Clothing Switch



Clothing Switch is simply one or more characters putting on clothes belonging to someone else (even two characters swapping clothes, as in the picture), but for reasons other than disguising as that person. It's often for fun, dressing up, or... something more kinky (for them and for us). And depending on the characters, this can be Fan Service.

Heck, this can even happen by accident, just for Rule of Funny.

Can overlap with Cosplay Fan Art, Side-Story Bonus Art. The key is that the characters are wearing each others' outfit, or that a character is clearly wearing the clothes of another character in the same Canon.

Not to be confused with Cosplay, unless that character is actually wearing the clothes of the person that character is dressing up as. Simply making clothes like it doesn't count.

A Super-Trope to Sexy Shirt Switch.

Compare Cosplay Fan Art, Whole Costume Reference.

Anime and Manga

 * Read or Die has a scene in the manga where Yomiko Readman tries on Nenene's outfits. Nenene ridicules her for being 25 years old and not being able to fit into them well, as well as implying she is homely.
 * At one point in Ranma ½, the title character has to wear his fiance's clothes because all of his are in the wash. It's not cross dressing because he is in girl form at the time. However, it earns him Akane's wrath when he points out that there is plenty of room in the hip region, but it's a bit tight around the bust.
 * In the final episode of Pani Poni Dash!, the characters Behoimi and Media swap clothes on some whim. Behoimi finds she isn't thrilled about wearing Media's maid outfit while Media finds herself thrilled to be wearing such unconstraining clothes like Behoimi's school uniform. She begins twirling around in joy showing a fair amount of leg as the skirt begins to rise up. Behoimi begins listing reasons why they should switch back quickly, one of them being along the lines of "and I'm starting to get turned on".
 * In one chapter of Nabari no Ou, Gau is shown wearing the jacket Raikou had been wearing earlier in the same chapter.
 * In an episode of Sailor Moon, to fake out a villian guessing that Usagi is Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus disguises herself as Sailor Moon.
 * In Saiyuki Reload, in a Urasai extra, the four decide to switch outfits. Sanzo wears Gojyo's outfit, Gojyo wears Goku's outfit, Hakkai wears Sanzo's outfit, and Goku wears...a magical girl costume for "fanservice".

Comic Books

 * Empowered: Ninjette put on Empowered's hypermembrane (and some falsies) in order to put the fear of Emp into some goons.
 * One arc of Incredible Hercules had the titular hero and The Mighty Thor dressing up as each other. Hilarity Ensued.
 * An issue of DC Comics Presents had a story where Superman and Captain Marvel switched costumes.

Fanfiction

 * In this CSI fanfic, Nick and Greg accidentally out themselves by wearing each other's clothes to work. Hilarity Ensues.

Film

 * In Spice World, the girls take turns doing this during one of the musical numbers.
 * In High School Musical 2, in the scene after they sing "I Don't Dance," Ryan and Chad are wearing each other's clothes.
 * In Loaded Weapon 1 when a helicopter is approaching to destroy Colt's house, Colt and Destiny run out wearing each others underwear.
 * Two characters in the early part of Loose Screws switch shirts. The guy wears "Wanna trade?" and the girl wears "Sure".

Literature

 * At one point in the first Harry Potter book, Fred and George wear each other's lettered jumpers, causing them to call themselves "Gred and Forge".
 * The Robert Munsch story Thomas' Snowsuit involves a series of these, with a teacher and then the principal trying to get Thomas into his snowsuit. Each time, one of them takes Thomas in one hand, the snowsuit in the other, a fight ensues, and when the dust clears, no one is wearing the right clothes.

Live Action TV

 * In Will and Grace, Karen and Grace get drunk and end up swapping clothes. Then they end up passed out, with Grace on top of Karen. Jack and Will walk in and comment on the shame that image is wasted on them.
 * One brief scene in The Young Ones had the four actors all dressed as, and playing, one of the others' character, without further acknowledgment or explanation.
 * An episode of Small Wonder had Vicki and Harriet trading clothes.
 * In the second season episode of Parks and Recreation "Summer Catalog", Will They Or Won't They non-couple April and Andy switch sweaters off camera in one of their many goofy pranks. The visual of April in Andy's overlarge hoodie and Andy in April's too-tight button up is a laugh riot, more so when Andy declares "Sweater Swap!" when Leslie finally notices.
 * In "No Stone," a late episode of The Professionals, Bodie and Doyle have clearly swapped shirts in one brief scene. None of the other characters comment on the switch, and it is never explained.
 * This is the twist of Abed and Troy's "awesome elevator" trick in The Tag of one episode of Community.

Music

 * In Aerosmith's video for their song "Crazy", Alicia Silverstone and Liv Tyler go into a photo booth, and come out having swapped clothes. They give the clerk their photo strip, and he looks quite surprised, to say the least.

Newspaper Comics

 * This strip from Dilbert.
 * Isn't that one a Body Swap? The body Alice's head is on appears to be Wally's more rotund form...
 * Several strips (starting here) from Luann.

Video Games

 * As unlockable costumes in the third Disgaea, Raspberyl and Sapphire swap garb.
 * The Artbook of the first game shows also a costume switch between Etna and Flonne
 * Not to mention the Personality Swap episode of the anime.
 * In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, there are badges that let Mario wear either Luigi or Wario's outfit; wearing both at the same time gives him Waluigi's, and the Luigi one is needed for a sidequest.
 * In the Super Smash Bros. series, Mario has Wario's outfit for one of his alternate colors; in Brawl, Wario also has Mario's original blue shirt / red overalls look as one of his and Luigi has Waluigi's.

Webcomics

 * In Drowtales, Kel'noz and Mel'anarch, who are twin brother and sister, apparently did this when they were little.
 * One Wapsi Square strip had Tina and Monica switching outfits due to a slight teleporting mishap. However, despite the swapping of every other article of clothing, Tina kept her choker.

Western Animation

 * In Daria, Brittany mentions seeing The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Kevin, and they wore each other's underwear. Jane sarcastically asks "Again?"
 * Quinn wearing Daria's outfit to a "Fashion Don'ts Costume Gala".
 * While not a clothing swap as much as a clone Daria puts on a Quinn-est outfit in the episode "Quinn the Brain"
 * In Kronk's New Groove, Kronk and Birdwell do a bombie into the ocean and come out wearing each other's swimsuits. They don't fit well.
 * In the Phineas and Ferb episode "Hail Doofania!", Vanessa and Candace wear each others' signature outfits, thanks to a mix up at the dry cleaners. Neither is happy about it.
 * This even causes an epic role reversal where the A plot goes Doofenshmirtz and Norm (complete with "I know what we're gonna do today") with Vanessa trying to bust them while Phineas and Ferb make an Inator that Perry eventually destroys.
 * In an episode of Teen Titans, Robin went to train with the true master, and Raven, Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg all put on Robin's costume while he was gone. Robin walks in on them at the end of the episode.
 * In the Recess episode "The Copycat Kid", Mikey starts wearing the same clothes as Vince after deciding to copy Vince (Vince had "saved Mikey's life" earlier in the episode). How does Vince show Mikey how annoying this is? By wearing Mikey's clothes.
 * A Popeye cartoon "On Our Way to Rio'' ends with Popeye and samba dancer Olive dancing so energetically that after a rapid spin they end up in each other's outfits.
 * In Saludos Amigos, Donald Duck trades clothes with a local.