Hey, RWBY fans! I’m really feeling the pain of hiatus, so I recently started a total rewatch of the series with a friend of mine. For all the amazing things RWBY has given us, one of those things is… incredible outfits!!
Here is my ranking of the RWBY girls outfits from the good to the great to the best.
Disclaimer: I’m only going to be doing the girls on Team RWBY for this article. Also, this is my personal opinion. Please feel free to leave a comment with yours down below! Just don’t be mean.
Disclaimer, pt 2: I started this list before RWBY: Ice Queendom was announced, so you won’t see those outfits either!
Special Mention
Starting us off is a special mention to the classic Beacon uniform. It’s simple, but it’s cute. There’s also no denying that seeing these outfits comes with a hefty dose of nostalgia for the early days. Oh, the simpler times.
Ruby Rose: The Good
Ruby’s timeskip outfit is totally cool and an instantly recognizable look. The cream colored sleeves, the arm garters, the ripped socks and cape; these are all great elements. That being said, I think that out of all of Ruby’s main outfits–this one just falls a little short for me.
Coming up next for Ruby is her dress for the Beacon dance. Ruby is an awkward girl, and dressing up isn’t really her thing. Her dress reminds me a lot of one that I wore for a homecoming when I was in high school. Sure, it was a dress, but it was a cool black and red dress. Aside from struggling with her heels, Ruby looked badass during this mini arc. A little reworking and her dress could have easily been a design for one of her main outfits.
Ruby Rose: The Great
The Volume 2 alt outfits are a treasure to the RWBY fandom. They may have lived a short life, but they left quite the impression. Admittedly, Ruby’s is my least favorite of the four– but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome. I love the enlarged version of her symbol on the skirt. I love the red laces on her outer tank. I love the gray undershirt; I think gray is a really great accent color for Ruby for…. Obvious reasons.
Ruby’s original outfit is awesome. It is so well suited to her as a character. A small detail I’ve always adored, especially when revisiting the show in more recent years, is the crosses that pin her cape. This is most likely an allusion to her mentor and uncle, Qrow Branwen. I love how her tights start black and fade to a red like her hair. I love that it has an edge to it while still being adorable and practical. We gotta give some love to the headphones too. I’m still sad that I never got a pair when Rooster Teeth was selling them.
Ruby Rose: The Best
Everything, and I mean everything, about Ruby’s Volume 7 outfit is awesome. It’s the best of her outfits, and it’s the best of the Volume 7 upgrades. Her new hairstyle is perfect for her, especially at this point when she has grown up significantly. I love her repaired cape, and that it’s asymmetrical. The gray accents again. I just love it.
Weiss Schnee: The Good
Weiss’s dance outfit is fine. It’s pretty and clean. I like the mesh part a lot. I think it was a great choice for her. That’s it.
Weiss’s timeskip outfit is pretty, but it’s lacking. This is where we start to see Weiss’s outfits start leaning more into using blue as a primary color for her instead of white. Blue is a great secondary color for Weiss; I love the gem in the middle of her collar. But Weiss’s main color is supposed to be white. An inverted color palette would do wonders here.
There are a lot of things to like about Weiss’s design in the Volume 7 upgrade. I like the braid, and I like the actual build of the outfit. Again, it comes down to the use of color. The red details are great, but white is still not the dominant color. I’d love to see a version where it is.
Weiss Schnee: The Great
Weiss’s Vol 1 outfit is so cute. I love the poofyness of her skirt. I love her cropped jacket with the bell sleeves. I love the red on the inside lining. And of course, I like that white is the primary color while still having that blue ombre so it doesn’t look too one dimensional. My favorite element of this outfit isn’t featured in the picture, but it’s actually that her symbol is on the back of her jacket. I also think this outfit is a wonderful allusion to Weiss’s inspiration, Snow White, making it even better as her introductory look.
Weiss Schnee: The Best
As mentioned before, the Vol 2 alt outfits are beloved in the fandom– and that’s for a reason. This outfit is everything. It’s perfect. While I don’t think it would be as good as an official outfit for Weiss like I might for the other girls, I still think it’s the best of her outfits. I love the black accents; I want to see a return to that for her. Weiss’s character arc is so much about growth and forming her own path away from her family, and I think having black contrasting her primary color is a great way to show that visually. Again, I love the puffy skirt for her. I love the peacoat qualities. I love the tall boots. It’s so cute! Rooster Teeth, give me merch of these outfits please. I don’t care if it’s been years!
Blake Belladonna: The Good
Blake’s dance outfit is probably my favorite of the four. I think it’s so cute and flattering and fitting. I adore that (even though you can’t tell in most pictures of it,) her bow is a different color than usual. We see in the show as being a pretty teal like color. I love the mesh in the chest and sleeves. A cute little outfit for our girl.
Blake’s Vol 7 outfit for me is the outfit that could have been the best. It’s so close to the perfect outfit for her, but the things I’d change keep it from being higher in ranking. Her haircut is excellent, especially in Vol 8 when the model was adjusted and the hair was fluffier. The catsuit and the purple detailing are both great. While I like the white coat of her timeskip outfit, and white as an accent for her in general, I wish we had gotten something different here. I think the coat should have also been black with some white details. Trade some of the buckles and zippers for balloon sleeves that taper in at the wrist and/or a wrapping aesthetic like some of her older looks. I want to see her clothes better reflecting her coming into her own and embracing who she is. There’s fan re-designs out there that definitely outshine the canon.
Blake Belladonna: The Great
The white coat in the timeskip outfit works so well for me because of Blake’s character arc for those volumes. She’s having a bit of an identity crisis. She’s facing the recurpusions of all her actions, she’s away from her team for most of it, and she’s learning who she really is. All of that is shown with a statement piece in her direct opposing color. And when it gets literally cut off in a character defining moment for her? Leaving her stipped and just in her primary color, aka just who she is at her core? Chef’s kiss. The sort of simplicity and sleekness to the rest of the outfit is just beautiful. The thigh high boots and gold lining bring it all home for me.
Blake’s original outfit is so lovely. I like the sort of romantic look of the vest. The wraps around her wrists, the ombre leggings giving the hint of purple, the ankle boots– all so cute. Great first outfit. Great base to what her designs later would be/should have been.
Blake Belladonna: The Best
Here we go again. But it’s just so good!! It’s everything I want for a Blake outfit. It’s the perfect aesthetic for her. It’s sleek while still having that little bit of volume in the sleeves like I think works so well for her. Lose the bow and add some sort of black capelet on her shoulders, and it would be the peak design for her.
Yang Xiao Long: The Good
Yang’s dance outfit is really nice for one reason, and I had it brought to my attention by a Tumblr post–it’s simple because Yang shines so much just by being her. She still commands attention even though the outfit itself is pretty boring. I would have loved to see Yang in some gorgeous and extravagant dress, but she’s Yang so she looks great anyway. It’s pretty.
Yang’s Vol 1 outfit is iconic. It’s so well tailored to her and showcases her character so well. I love the asymmetrical socks. I like the little orange scarf a bit more than her collar-esque bands in the timeskip outfit. I love the utility belt with the little white fabric. She looks so cool. But it really only went up for Yang.
Yang Xiao Long: The Great
In a twist of events– Yang’s alt outfit doesn’t take the gold for me. I still love it. I think the bones of it are so good, I just wish the color palette was a bit different. That being said, her purple bandana hanging off her side? The cropped jacket with the high collar? Yes. So much yes.
Okay, I know I said Yang’s outfits only got better, but Yang’s Vol 7 outfit isn’t the gold medal here either. I absolutely adore it. The orange bandana is the ideal version of her neckwear. Her sunglasses and cheeky little socks are so perfect for her. Honestly, I wouldn’t change much about this outfit. Maybe just add some yellow. Yang is definitely the character whose color isn’t as prominent in any of her outfits, but I don’t mind it as much with her.
Yang Xiao Long: The Best
It’s the ponytail for me.
Okay, Yang’s extra outfit aside– Vol 4 still takes the gold. I just love it. It’s badass. Even with this neckwear being inferior, it’s still the best of her outfits. I love her purple bandana being wrapped around her leg, and I love that it stays that way later. I love the long flaps on the back of the jacket. There is nothing cooler than her wearing this outfit while riding Bumblebee. It’s the pinnacle Yang for me.
And there you have it! That is how I would currently rank the RWBY ladies’ outfits. I’m excited to see how Volume 9 might change their current looks, and what might come after that. There’s nothing quite like the excitement that comes from new design reveals. In the meantime though, make sure to check out RWBY if you haven’t and if you have– we’re so close to the return!
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