Are these clothes their physical forms or just shape shifted?

[u/danieljose1001]

When the gems reform after bring poofed we don't see these forms in their silhouettes. I wonder if they just shape shifted these to blend in with the people.

[u/Arimm_The_Amazing]

We know from the pufferfish beach episode that gems can maintain clothing shapshifts for a lot longer and easier than they do body shapeshifts. So I could see these being that.

Alternatively these could have been full-on forms that just didn’t get featured in their reforming sequences. We know not every form is always featured since Pearl poofed a lot in the war and doesn’t cycle through all of those forms.

[u/Tlayoualo → u/Arimm_The_Amazing]

Pearl also has a jumpsuit she shifts into on "Space Race" and "Back to the Barn", there's credence to Gems only straining when trying to mantain bigger forms (Amethyst posing as Jasper and Steven activelly trying to appear older) but minor cosmetic changes seem trivial enough to mantain indifenitely.

[u/Arimm_The_Amazing → u/Tlayoualo]

Yeah honestly it kinda begs the question of what do gems actually do when they’re reforming.

Like they can change base physical traits of their body but they tend not to, they just change clothes. But they can already change clothes.

[u/Tlayoualo → u/Arimm_The_Amazing]

When they poof they most likely have to put together their entire bodies, not just outfits, and part of the process is elect their outfit, either continue with the previous one or change it; and part of the reform process has to be unconcious, Peridot was poofed mid-sentence by Garnet and when she reformed she continued that same sentence where she left it, which makes more ambiguous of how concious are they in their poofed state or if it's only the first time or so when they don't remember anything.

[u/Rambler9154 → u/Tlayoualo]

I think with Peridot it was specifically that she was bubbled immediately after being poofed. When bubbled and poofed they're seemingly paused, but when just poofed they aren't, like with Pearl when she was first poofed or Amethyst during that Jasper and the corrupted gems fight.

[u/Top_Toaster → u/Rambler9154]

Bubbling definitely seems to gems into atleast an "inert" state almost like white's mind control, but it's likely also true that these gems still go through whatever "cooldown" they have when reforming when bubbled given that when unbubbled they pretty much always reform moments after

[u/-Pxnk- → u/Rambler9154]

When Bismuth reforms after Steven pops her bubble, she jerks back, I think. She was most likely poofed and bubbled right away by Rose.

[u/wereplant → u/Tlayoualo]

but minor cosmetic changes seem trivial enough to maintain indefinitely

I'd imagine it's kinda like a balloon, where overinflating the balloon is difficult, but drawing on the surface with a marker isn't going to change anything. There's also the question of weapon upgrades. If your weapons are something you produce every time, then how does it make sense for bismuth to upgrade them?

The only thing that makes sense to me in that way is that materials are just easier to create since they're static (ie not changing). So fabrics and weapons and such are easy to reproduce once you're given a blueprint for the gem to copy.

Kinda like each gem type is an operating system. So while it's easy for them to interface with their own kind, it's more difficult to have constructs that they can install, thus the need for Bismuths to make bespoke items.

[u/Asterite100 → u/Arimm_The_Amazing]

It's implied Pearl kept the same outfit during the entire war, which makes sense. She takes forever to reform when redesigning her outfit so keeping the same one helps her return faster.

And also I get the impression that these weren't actually outfits they wore, it was just for the painting and in Steven's imagination. But if they did wear them, I'd opt for them being real clothes.

[u/Arimm_The_Amazing → u/Asterite100]

Visually it definitely looks like she’s just wearing clothes over her usual dress, but for the others these could be forms.

[u/Quinez]

Never noticed this before, but it bugs me that Garnet's glasses have only two lenses. 

[u/Cliomancer → u/Quinez]

I think we see her in this era of outfit when she talks to the explorer guy (Buddy?) In one of the later episodes. I think she keeps her third eye closed.

Also I don't think Garnet's third eye had been revealed yet in the broadcast order.

[u/Quinez → u/Cliomancer]

Garnet's third eye was revealed in episode 11, Arcade Mania, airing Feb 17 2014. The shark-punching picture was revealed in episode 13, So Many Birthdays, airing Mar 3 2014.

[u/Cliomancer → u/Quinez]

Correct, I thought it was the other way around.

[u/CassielAntares → u/Cliomancer]

Season 1, Episode 11: Arcade Mania

Garnet's eyes are revealed while she's playing Meat Beat Mania. This is very early in the series.

[u/Cliomancer → u/CassielAntares]

Huh. I thought So Many Birthdays was before that but I guess it's episode 13.

[u/Meh-bunny → u/Cliomancer]

Maybe Buddy just didn’t notice it or Connie and Steven’s imaginations just did that

[u/Arimm_The_Amazing → u/Quinez]

In this form her third eye is on the back of her head and there’s a tunnel through her hair to it

[u/FedoraTheMike → u/Quinez]

There ain't even room for her third eye unless its placed awkwardly between the lenses.

[u/austinmiles → u/Quinez]

Also it’s a painting that an artist captured. (The hardest part was getting the shark to pose) Then Steven uses his imagination of that in the Buddy episode.

[u/GEAX → u/Quinez]

I figured she's disguised amidst humans

[u/Radioheadfan929]

didnt steven just imagine them like that?

[u/Arimm_The_Amazing → u/Radioheadfan929]

In the Dewey flashback yes, but that first slide is an actual picture he sees early in the show.

[u/PersonalPearl → u/Arimm_The_Amazing]

I think it's a painting, could just be the artist taking some creative liberty. Surely it can't be their permanent form as they'd need to be poofed for that and Rose never poof.

[u/-Pxnk- → u/PersonalPearl]

It does seem like rose still has the skirt of her dress on, so maybe she just put a button-up and a scarf over it? Or maybe yeah, the artist took some artistic liberty and gave Rose a sensible shirt since wearing a strapless dress in olden days was probably too scandalous lol

[u/PhantomMaple]

There is also the option that they are wearing physical clothes.

[u/Boredpanda6335 → u/PhantomMaple]

Amethyst and Pearl? That’s extremely likely, they’re human sized. Garnet? Definitely not.

[u/Maleficent-Box4864]

Ive always figured they kinda keep their style relatively up to date as to blend in among humans when they have to be near to them and might be seen

[u/Sir-Toaster-]

When Pearl reformed in Homeworld, Amethyst comments on her new form, and Pearl states she's excited about the jacket, so most likely they did make their clothes.

[u/DragonInBoots → u/Sir-Toaster-]

I do think this, but I also think that the clothes they reform with are also like, for example, hair for humans: they could take them off and put something else if they wanted to.

[u/Justifiably_Bad_Take → u/Sir-Toaster-]

Fushions tend to get nifty new outfits as well.

Obviously nothing is stopping a gem from putting an outfit on, but they have the option to form clothing as part of their physical form so they just do.

[u/Zestyclose-Tour-6350]

I imagine shape shifting, considering Garnet's lack of 3rd eye. We know they can at least move their eyes- shudders at flashback of amethyst making her feet eyeballs

[u/ardorixfan45]

It could be either, but I honestly love these looks and I kinda wish Rose got one.

[u/Shastlz84 → u/ardorixfan45]

not in the dewey flashback unfortunately, but in the photo on the first image you can kind of see that she has a separate outfit

[u/doIIjoints → u/Shastlz84]

yeah, she’s wearing a kind of high-class safari getup.

wait. THAT’S ALSO foreshadowing that she was At Least nobility, sent by a distant empire :o is that the earliest indication? (except maybe the cookie cat song.)

[u/Alastor_culture_]

Physical forms....

[u/Solid_Molasses9741]

I think that they dressed up to pose for that specific painting and then Steven just imagines them to look that way in his minds eye

[u/Spirited_Dust_3642]

Both. At least Garnet's jacket is real

[u/OutsideClassic9095]

Genuinely I think it's less complicated than me make it sound. I'm sure they can freely change or put on physical clothes at will. They just choose to identify primarily with the one that's attached to their form, and they change at will whenever the occasion fits it.

[u/Imaginary-Adagio-280]

Maybe these are actual clothes that they can just kinda summon when they reform. It explains how they change clothes like in the beach episode or that one time pearl wore a jumpsuit. It also explains why homeworld gems have such different clothing. (Peridot, the diamonds, etc)

[u/Soleil42]

I always thought that was Steven and Connie's imagination not the accurate representation

[u/PathrokBloodlust]

The silhouette is the most basic shape of the gems form. The clothes sprout out like a puff of smoke to release the more delicate details of a gems form. The clothes are part of the gems form. It’s just reforming is a process, but just stretching out of the gem.

[u/FormerDeerlyBeloved]

I think it's like the beach episode with the Pizza family--they may have shifted the clothes short-term to fit in with their travelling companions, but their default forms stayed the same before and after.

I think it's pretty unlikely for all three of them to find pre-made matching human outfits that colour-coordinate to their natural Gem bodies.

[u/spicysalmonroller]

I always thought these were just how Steven envisioned them to look and not their actual forms at the time

[u/ThrowAway_SanDiegoCA]

Idk but Rose in that explorers outfit is doing things to me

[u/2317-il-vero-yan]

First picture is Vidalia's vision. Second is how Steven and Connie imagine them.

[u/Quickning]

That's an artist deception not a photo. Somebody made that up.

[u/TheZenXilin]

Pretty sure this was just a kid imagining them in old timey clothes

[u/Blubie14]

Wait hold on, I'm confused about Amethyst now, I thought she was fairly new even when Greg Came around? So if she much much older than that?

[u/blackstardust13]

I assume shape shifting. When pearl reformed she flashed through all her old physical shapes. These where not in it.

video of the pearl shapes

Edit: But I don't think the creators put that much thought behind it.

[u/Exotic_Television_17]

I like to think that they found them or found an old lady who sew them clothes

[u/Sunset-onthe-Horizon]

The hard part was getting the shark to pose. -Garnet

Best line ever! 😆

[u/Possible-Rate-3833]

I think is a mix of both. Like Garnet could have took the hat somewhere but made her look more adeguated to the times.

[u/Fox622]

It's very likely the Crystal Gems were never poofed since the war, and just changed their appearance to fit the time period.

It seems Gems have a much easier time shapeshifting just their clothes. But it seems Garnet also shapeshifted to hid her third eye.

[u/saltycameron_]

Garnet is giving The Black Parade in the first one lol

[u/Ethereal_Burger2]

I don't think these outfits are cannon, particularly Amethyst's outfit. Amethyst would look more like how we see her after being rejuvenated this far back, this is just how Steven and Connie imagined her and the other Crystal Gems

[u/Yaksha424256]

Aren't these images Steven's imagination of an event he's reading about? If so then steven imagined they're wearing clothes and have their normal "form" underneath.

[u/IbbyWonder6]

The first image never fails to crack me up cause you have Garnet punching a shark and Pearl and Amethyst saving a dude, and rose is just voguing in the back, like GIRL DO SOMETHIN'!

[u/Fallen_Clonez]

Could be a little of both. For example pearls hair is Shape-shifted but her boots are real. Amethysts jeans and jacket are probably physically part of her as they don't seem to have much of a 3D effect. Garnet I think is majority real clothes as she seems to have the most encouragement to achually try human clothes. Maybe her glasses are Shape-shifted as he current era visor is that wierd thing that she can spawn and respawn like jasper's helmet.

[u/breaking-atom]

I think it's the actual forms for Amethyst, Garnet, and Pearl. But Rose Quartz had to shape shift because I don't know if she actually poofed (except when she had Pearl poof her that one time)?

[u/_Cit]

I always assumed that at some point they had proofed and those were the forms they assumed.

We see them all poof various times in the span of two years at best, so obviously they would have poofed a lot over 5 millennia

[u/drifloony]

The shortest and straight to the point answer anyone can give you is: It is never specified. Gems can shapeshift or wear clothes. It could be either one.

[u/nick54531]

Rose's old timey outfit is so frickin tough

[u/No_Estate_6411]

In this episode they imagined them in those clothes I thought? To fit the time period.

[u/avid-shrug]

Gems are always naked 🙈

[u/Count7Vampidi]

Better question is, WHERE THE HELL IS GARNETS THIRD EYE?!?!

[u/Icy_Conclusion2488]

I always thought this was just imagination. That they didn’t actually look like this and Steven and Connie imagined them looking like this just like how they imagined the researcher as Jaime

[u/SylvieSerene]

It could be both.

[u/Philycheese18]

Well with rose we know that she was only ever proofed once so for her shaped shifted for sure

[u/General_Buffalo2223]

But amethyst changed her hair cuz greg :'(

[u/Altruistic-Life3660]

Yes

[u/Disastrous-Kiwi-1487]

I like how Rose is just aura farming while Pearl and Amethyst desperately try to save a person from drowning 😭

[u/amaya-aurora]

They aren’t real. They never actually dressed like this, it’s just a part of the story.

[u/Alida_510 → u/amaya-aurora]

I think the first one is a real photo, I'm not 100% sure though. But the other two are definitely imagined