Forced Into Their Sunday Best

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Characters (usually children) are forced to wear smart looking clothes (their Sunday best) and hating it. They usually change out of these clothes as soon as possible.

The term Sunday refers to Western Christian society where people often dress up in tidy clothes for the Sunday service. This was far more common in the past when people only had limited clothing, they had the set they wore in the week and their Sunday best for special occasions (and Sundays).

If related to cartoon characters, may be one of the few exceptions to their Limited Wardrobe. This trope, however, is about anyone being forced to wear smart clothing for an occasion.

The reasons for this hate can include:

  • They think they look stupid/people will laugh at them.
  • It inhibits their normal behaviour (can't risk damaging the clothing).
  • It is grossly impractical.
  • It represents everything they hate about something (e.g., the upper classes).
  • It itches.

Some of these reasons are interchangeable. Truth in Television for many kids (and occasionally adults) at formal events, like weddings.

See also Doomed New Clothes. Compare Sudden School Uniform.

Examples of Forced Into Their Sunday Best include:

Anime and Manga

  • Chichi forces Gohan into a Little Lord Fauntleroy-type outfit for his trip to Namek on Dragonball Z. Gohan changes out of it soon as they are out of her sight. He's stuck with the haircut, though.
  • England buys a suit for a teenage America in the America Cleans Out his Storage episode in Axis Powers Hetalia, and he looks adorably embarrassed by it.

Film

  • The kids are forced into their dress clothes in Nanny McPhee...which then get forced onto the animals. Also the ending could fit, when the kids are forced into those lime-green outfits for the wedding.
  • Harry Potter and Ron Weasley are forced into formal robes for the Yule Ball. Especially Ron, since his are horribly outdated hand-me-downs.

Literature

  • The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876): Happens to Tom Sawyer, much to his chagrin.
  • I think this also happened in one of The Great Brain books, too, but I'm not sure. (Or maybe Little House?)[please verify]
  • In Discworld, Sam Vimes is often forced to wear his knightly regalia of red tights, impractical shiny breastplate and a helmet with a damned plume in it, rather than battered chainmail, in Jingo. By the end of the book he's a duke, with an even more impractical outfit that he's forced to wear in The Fifth Elephant.
  • In P. G. Wodehouse's Blandings Castle short story "Lord Emsworth and the Girl Friend", the eponymous peer is forced, over his strenuous objections, to put on a top hat, frock coat, and a stiff collar to preside at a public fête held on the grounds of Blandings Castle.
    • Also referenced by Bertie Wooster (via the narration) in "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest":

She [Lady Malvern] made me feel as if I were ten years old and had been brought into the drawing-room in my Sunday clothes to say how-d'you-do.

  • Happens twice in Harry Potter: Once for the Yule Ball (mostly concerning Ron and his hideous maroon robes), and again for Bill and Fleur's wedding (in which case its Fred and George complaining).
  • The Star Wars Expanded Universe states that starfighter pilots in the New Republic hate the dress uniform for Starfighter Command, which was designed without any input from the people who would be wearing it, and will generally wear anything else if they can get away with it.
  • In chapter eight of Double Star, Emperor Willem complains about having to either take a long route back from the throne room or "parade through semi-public corridors dressed like a circus horse," then adds that "I never wear anything but underwear under those silly robes." Lorenzo replies "I doubt if they are as uncomfortable as this monkey jacket I am wearing, Sire."

Live-Action TV

  • In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "Journey To Babel", McCoy complains about having to wear his dress uniform. About to greet the Vulcan Ambassador, he asks Spock how to do the Vulcan salute. After Spock demonstrates it and the good Doctor tries to imitate the gesture, McCoy grumbles, "That hurts worse than the uniform!"
  • Happens to Bernard Black of Black Books. It looks really odd.
  • Despite the severely dysfunctional nature of the family, I'm 90% sure[please verify] Malcolm in the Middle did this occasionally.
  • Name a television series in which the main characters are either military or police officers. Sooner or later they'll have to put on their dress uniforms, and they will always complain about having to do so.
  • In the Angel episode "Waiting in the Wings", Gunn is initially very concerned that he will look silly when dressed up for the ballet. He is, of course, GORGEOUS, as Fred quickly points out.
  • One time on Leave It to Beaver, Beaver had to take dancing lessons and was forced to wear his Sunday clothes to the classes. He didn't know which was worse.
  • Keeping Up Appearances: Onslow once has to wear a jacket and a shirt with a tie for his grandchild's baptism. He keeps on fumbling with the tie and claims that he feels as if he were the first member of his family to be hanged.
  • In the early episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies, Elly May didn't like having to wear a dress. It was partly because she was afraid people would make fun of her, and also because she's tomboyish and likes to play games which would mess up the clothes. Once she played football wearing a ball gown and ruined it because she thought ball gowns were made to play ball in.

Newspaper Comics

  • Calvin and Hobbes: This happens several times to Calvin. He's not happy about it.
  • Dennis the Menace (the US one): Dennis Mitchell hates being put in his Sunday best.
  • Jon has often dressed Garfield up and told people he was his son. Garfield was not amused.

Web Comics

Tiren: Great. Can I take this... whatever I'm wearing off and put on normal clothes?
Mary: But you look so stunning!

Western Animation

  • Recess: In "Picture Day", the kids have to wear smart clothes all day for their portraits. Unfortunately, there are many kids who are keen to get their clothes dirty before then.
  • The Simpsons: Bart and Lisa Simpson have special clothes for church.[context?]
  • Similar to The Simpsons, Fry from Futurama has a turtleneck/blazer combo that he wears for fancy times (like going to Elzar's).[context?]
  • On Jimmy Two-Shoes, when Heloise's Auntie Pomigranite comes to visit, she's forced into very frilly, very un-Heloise like clothes.
  • Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy find themselves stuck with new clothes bought by their parents. They're hilariously too stiff, so they throw them in the lake.
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