Persona 5 and Royal spoilers ahead. Please no Persona 3, 4, or Strikers spoilers without tags!
The Persona games have some surprisingly stylish outfits in a genre that's known for terrible outfits. In this entry I want to explore the inspirations in the clothing of characters in the Persona series and how it relates to their character. Persona 3's cast is just in their uniforms for the entire game so there's nothing for me to really comment on there, but in Persona 4 Arena the cast gets all new outfits. They are definitely more costumes than traditional clothes for the most part: Yukiko has a superhero look going on with her, which after playing Persona 5 makes me think maybe in this universe she's an actor for that Featherman TV show and is the pink ranger. Junpei is a professional baseball player I guess. I'm not sure what's going on with Akihiko, that robot is still a robot, and Mitsuru... Mitsuru. I love this outfit. It's glam, it's badass, and it's sexy.
She is the only person I know who can rock a stealth suit with a fur coat and she kills that shit! Yo, I wonder if Solid Snake could pull that shit off.
I'm currently playing through Persona 4 Golden on Steam and I noticed how the series was slowly leaning into the more fashion and trendy side that will be in 5. I immediately noticed the Persona 4 protagonist has a similar style to Persona 5's protagonist as soon as I saw his winter outfit. I said to myself "I could definitely see Joker wearing this." P4's protag does have his shirt tucked in for his summer outfit which Joker doesn't do or wear belts either, but since his shirt isn't tucked you wouldn't see it if is wearing one anyway. P4's protag looks more like he's going to work in his summer clothes though.
Yosuke is hard for me to describe. All I can say is that he's casual and the headphones is a safe accessory to his look.
Chie definitely gives me the sporty vibes even though she is not an athlete. She kind of does the rebel thing like Kanji and Ryuji by not wearing the school uniform properly. I think she's just wearing her jacket over it, but she still looks out of place from the rest of the students. Speaking of that jacket I love it! The design is simple, but the colors pop so well. I actually bought one for myself from Insert Coin and even used it for a cosplay. Her winter clothes I feel is too similar. The jacket here is green too and looks a bit similar, but it's a darker green kind of olive-like and there's a yin and yang symbol on the back. I don't really like the tops here either. The outfit is whatever.
Her summer outfit I think is better. You get the brighter green and yellow back and then the denim shorts. It feels springy and bubbly. I kind of like it, but it still feels kinda plain to me.
Yukiko I like the red jacket she has on her school uniform. Although it is the same situation as Chie it fits better. The jacket does make it her look more like she's from a different school. I like the red. It's distinct. Her winter clothes she wears a simple red dress with a square collar which looks alright on its own, but it's her accessory that makes it stand out. The scarf makes her outfit look chic. I haven't seen her summer one just yet, so I'll hold off on it.
Kanji has the whole rebel boy look going. There's not much for me to say here on that. It fits him.
I've only briefly gotten to Teddy's human form and his outfit is definitely an homage to those romantic ladies man characters in corny tv shows and romance novels. Him speaking French on top of it confirms it.
Rise. I just met her. I mean she's an idol. I have to play more.
Marie I feel like I can say more on. I feel like she just has that one outfit since she's an attendant in training. She's definitely an alt girl which reflects with her personality. She seems to be going through an internal struggle with herself and is unsure of just who she is. There is pain in her heart. The long striped socks, finger-less gloves, and platform boots are staples among the alt and goth scenes. I really also like the button up with the top button undone and the necktie. The only thing that's out of place or should be out of place is the chauffeur's hat, but it somehow goes with the outfit. It might be because of the matching messenger bag.
The glasses everyone wears in the TV world is a nice touch. That simple accessory brings everyone's style up. I especially enjoy the protagonist's glasses and Kanji's sport sunglasses.
Moving on to Persona 5 now. Again, spoiler warnings.
In Persona 5 each of the Phantom Thieves has their own style and like Persona 4 each character has a color or two associated with them: Joker has a kind of chic, but casual style. His clothes usually have something black in them.
Ryuji is definitely more casual with streetwear and his clothes usually have yellow, red, or purple in it. Nothing much to say about his school uniforms, but his summer uniform shirt does reflect his rebel personality. It's corny, but you get it. I really enjoy the colors in Ryuji's winter fit. The light purple zip up hoodie contrasts well with his dyed hair, the smiley face on his t-shirt and his golden converse.
Ann's parents actually work in the fashion industry which also ties in with Ann being a fashion model. With her outfits I kind of see it, but I do wish it pushed a little further. It's a little too safe and plain to me. Ann's style is akin the casual wear you would see in magazines or in ads for clothing stores in a mall like Forever 21 or Gap which makes sense with her hobby. I do like her Winter Clothes outfit a lot, but her Summer Clothes outfit is just, mmm, a little bland to me. I do think she ties with Makoto for the best winter Shujin uniform. I mean she just puts a hoodie underneath it, but I like the contrast of the colors and the design of the hoodie. It has a Letterman font and the four leaf clover on the back of the hood catches your eye. The red leggings also helps make this outfit pop.
Yusuke's style is hard for me to identify. I am still new into the fashion scene so I don't know everything. I do feel that Yusuke's outfits fit his cliche artist personality, but artist is a broad category, not all artists dress alike. All of them are distinctly Yusuke that's undeniable. Yusuke is the only person I've ever seen wear a damn hoodie at the beach.When the beach episode came up I was like "Aren't you hot in that? I feel hot just looking at you?"
Makoto dresses very conservatively and I see some prep inspiration in her fits as well. Her winter Shujin uniform is very 90s to me. It feels like something I would see in Clueless with the turtleneck and the part on top of it. Look here. This is a similar look from Dionne.
Remove the bandana and flip the colors around and it'll look almost just like Makoto's outfit. Makoto has my favorite outfit for the winter clothes. She wears a blue pea coat with a turtle neck and black slim pants that highlights her figure. From her outfit you can tell that Makoto is a very proper person. Her summer outfit took made me confused at first since it has long sleeves, but if the material is thin like it looks here I think she'll be fine unlike Yusuke who wears long sleeves and leather pants in the goddamn summer!
When we first see Futaba she is definitely comfortable. It reflects her lifestyle. She almost never leaves her house let alone her room so she puts no effort in her clothes, but I just wouldn't call this fit just some pajamas. It still shows a bit of Futaba's personality in it. The JLMK on her shirt is an abbreviation for just let me know which is usually seen in text messages. She wears a stripped sleeve underneath again adding a bit of alt flair to it which I think still fits with Futaba. Most alt people I know are into at least into one nerdy thing and Futaba's definitely a nerd. Speaking of alt fashion shout out to Tae Takemi, the punk rock doctor. I have to iterate how unique it was for Persona to include a doctor that's into the punk rock subculture. I have to iterate how unique it was for Persona to include a doctor that's into the punk rock subculture. They could've just been safe and designed an ordinary doctor like how they did with Maruki, or the cliche sexy female doctor look with the lab coat acting as short dress with some high heels, well Tae is still wearing heels in her doctor uniform, but they made her overall appearance more distinguished.
Futaba's summer clothes is definitely gamer. A top with Tetris and some khaki pants; yep. The fanny pack makes it look a tiny bit more interesting at least.
Actually, I take back what I said earlier about Makoto. Futaba has the best winter outfit. That combination is like moi. The parka jacket is the what sets the whole thing off. The red on the white t-shirt is a complimentary to the green and the black tank underneath matches the bottom half of the fit. We have some black shorts with a studded belt, the black stockings and the return of the platform boots. She also sports some headphones for an accessory taking cues from Yosuke. She wears the jacket off the shoulders giving it more pizazz. It wouldn't hit quite as hard if it was on the regular way. You killed this Futaba. Good job!
Haru's style is definitely girly and her outfits symbolize her social status. Haru dons a light purple zip-up tunic sweater over her uniform in the winter. Just that simple extra touch makes her look a bit more sophisticated. That goes for her summer uniform as well. The light purple tops she wears over her school uniforms are fine, but her casual outfits are the standouts here.
As soon as I saw her summer casual outfit in the game I thought it was sooo cute. It's this semi-translucent green dress with a white collar, stockings, and some cream colored pumps. Her winter casual fit is the embodiment of the rich girl aesthetic.
You got the baby blue coat with the extra fluffy fur collar and a bow to tie everything together. She looks like she bought her outfit from a luxury brand like Bernadette.
Akechi's style is mix between preppy and what I like to call "TV detective" of course in his uniform as you know he dons a brown trench coat with slacks and black gloves. You can also see a button up underneath with a tie. You know basic detective shit in fiction. His summer school uniform is more like a modern detective. He wears a white short sleeve button up with a black and white vertically striped tie and dress pants with dress shoes. It's basically his winter uniform without the trench coat. Like he's about to go sit at his desk. The only casual fit Akechi has pre-3rd semester is his winter fit. Here he wears a v neck diamond pattern sweater vest with a long sleeve button up with the top button undone, some beige slacks, and brown loafers. It fits his clean good boy image that he made for himself.
Lastly, we have Kasumi. Kasumi's style is definitely vintage. The argument can be made for Haru as well. The pea coats and sweaters she wear were popular in the sixties and the cowl neck sweater from the thirties, but the way Haru wears them is more akin to current upper class fashion while Kasumi is more align to middle class vintage of her respected eras. Kasumi's winter school uniform is nothing special. You have the ribbon in her hair and the long black stockings to make her stand out a bit more. She also wears what looks like red ballet shoes too. The ballet shoes representing her dancer background. Oh, and I didn't notice this until recently, but in her winter uniform she even wears a ribbon tied into a bow at the collar like in her hair. Her summer uniform has her in a cream colored cardigan with a white button up underneath, the Shujin skirt with short white athletic socks and I think those are brown ballet shoes or they might be loafers. I think those are loafers.
Her casual outfits are the most interesting. In the summer time Kasumi likes to wear a polka-dot blouse off the shoulders with white loose cuffed shorts, and sandals. This outfit was definitely popular in the 50s. Polka dots come and go but their real popular period was during the 50s and polka dot outfits in media were always presented in a sunny way which fits Kasumi's bubbly personality. Her winter clothes has her wearing a long sleeve white frilled sweater with a long red skirt and black boots.
Persona 5 Royal added in new outfits for each character in the 3rd semester. Shujin students got this new long jacket that looks way better than wearing those boring blazers. Joker keeps his fit fresh rocking a blue scarf with his and the blazer underneath is completely buttoned leaving this split triangle shape at the bottom. Ryuji keeps it street with a red graphic hoodie and a blue shirt underneath. A skull is on the hoodie representing his code name. On my first playthrough I mistook Ann's uniform for her casual outfit. Understandably because it looks similar to her winter outfit. She wears another Letterman jacket, but this one's white and brown over her Shujin uniform and she brings back the red leggings with red shoes as well. This one I don't really like. The color of the jacket I dislike and it clashes with the rest of the outfit. It doesn't match.
Yusuke dons a teal coat over his school uniform. It kind of looks like a tail coat in the back. Makoto just wears the new Shujin coat over her winter uniform with some gloves, nothing too different. Haru's got a pea coat herself for the third semester. This light purple coat she wears over her uniform and accessorizes with some pink earmuffs and matching mittens. For the bottom half she has gray stockings and red ankle boots for some pop. You know keeping it classy. Sumire wears the new Shujin jacket over her winter uniform, but adds a pink scarf.
The casual winter outfits are where most of the characters branch out. Joker also stays swaggy with the fits. He got a black turtleneck sweater with a charcoal jacket. This outfit looks like something Kyle Barker would've worn on Living Single. Ryuji's is too busy for me. Still keeping with the street aesthetic he got himself a purple puffer jacket and another red sweatshirt with a paint splash design and I'm not sure what it's called, but I don't think the camo thing he has around his neck goes with the outfit and I just don't like the shape of the puffer jacket. It ain't that bad though. Ann's is really cute. You got some skinny jeans with a print of a heart on it, a cute little call to her being of the Lover's Arcana. Scarves are definitely in this semester too. It goes great with the leather jacket. Makoto stays with the conservative look and her sister even gets a trench coat too. Futaba has another gamer piece, but I want to like hers, but that hoodie she's wearing is way to big for her. There's a weird shape at the bottom of it. I like the actual design of the hoodie itself, but that shit is way too big on her. I guess that does inline with her nerd background though as it has been said a lot even on here that gamers wear ill fitting clothes. I do like the straps she has on and the knit cap and headphones.
A luxury coat with a fur interior that extends to the collar and sleeves.
Haru on her day off in the 3rd semester.
Haru boujieness reaches a whole new level hear as she wears a dress that's akin to a luxury coat with the fur collar and sleeve ends. She also wears a french beret calling to her code name and some polka dot leggings. This is high vintage fashion with some french aesthetic and considering how Paris is considered to be prestige in the art and fashion world it makes sense for her character. Akechi's style doesn't change really. He gets a brand new trench coat buttoned all the way and tied with a plaid scarf around the neck. For his casual he wears a brown blazer over a green v neck sweater and white dress shirt buttoned to the top. He wears gray slacks and black dress shoes this time.
In the 3rd semester winter Sumire wears a long red overcoat with black leggings and some dark green Mary Jane heels. The overcoat was invented in the late 1800s and got popular on and off throughout the decades. The style she wears here again is similar to the 1950s style that was popular among the working class and the Mary Jane heels she wears is an early 1900s shoe that again is a recurring trend in fashion.
I don't really care for covering the dancing game outfits. I don't like any of them except for Futaba's which is pretty similar to her regular winter outfit so I really couldn't. The rest of them seem to be trying too hard and Ryuji's offends me.I went on with this longer than I intended. I think the Persona series is one of the best with fashion in gaming and I'm looking forward to see the new looks in Strikers. Let me know what you all think about the fashion in Persona.
