Guide:Vanity
While Terraria has a variety of good-looking armor sets, as with many other sandbox games, there are many players who may wish to customize their appearance with their own personal flair. As vanity is inherently a means of creative expression, this guide will not serve as a compilation of completed outfits. Rather, it will guide you through how dyes and social slots work, and equip you with the knowledge you need to create your own unique look.
Practical use
For those unconcerned with their character's appearance, social slots represent an additional form of storage space for armor and accessories. Extra accessories that you don't wish to equip can be moved into social accessory slots, to be removed later when managing inventory back at your base.
Note that informational accessories such as the Metal Detector will not work when equipped to a social slot; however, they do not need to be placed in an accessory slot at all, as they will work in main inventory. Placing them in a social slot sacrifices their function for appearance.
On the Desktop version, right-clicking a piece of equipment in the inventory (or Piggy Bank) will automatically equip it to an applicable slot. This is a handy way to carry and switch between multiple armor sets, but it is not nearly as convenient for accessories. This is because accessories are equipped in descending order from top to bottom, and this order is not reset upon closing the inventory. Instead, if there are two accessories that you often swap with each other, it is recommended to pair them to an accessory slot and its corresponding social slot for quick swapping, by right-clicking the social slot. Double-tapping substitutes for right-clicking on the Mobile version.
The Djinn's Curse is the only functional armor slot item that cannot be equipped from the inventory directly with a right click, as the game considers it a vanity item. Therefore, for those who don't value appearances, it is recommended to equip it to a vanity slot so it can be quickly worn with a right click when its Featherfall effect is desired.
To the right is an example accessory loadout that utilizes social slot swapping. The top three accessory slots can be swapped to trade damage (Avenger Emblem/Celestial Stone/Destroyer Emblem) for survivability (Worm Scarf/Frozen Turtle Shell/Cross Necklace), and the bottom slot allows a quick switch between class-specific accessories. The two empty social accessory slots can be saved for vanity or for accessory storage.
On the Old-gen console version and Nintendo version, the effect of a Philosopher's Stone is only applied the instant a Healing Potion is drunk; this means that it can be kept in a social slot until healing is needed. If upgraded to a Charm of Myths, the regeneration will only be available when it is equipped.
Character
On the Desktop version, Console version, and Mobile version, the player's character style can be changed using a Dresser. On the Desktop version, Console version, and Mobile version, the player's eye and skin color can also be changed.
Hairstyles
Aside from the hairstyles that can be chosen during character creation, there are a number of unique hairstyles that can only be obtained from the Stylist. Most of the more elegant female hairstyles are purchased from the Stylist, and she also offers a variety of wacky hairstyles for male characters.
The Stylist can also change the player's hair color for an additional fee.
Dyes
Dyes are applied to all patches of color on the affected equipment, which may cause undesired effects on certain pieces like Nurse Pants (on which the skin will be dyed as well). As a rule of thumb, the deeper the colors on a piece of visible equipment, the more strongly it will be affected by dyes. Unsaturated colors like black and silver are often unaffected by basic dyes, and require Bright Dye to undergo a color change.
Compound Dyes can also be used for a color combination containing either black or silver, but their effects on any particular equipment piece can only be determined through trial and error.
Obtaining dyes
Dye materials can usually be obtained from naturally-occurring plants or from specific enemies. Dyes are crafted from materials at a Dye Vat, or received directly from the Dye Trader upon trading in a Strange Plant. See Dyes.
Vanity accessories
Aside from accessories that exist purely for vanity, many functional accessories can also be used to modify a character's appearance. Only one accessory from each of the below categories can be visible at a time.
If multiple accessories from one of these categories are equipped, only the accessory from the lowest slot will be shown.
- Angel Halo(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Arcane Flower(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Arctic Diving Gear [1]
- Blindfold
- Bone Helm(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Diving Gear [1]
- Fake Unicorn Horn(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Ginger Beard [1] (Desktop, Console, Mobile and 3DS versions)
- Jellyfish Diving Gear [1]
- Jungle Rose(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Leinfors' Luxury Shampoo(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Magma Skull(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Molten Skull Rose(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Nature's Gift
- Obsidian Rose
- Obsidian Skull
- Spectre Goggles(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Yoraiz0r's Scowl(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Yoraiz0r's Spell(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Band of Regeneration
- Band of Starpower
- Berserker's Glove(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bone Glove(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Celestial Cuffs(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Charm of Myths
- Climbing Claws
- Feral Claws
- Fire Gauntlet
- Frog Webbing(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hand Warmer(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Lava Charm
- Magic Cuffs
- Mana Regeneration Band
- Mechanical Glove
- Moon Stone
- Power Glove
- Shackle
- Sun Stone
- Titan Glove
- Yoyo Glove(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Diamond Ring(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Huntress's Buckler(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Apprentice's Scarf(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Cross Necklace
- Jellyfish Necklace
- Magiluminescence(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Molten Charm(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Panic Necklace
- Pygmy Necklace
- Shark Tooth Necklace(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Star Veil
- Stinger Necklace(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Sweetheart Necklace
- Worm Scarf(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bunny Tail(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Black Belt
- Cloud in a Bottleand variants
- Dog Tail(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Fox Tail(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Inner Tube(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Lizard Tail(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Mana Flower
- Monk's Belt(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Toolbelt(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Treasure Magnet(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Watches(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)(all variants)
- Amber Horseshoe Balloon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Balloon Animal(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Balloon Pufferfish(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Blue Horseshoe Balloonand variants
- Bundle of Balloons
- Bundle of Horseshoe Balloons(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bundled Party Balloons(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Cloud in a Balloonand variants
- Honey Balloon
- Sharkron Balloon(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Shiny Red Balloon
- Angler Tackle Bag(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Architect Gizmo Pack(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Bee Cloak
- Crimson Cloak(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Hive Pack(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hunter Cloak(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Lavaproof Tackle Bag(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Magic Quiver
- Mana Cloak(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Molten Quiver(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Mysterious Cape(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Red Cape(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Stalker's Quiver(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Star Cloak
- Wings(all variants, excluding on desktop)
- Winter Cape(Desktop, Console, Old-gen console and Mobile versions)
- Amphibian Boots(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Fairy Boots(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Flame Waker Boots(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Flipper
- Flower Boots(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Frog Flipper(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Frog Leg
- Frostspark Boots
- Hellfire Treads(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hermes Bootsand variants
- Ice Skates
- Lava Waders
- Lightning Boots
- Obsidian Water Walking Boots
- Rocket Boots
- Shoe Spikes
- Spectre Boots
- Tabi
- Terraspark Boots(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Water Walking Boots
- Celestial Starboard(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Flying Carpet
- Hoverboard
- Lazure's Barrier Platform(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Step Stool(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Yoraiz0r's Spell(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Will override other "on top of" items when worn in vanity
- Ankh Shield
- Cobalt Shield
- Frozen Shield(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hero Shield(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Obsidian Shield
- Paladin's Shield
- Shield of Cthulhu(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Squire's Shield(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Frog Gear(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Hand Of Creation(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)
- Master Ninja Gear
- Tiger Climbing Gear
- Black Golf Ball(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)And variants; Visible only
on Golf Balls - Critter Shampoo(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Visible only on summoned minions
- Frozen Turtle ShellVisible only when below 50% health
- Spore Sac(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Visible when spores form
- White String(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)And variants; Visible only
on Yoyos and Fishing Rods - Shiny Stone(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions)Visible only when below full health
and standing completely still
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 (only works if Familiar Wig is equipped)
The Master Ninja Gear is visible as a combination of the Black Belt, Tabi, Shoe Spikes, and Climbing Claws. To completely hide the Master Ninja Gear in a social slot, the feet, waist, and arms must be separately overridden by other accessories.
Leinfors' Luxury Shampoo(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) and Yoraiz0r's Scowl(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) do not interfere with other visible accessories.
Specific tips
- If using the Neptune's Shell or Moon Charm as vanity accessories, it is essentially required to use the same dye for all of your armor slots, as the head, torso, and legs of the werewolf/merfolk are separately affected by dyes.
- While the Obsidian Rose and Nature's Gift can be used as hairpins, the Jungle Rose(Old-gen console and 3DS versions) and Seashell Hairpin are head slot items that can be used to similar effect.
- Ice Skates make for an excellent pair of boots, and can be dyed a combination of black/silver and a different color. The Tabi also works as a pure black pair of boots.
- On female characters, any leg-modifying accessory can help offset the female sprite's skinny legs.
- Santa Pants can be used as a pair of boots without requiring an accessory slot, but the boots will be white unless using a compound dye with silver (which colors the upper leg gray).
- The Hand Warmer can be used as a pair of elbow-length gloves that aren't as bulky as the Titan Glove and variants, or dyed Bright Orange to approximate the color of pale skin, leaving a white-colored sleeve. The Yoyo Glove can be worn as a pair of black gloves that simply cover the hand.
- Unlike the Nurse Pants, Mrs. Claus Heels will not display dyes on the leg region. To dye the skirt on Mrs. Claus Heels a different color, combine the desired color with silver to create a compound dye.
- The Djinn's Curse, Mermaid Tail, Lamia Tail, Silly Sunflower Bottoms, and Moon Lord Legs(Desktop, Console and Mobile versions) significantly modify the wearer's leg shape.