This is a great question I love it! I think a lot of things about buggy’s choice to dress as and call himself a clown. I think it has to do with how he felt growing up and his needs that hadn’t been met. Before I say anything I want you to take a look at buggy’s outfits throughout his childhood and see if you notice anything.

First off he always wears a hat. I think this is to mimic shanks who had been given a special hat by Roger. So he can feel special too. He also consistently dressed bright but the first two images are pretty regular outfits for a pirate boy his age. In the third image he’s a young teen and here you can see he’s wearing the makeup we are familiar with for buggy. We know that Roger liked “flashy” things and I think Buggy at the time of the third image had caught on to that and started dressing more flashy to get his attention. in the fourth image he’s sixteen/seventeen (he wore this before rogers execution too.) He’s already accepted that shanks was going to be rogers successor. he realized he couldn’t get rogers attention so he stopped dressing flashy stopped wearing makeup and gave up. thinking shanks as the favorite. But as an adult buggy sports the dark eyeliner + red lips look.

This is because he wants attention again. So one of the reasons he leaned into the clown aesthetic is because he’s fallen back to chasing attention by doing flashy things his captain liked. He’s like a child begging to be noticed. It’s the reason he loves jewels and money too, he wants flashy things to fill a void left by the lack of attention from roger as a kid. He is also mimicking Roger. he says flashy now which he didn’t even say as a kid. He wears the same hat, coat, handkerchief + head scarf roger did. I also see this as him permanently grieving rogers death. He’s still dressed like rogers out there to see him. More on his attention seeking, Buggy knows he had become a coward. When Luffy trusted him in impel down he said so himself.

Played as a joke ofc but it does show he is aware. Despite this He is so addicted to attention that he will pretend to be a headstrong pirate that his followers believe him to be even when he wants out.

He’s like a child playing pretend you can see him loving it too.

By being a flashy clown he gets attention and validation. negative or positive. Despite how he portrays himself I think he still prefers positive attention deep down. and by being the liar he had decided it was easier to be as an adult he can get the attention he wanted without actually earning it. because trying to earn it didn’t work when he was a kid. Now on to another reason I think he does this. Buggy is owning being the fool he thinks he was. One of his monikers is “buggy the flashy fool” when you take into account that buggy was a kid surrounded not just by another kid that his captain saw more potential in (shanks) but also some of the strongest most respected pirates in the world, you can imagine how he felt. Like a fool. Buggy was the only one that was seen to be scared and crying out of fear amongst the crew.

Imagine you’re a scared child and every adult around you decides that your rightful fear of death was humorous because to them it’s obviously going to be handled. He must have felt like an idiot. Buggy had done the most selfless thing a person can do and gave up on his dreams because he thought it was the best thing to do for shanks future

But shanks (for reasons that’s hinted to be because of destiny) in buggy’s eyes, backstabbed him and didn’t go through with what Buggy thought was rogers wishes.

Buggy felt like a fool for giving up on his dreams for nothing. He felt like a fool for believing in shanks. So I think him making himself into a literal clown or “fool” is his way of reclaiming that. “Oh so I was a coward for being scared as a child? Fine, then that’s who I am. I’ll just use others and avoid danger like one. I was a fool for being selfless and believing in shanks? Fine then I’ll believe only in myself and selfishly take things from others instead! I’ll make something of it, Nobody can hurt me this way!” By reclaiming it he’s trying to make it powerful but I don’t think it has worked because it’s clear this life and mentality has led him into terrible places with fake people that despite his best efforts to pretend otherwise, he wishes loved him beyond the facade.

Buggy had built his adult life off of being greedy and fake so it’s no surprise that he’d find himself surrounded by those same type of people. But he still seems shocked. He let himself be betrayed again. (Although i think buggy feelings were valid I also don’t think that shanks betrayed him) Another note is that it’s very likely buggy is pretending to despise shanks. at least to the degree he presents because there is a cover, if it’s canon or not is debatable but oda drew this on his own it wasn’t a request. where he and shanks were happy and drinking together.

"Shanks vs. the Buggy Pirates"

Shanks shows up to the Cross Guild office thinking he's going to have a talk. You know, clear the air. Maybe even say something meaningful.

Unfortunately for him, he forgets one very important detail:

The Buggy Pirates are loyal, unhinged, and emotionally devastating when mildly provoked.

💥 They roast a Yonko without lifting a finger.

🎭 Buggy accidentally breaks hearts just by being himself.

🧤 A pair of gloves gets taken off and suddenly everyone is crying.

🥹 Trauma? Love? Pirate family values?? In this economy??

🤡 Buggy: “You guys are weird.”

Also Buggy’s crew: loves him more than life itself.