The 1&2 look was perfect for that scene. Though I'd argue now that Ryo and Shenhua are travelling through China to some very glamorous locations inspired by Las Vegas (Niaowu), having Shenhua dressed in her village rags would now look a bit odd.
The feature to change Ryo's wardrobe in Shenmue 3 actually realises one of the early cut ideas Yu wanted to do with this series, and that was to have our heroes change-up their outfits for each in-game month to make them feel more 'real' - an extension of the life simulator idea from Shenmue 1.
That's why in some of the early promotional material, Shenhua can be seen wearing many different outfits.
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With that in mind, it's not a huge surprise to me that Shenhua is wearing something new in Shenmue 3. In fact, I expect she'll get another redesign for Shenmue 4 as well.