>>50161086Her clothes being consistently red, black, and white throughout and in repeating combinations (white skirt + black shorts/black and white gloves, red with black center vest and shoes) looks good for the symmetry and is less for the eye to parse. (Also easier to fit on a sprite). The bandanna gives some immediate adventuring flair, for the cycling getup (or
>>50161504 spontaneous thought of pirates, now I cannot unsee it), creates a distinct silhouette along with her hair, and distracts you from how silly her hair actually looks without it. The Emerald clothes continue that idea of uniformity.
That said, I can see why the ORAS designer changed her threads as much they did, the RS outfit always looked a little... flat to me in the anime, I think it looks better in stills and sprites.
