So my ultimate goal is to make it so whoever we choose as our wife in this game will always keep the desired piece of equipment on. The problem is that even if an NPC has only one piece of equipment in their inventory they will still unequip it after you leave the area, because they will attempt to equip their default armor which they don't have. This results in them wearing nothing, even though they do have a piece of equipment in their inventory. Does anyone know if there is a console command or some trick to changing an NPC's default clothing?

I'd like to know this as well, I wanted to give my wife nice clothes instead of the normal town girl stuff she is wearing now.

Stop posting new threads just because people haven't responded within 15 minutes. It's rude and clutters the board. Wait for at least a day or two and then BUMP your old thread. It hasn't even went past the first page

Get your pickpoketing way up and get the perk that allows you take take equipped items (level 100 I think) they remove and add cloths as you like.

I killed Lydia 'cause she just annoys me and doesn't shut the hell up.

Just kill her.

How is this relivent?

The issue with that is that even though they only one item in their inventory they will always attempt to equip the default gear whether or not they actually have it. So the only way to make them change clothes permanently is to somehow alter what they consider their default equipment. There must be someway to change it.

Download a nvde mod and let them walk around naked that's always a good way to go too.

Perhaps we'll just have to wait for a mod. Unless someone knows a console command that changes what a certain NPC considers their default gear, but I suppose that is unlikely.

Have you tried equipitem?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Console

Default clothing and armor (Lydia's steel set, for example) is kept in a "hidden inventory" that can be viewed using the console. You can use the console to remove hidden inventory items, including clothing and armor. If you take all of Lydia's items normally through trade, for example, and then use the console to removeallitems from her inventory, she'll then be naked.

Problem is, the moment an NPC that you've stripped gets a wearable piece of gear in their inventory, a script of some kind (I assume) checks their hidden inventory, sees that it's empty, and then regenerates their default gear again.

You MIGHT be able to give them a piece of clothing and then remove their hidden inventory gear one piece at a time using the console, causing them to equip whatever you gave them. However, if you ever trade them a piece of armor or clothing again afterwards, they'll regenerate their default gear.

It's a mess. Can't wait for the Creation Set.

Oh, nice. That's been added recently.

However, I'll bet that the moment you trade an NPC thus equipped any Apparel item, they'll swap back to their default Apparel (regenerating it if needed) or whatever has the highest DR (but they'll still regenerate their default gear).

Hmm, is there a way to see what is in their "hidden inventory"? Perhaps there is some way to change what they consider their normal set of equipment so they will always have the desired attire on?

It works while you are in the same area as them, but unfortunately after you leave they automatically attempt to put on their default again, even if they don't have it.

One thread is enough.