Dress to Impress

1. Get acquainted with your closet. You can find the link by going to your items and looking at the “jump to” menu. This may seem obvious to you, but many people get the false impression that they can’t remove the tradeable clothes they put in their closet.

2. Don’t overdo it. Sure, more clothing may just be a click away, but does your pet really need it? Will it contribute to their outfit in a tasteful way? If not, resist the urge to buy it.

3. Plan ahead about what pieces look best together so you won’t end up impulse shopping. This will save you money and will keep you from regretting purchases later.

4. Make sure that your clothing matches in some way. Try a Pretty Pink Flower Hat with a Shenkuu-Inspired Parasol, or perhaps an Ultra Fashionable Potato Sack with a Daring Adventurer Hat and Explorer Backpack.

5. Try to match your pet’s personality. It’s no fun for them if they are just treated like an Usuki Doll that you like to dress up for fun. For example, an evil Darigan pet will most likely not appreciate the Brown Velvet Bow Hat that you stick on it.

6. Don’t give up quality for quantity. Buying a lot of cheaper clothes that you don’t love is no better than buying one expensive item that you really like.

7. It’s okay to splurge a little. Compare the cost of clothes with the alternative for making your pet look better: paint brushes.

8. Have fun with it! If you enjoy picking out your own outfit everyday, you will probably enjoy customizing your pet.

9. Keep a lookout for your pet’s “day.” These days offer unique clothing tailored solely to that species. Also, once the hype goes down a bit, they are usually much cheaper than clothing for multiple species.

10. Try not to only buy NC Mall clothes. If you are fortunate enough to be able to shop at the mall, make a point to mix and match those clothes with the “NP clothes.” This will make your pet look more unique and will show that you put a lot of thought into the outfit. My favorite pair would probably be the NC Mall’s Shenkuu background with the “NP” Shenkuu-Inspired Parasol.

11. Look at other people’s pets to see how they are dressed. Take inspiration from them, but change up your outfits to make them more unique.

12. If your pet cannot wear regular clothes because they are Maraquan, Baby, Mutant, a Fruit/Veggie Chia, or not converted, never fear! They can still wear backgrounds and foreground items. Currently, the foreground items offered are: Bucket of Sand, Colourful Building Blocks, and Lucky Pandaphant Doll (not even counting the trinkets in the NC Mall).

13. If you want a more humorous outfit, you can put mismatched items on your pet, plus Novelty Glasses. Just make sure that it’s obvious that you did it on purpose!

14. Don’t be afraid to stop by the Customisation board if you need help. It’s a little slow at times, but just be patient. ;)

15. Get in on the repainting fun. Some paint brushes offer clothes with them, but it also depends on the species. The cheapest one that can offer clothes on most pets would have to be the Christmas Paint Brush. After you paint your pet the color with clothes, you can paint them another “base color,” and then put the clothes back on them! Of course, remember that paint brush clothes cannot be sold.

16. Do your research. Some clothes can only be worn by certain species, so you’ll want to find out before buying.

17. Ask your friends for their input. They can be very helpful and may think of something that had not occurred to you.

18. Focus on one pet at a time. This is much easier than trying to plan outfits for all four of your pets at the same time.

19. Don’t be afraid to change your pet’s outfit. If you decide that you don’t care for an item anymore, go ahead and replace it with something new. What do you have to lose?

20. If you have a Usul, Bruce, Elephante, Aisha, or Ixi, you’re in luck! These species already have their own clothes from the day they are created. Usuls have bows and headbands, Bruces have Bowties, Elephantes have jeweled hats, and Aishas and Ixi have collars. Even if you have not painted one of these pets yet, you should have one of these items already. You can also paint these species in order to get different colors of these items. Just a warning though: Bruces look quite odd without their bowties!

21. New is not always better. Don’t feel pressured to ditch your Black Derby just because you want to be “hip” with the latest hat. Even if everyone else seems to be buying an item, it does not mean that you have to.

22. Complement your pet’s paint color-- don’t distract from it. Really think about the “whole picture” so it does not look like your pet just threw something on.

23. If you’re low on neopoints, set some aside every day to help pay for clothes. Just playing a few easy games a day can add up.

24. Don’t be a snob by only having your pets try on expensive clothes. Sometimes a cheaper item can look fabulous on your pet, so you should not rule them all out right away.

25. Remember that everyone has different tastes. People have different styles in real life, so they will give their pets different styles on Neopets. Be courteous and think twice before insulting a pet’s “interesting” fashion choice. After all, you’re insulting the person that designed the outfit- not the pixel wearing it.

We have reached the end of the list, so I hope you have enjoyed reading it. Even more so, I hope that it will help you while customizing. :) Now get out there and enjoy this new feature!