Dressing your avatar in a free outfit with Modular Avatar
Written by VRC Free Watch · Last updated
Most free outfits on BOOTH are built for Modular Avatar. A walk through the whole flow: preparing the project, installing dependencies, Setup Outfit, adding a toggle, testing and uploading, and the usual snag at each step.
What Modular Avatar is and why everyone uses it
Modular Avatar (MA) is a free Unity tool that lets outfits, accessories and gesture setups be attached to an avatar and merged automatically only when you build or enter Play mode. This non-destructive approach has two big benefits: your original avatar is never modified, so removing an outfit is just deleting its object, and parts from different creators combine without fighting each other.
That is why more and more BOOTH outfits are labeled 「MA対応」 or 「Modular Avatar対応」, and many free outfits ship only as an MA-ready prefab.
Before you start: project, SDK and shaders
Create or open your avatar project through VRChat Creator Companion (VCC) or a similar manager such as ALCOM, so the Unity version and VRChat SDK match automatically. Add Modular Avatar's package listing there and install MA, then install whatever shader the outfit asks for (lilToon is the most common).
Order matters: install shaders and tools before the outfit itself. If you import the outfit first its materials turn pink because the shader is missing; installing it afterwards usually fixes that, but it's a detour. Back up the whole project folder before you begin.
Importing the outfit and putting it on
Double-click the outfit's .unitypackage to import it, then find the prefab the creator made for your avatar in the Project window. Drag it onto your avatar's root object in the Hierarchy so it becomes a child of the avatar.
Then right-click the outfit object and choose Setup Outfit from the Modular Avatar menu. MA matches the outfit's bones to the avatar's, and from then on the outfit moves with the body. If the creator already configured MA components in the prefab this step may not be needed; follow the readme. Menu names can differ slightly between MA versions.
Skin poking through
Skin showing through clothing is the most common problem. Many avatars include blend shapes that shrink parts of the body, and outfit creators usually list which ones to turn on. You can also use the tool the creator recommends to delete hidden mesh at build time, which cuts polygon count as well.
If the whole outfit is off (shoulders misaligned, sleeves too long), check that it was made for your avatar and for your version of it. When a base avatar's body is updated, outfits made for the old version may stop fitting.
Adding an outfit toggle
To switch the outfit in game, give it a menu toggle. Recent MA versions provide components that add a menu item and an object toggle directly on the object, with no hand-made animator; older setups use MA Menu Installer with a toggle prefab from the creator. Many free outfits already include a toggle, so after importing check whether a new entry appears in your Expression Menu.
Testing and uploading
Enter Play mode in Unity and check that the outfit follows the body, the toggle works and the Console has no red errors. Then open the VRChat SDK panel, use Build & Test to try it locally, and upload once it looks right.
Glance at the performance rank the SDK shows before uploading: every outfit adds polygons, materials and bones. A Very Poor avatar can still be uploaded for PC but is hidden by default for many players. If you are also making a Quest version, see our guide on Quest compatibility.
Quick fixes
Setup Outfit fails: the outfit's bone names usually don't match your avatar; make sure it was made for your avatar. The outfit vanishes in Play mode: check whether the object is disabled by default, or the toggle's default value. Others can't see the outfit after upload: make sure it isn't under an object tagged EditorOnly. For more import problems, see our troubleshooting guide on pink materials and misaligned outfits.
General information, not legal advice; follow the creator's instructions and VRChat's official documentation. Not affiliated with BOOTH, pixiv Inc. or VRChat Inc.