Since the Naruto spinoff series Boruto debuted, Sarada has gone through several outfit changes. This has been much to fans' chagrin who have had mixed reactions to their favorite baby kunoichi's changes in clothing style.
The beloved daughter of Sakura and Sasuke Uchiha, Sarada is a prodigy who excels in everything she does. Unlocking her sharingan before even graduating from the academy, Sarada has very similar perspectives on life and the village to Naruto and her uncle, Itachi. Because of her strained relationship with her father, Sarada initially struggles with who she is and who she wants to be. However, with the help of Naruto, she comes to understand that she is defined by her connections with people and therefore wishes to become Hokage to connect with as many of them as possible.
In the manga, Sarada sports a short sleeveless, red dress bound by a white belt. She also wears bandages underneath them and a yellow tie around her neck and black fingerless gloves with a pair of black ankle-length, open-toed high-heeled sandals with wooden soles -- a rather inappropriate choice for an 11-year-old! The whole outfit is simply unbefitting a kunoichi of both her talents and age group in general.
Early in her academic career in the anime, Sarada wears an outfit similar to her clothes in the manga but soon transitions into the outfit she is originally known for. When going with Naruto to meet up with her father, Sarada changes into a red sleeveless qipao shirt with the Uchiha Crest on the back. She also dons a pair of lilac-colored shorts and dark purple arm warmers with knee-high stockings and traditional ninja shoes.
This outfit is a mix of both of her parent's styles with elements from Sakura’s outfit as a chunin as well as characteristics from Sasuke’s academy clothes, like his shorts and arm warmers. With the Uchiha crest proudly displayed on her back, Sarada looks like the perfect combination of both Sasuke and Sakura with the personality to match.
Sarada inherited much of Sasuke’s serious and analytical personality with Sakura’s temperament to boot. Putting these qualities together creates a brave and compassionate shinobi who is kind-hearted and considerate of others, but has a dark side when facing her problems. At 11, she is already a skilled Genin that supports her comrades and is dependable to a fault. All this makes her original attire much more apt for who Sarada is as both a character and a kunoichi.
Like Sakura, Sarada is also able to infuse chakra to give herself inhuman strength before graduating from the academy. The Uchiha heiress also first awakened her visual prowess when she went to meet Sasuke for the first time. The emotional excitement from that moment triggered her first tomoe sharingan. This was also when she changed her clothes to the outfit she is most known for. This evolution of her look was also a signifier of her maturity and coming into her own, solidifying her transition into becoming a shinobi and finding what her path was going to be -- becoming Hokage and connecting with as many people as possible. With her resolve cemented, Sarada became determined to make her dream a reality but only by doing it in her own way.
In the manga and at the beginning of the anime, Sarada’s outfit is quite impractical for such a pragmatic shinobi. However, after going to find Sasuke, she gains one that is much more representative of her background and who she is as a character. As a mix of both her parent's styles, this look is a better choice for a Genin of her background and caliber. A skilled and talented kunoichi, Sarada is the Uchiha legacy and deserves to be represented as such.
