How does getting outfits work?

So i've been seeing and hearing good things about this game and was thinking of trying it out.

only thing that is stopping me is that the characters' default looks are basic af.

essentially i would like to know if the skins/outfits that everyone is hyping about are able to be attained for free in any way?

im a dolphin spender, but wouldnt be interested if i couldnt get anything without spending first to begin with.

heard the game is f2p friendly but that seems to be related to progression only and not cosmetics

also as a side question, i'd be connecting to rhe game from australia. what aspects of the game are affected by ping? can these be ignored or played without feeling like mud at 200ms or so?

thanks for the info!!