yes! we can talk about this!!!
I think it’s two things – first of all, I do think Loki just genuinely likes dressing up and looking nice. I mean, in Thor we see him change clothes a few times where others (if I recall) don’t, and in this movie he had at least two thematic costume changes (not including the black suit). it’s part of his Aesthetic, and Loki is very much about the Aesthetic.
(more seriously: he’s very appearance-conscious in basically every way and that includes, of course, clothing.)
so then on Earth – Thor can dress down, I think because Thor is more comfortable on Earth generally (where for Loki it’s not a place he particularly wants to be) and also because Thor doesn’t feel the same need Loki does to project a specific image – an image, like you say, of authority, control, and status. three things Loki is never going to want to relinquish.
and it does fit in with what we’ve seen Loki wear when he comes to Earth before, which. it definitely is a lot of style choice. (and it’s such a good style.)
Costume meta!!!! YESSSS.
Loki is always as *covered* and buttoned up as possible, with which I’m obsessed. (It shows up in a lot of fanfiction and meta, so it’s not just me.) It reflects his closed off wariness and it’s always a sort of emotional armor, I think.
He’s so, so insecure, our Loki, that he hides behind this armor and yes, it absolutely projects an air of authority and confidence that he needs desperately to perform. I could talk for HOURS about his costuming.
I felt actually punched in the face when the first trailers were released and we saw him *not* wearing his signature green and black and gold.
That outfit, though, is in the Grandmaster’s colors. It reinforces the “ownership” of people the Grandmaster assumes on Sakaar. It’s a very Sakaar ensemble and in context I love it. Loki’s ingratiated himself to the most powerful being and his schemes have schemes.
Thor, of course, is often seen half-naked, sleeveless, and in casual clothing on Midgard. He’s more open, egregious, and straightforward. The contrast is beautiful between the brothers’ attire.
Tagging my costume obsessed @philosopherking1887 @lunariagold and @raven-brings-light (I’m not sure if you’re this fixated on costumes, Raven, but I know you appreciate the Suit Porn.)
(Luna I keep forgetting to ask you what you thought of the costuming after seeing the movie!)
Amazing points about Loki’s attire.
Ah, well they are definitely not just my observations. I’m sure part of this comes from @philosopherking1887 (OMG her story The Abyss Gazes Also has an incredible cool explanation for Loki’s Avengers outfit) and there are SO many others who’ve written great observations about Loki’s clothing.
Thanks for the shout-out/rec, @darklittlestories ❤
Clearly I’m falling down on my costume-obsessing job, because I didn’t notice that somehow, between when Loki leaves Sakaar and when he shows up on Asgard, he changes into a costume with the same design but different colors (basically blue –> black and yellow –> green, with a few detail exceptions). Did he have a change of clothes stashed in a pocket dimension, or does he have the power to just change the color of his clothing, like the fairies in the Disney Sleeping Beauty fighting over whether the dress should be pink or blue…?
I’m not sure I agree that for Loki Earth is “not a place he particularly wants to be.” For silly reasons peculiar to me, I write Loki in fic as visiting Earth once or twice a century to check out the cultural development… but aside from that, it’s not unreasonable to think that before the first Thor movie, Loki actually knows more about Earth than Thor does. Thor is confused by pretty much everything, but when Loki comes down to tell Thor that Odin is dead, he’s impeccably and fashionably dressed in a suit, coat, and scarf. This doesn’t even seem to be necessary, because he keeps himself invisible to everyone except Thor (though maybe he was taking precautions in case the invisibility spell slipped?); it seems he dressed in Western Midgardian style because he felt like it. And then in The Avengers, after he’s spent a year off in the wilds of the universe but probably not on Earth (depending on what was going on in the tag scene to Thor), he puts on (or glamours himself?) another elegant Midgardian-style suit and scarf. So he seems to have acquired some Earth fashion sense prior to the events of Thor.
But yeah, I definitely agree that Loki’s clothing is armor in more ways than one. (More things he has in common with Tony Stark…) He hides himself behind it; he allows it to project the confidence, “authority, control, and status” that he doesn’t have, or doesn’t feel that he has, in his own right. It’s yet another layer of deception. And the fact that he changes costume so often is another sign of his character: he’s a bit of a chameleon, projecting a different face for different people or in different circumstances. He cares a lot about appearances, both for instrumental reasons and, I suspect along with OP, for their own sake. I think he and Oscar Wilde would agree about a lot of things…
Loki is the Philosopher King 
