[quote=Silver Fox]
*shrug* for me I don't care for it. Sure, it's a nice extra, but I don't like that it's a mandatory change. I don't mind doing customs in the second play through, but first play through I like keeping it original to the outfit. Unless the story line purposely goes "oh they need new clothes in this adventure cause theirs got dirty or ripped"Which is why I love Tales of Xillia :3 plus coop. I do like FF13, it's just meh for me compared to most of the others. Especially when there is three of them and they could of easily ended it in the first. and that each time starting the other two left me "wtf?"So I shall enjoy Tales. But I'll play FF13 Lightning returns too
[/quote]

They do explain why Lightning gets to wear different outfits, and it's kind of mandatory to be swapping between them in battle or else you're not going to win against enemies. 

As far as the storyline in the 13 series goes, the second one already trampled over the themes and canon of the first so now this third one is just pretty much anything goes. At this point the 13 series is so far removed from the events of 13 that it may as well not even carry the 13 name.