Temple of Ranma's Sailor Senshi Seifuku

There are a lot of fics out there that explore the reason(s) why Ranma dresses up and acts like a girl as often as he does. In particular, why he has such access to things that girls wear, including various costumes and uniforms girls don't normally have or carry with them except under certain circumstances. Obviously, some things are easily explained with goal-oriented reasons, and other occasions are circumstantial, but other times aren't so easily explained and putting it all together can create quite a puzzle. It did for me, anyway. I mean, it's a gag manga, so why various outfits are pulled out of nowhere can otherwise be explained; but that still leaves the reason for why they're used.

So, I was wondering what you thought. We could even discuss some of the occasions where Ranma dressed up and/or acted like a girl. (Some of the options may not be exclusive, and if so choose the reason that would have the greatest influence.)

Why does he have the outfits? In terms of what Rumiko probably wrote them in the vein of: Comedy and mild fan service reasons. That's as far as it goes. In regards to what that means not considering the creators perspective: Lots of it revolve around him having immense pride and confidence in everything he does. He makes a really cute girl he knows that. Someone denies he makes a cute girl gets his pride and anger up. What all that leaves is the fact that really I think he's curious about being a girl. He likes the advantages it gives him, really doesn't understand woman, etc. So he kind of wonders and has a ready made body to try to understand that perspective. He wears it on occasion for that, but if he could get rid of it would do so without hesitation.

What frice2000 said. It is a good, easy to apply disguise as well, which goes well with several of his plots. If Genma could turn into a girl he'd spam the hell out of it, too, like he does his panda form.

What about the time when he dressed like the mirror clone and tried to teach her how to pick up guys? Do you think it can be explained with the same reasons? Since he risks affecting his reputation/image negatively whether he helps her or let's her do it her way, what could he gain from it? Would pride really explain it? I mean, he can be rather shameless when he's aiming to win, and his original goal had been to stop her from trying to pick up guys, not help. It's one of those occasions where I'm not sure what to think.

Honestly, I don't think it really matters. He changes his mind to whatever is necessary for a story arc. It's simply impossible to determine his real feelings, which also makes it easier to write stories since there's almost always an example you can give as to why it's possible.