just pick the gender and skin color that you want for now.

Products used in this guide

How to change your clothes

Finding a clothing store

  1. Clothing stores are located in most main towns or cities.
  2. Enter the clothing store and go to the main counter and speak to the NPC there to buy clothes.
  3. Select the clothes that you'd like to buy from the menu and then press the X button to buy them if you like the look of them.
  4. You can also equip the clothing that you just bought at this point.

Pokemon Clothes Store (Image credit: iMore)
  1. If you would like to re-equip any items that you have bought previously, all of the clothing stores are equipped with a changing room that you can enter.
  2. Simply select the items that you'd like to wear by scrolling either left or right and then pressing the X button to equip them.

Pokemon Clothes Store (Image credit: iMore)

How to alter your physical appearance

  1. Find a hairstylist, which are located in most of the big cities, often next to the clothing shop.

Pokemon hairstylist (Image credit: iMore)
  1. Enter the hair salon and go to the main counter and speak to the NPC there to change either your hair or makeup - you will be presented with two options each with a differing price.
  2. Select what you would like to change and then scroll left and right in order to change various parts of your makeup and its color - exactly the same logic applies to hairstyles.
  3. Once you are happy with what you have selected, press Y to confirm that you are happy with your selection.
  4. There is a wide variety of options to choose from, fire-colored eyes? Ice colored eyes? No problem whatsoever, you can make your character as unique and wacky as you want!

Pokemon hairstylist (Image credit: iMore)

Given that there is now online play, I doubt that you'd want to show up to a Max Raid Battle looking like everyone else, so make sure to check out the hairstylist and clothes stores before you start playing together with other players!

Our top picks

There are many special outfits that can be acquired throughout the game, some can be found, others have to be earned. For example, when you defeat a gym leader, you will be given access to a special uniform that you can only get by defeating that specific gym leader... so are you ready to defeat them all?

Additional Items

It is possible to play Pokemon Sword & Shield without a Nintendo Online Subscription but you will get a lot more out of the game if you do have a subscription as you'll be able to join in battles online, trade Pokemon and join other players in their camps.

Nintendo Switch Online Logo

Nintendo Switch Online Membership ($8 at Amazon)

Play online with all your friends and backup game saves to the cloud with ease with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Natalie Houghton