Impossibly Cool Clothes: Difference between revisions

{{trope}}

 

Fictional characters can often be found wearing clothing that just looks too good to be real. This can be proven by the occasional attempt made to reproduce these clothes by the costume teams for [[Live Action Adaptation|live action adaptations]] or by enthusiastic cosplay fans. Sometimes this is because of structural elements that flout or ignore real-world physical laws, or because the outfit in question requires an inhumanly perfect (or simply inhuman) body underneath it, or because real-world materials just don't look as good as ink and paint.

 

 

 

Clothing in animated series also shows near-indestructibility in terms of almost never ripping, fraying, staining or wrinkling, no matter what kind of stresses are placed on it or substances flung at it. Sometimes this is given an explanation (the material is some experimental or magically enhanced substance), but most times it isn't. Not only is it indestructible, it's almost never a hindrance (unless the story [[Action Dress Rip|explicitly states so]]), like an [[Impractically Fancy Outfit]] and [[Requisite Royal Regalia]].

 

 

 

Any character with clothing showing signs of distress is truly in a world of pain, and possibly close to death. Unless, of course, the character in question is a woman in a [[Bishoujo Series]], as [[Clothing Damage|clothes-tearing near-misses]] are a hallmark of [[Fan Service]].

Note that despite the name given this trope, such outfits need not be cool, or even particularly good-looking. [[Scooby Doo|Shaggy's]] shapeless green shirt is just as indestructible as Superman's cape. Neither ever get as much as a grass stain. (Which, of course, might have been the point behind the color of Shaggy's shirt. And his [[Bring My Brown Pants|brown pants]].)

 

 

 

Contrast [[Rummage Sale Reject]], [[Cheap Costume]].

 

== Anime and Manga ==

* Likewise, cosplayers have noted that the miniskirt worn by ''[[Noir]]'''s Mireille Bouquet actually facilitates [[Panty Shot|panty shots]] in real life, but is a rare instance in anime where the expected [[Fan Service]] ''doesn't'' occur.

* ''[[Revolutionary Girl Utena]]'': It is perfectly possible to fight in any of the uniforms worn by the duellists; they may not have been the sort of things you'd want to get dirty, but they would have been light and allowed plenty of movement. However, the fact that all student counsel members get unique uniforms, and that Utena, despite being an ordinary student, gets a unique uniform (lampshaded as Utena is scolded for wearing a "boy's uniform," though in fact her uniform doesn't look like any of the other boys', and by the fact that originally, Utena's uniform was bright pink), along with the magical manner in which Utena and Anthy's uniforms get pimped out for battle, still qualifies this manga and anime for this trope.

* ''[[Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon]]'' proved that the Sailor Senshi's uniforms are just shy of feasible in their original forms. And Tuxedo Kamen's is eminently doable, except it makes him look like a dork.

* In ''[[Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha]]'' the outfit one's [[Transformation Sequence]] produces is called a "Barrier Jacket" and is somewhat determined via the subconscious. As the series progresses, more and more barrier jackets are a pastiche of random pieces of medieval armor, capes, military uniforms, and exaggerated modern teenager apparel. Which actually makes sense, as later characters have more exposure to different cultures (Belka, Midchilda, and Earth) with those aspects. The military uniforms in the series, thankfully, are ''relatively'' plausible.

* In ''[[Inuyasha]],'' [[Ninja]]-esque Sango wears an incredibly intricate costume and makeup for [[Walking the Earth]] in feudal Japan. While [[Time Travel|time traveler]] Kagome can just pop up back to the 21st century for supplies, bathing, and clothing maintenance (and this has been commented on), Sango has no such resources.

* Appears very often in ''[[The Slayers]]'' universe. Lina, Rezo, Gourry, and '''oh dear gods NAGA''' are some of the strongest examples.

** Some of Lina's outfits are terribly confusing though, since pieces of fabric seem to overlap in an almost non-Euclidean fashion.

** Don't forget the [[Bare Your Midriff|transparent Midriffs]] of the later suits in the 2040 Series.

*** Also, in the original series, we see Nene suiting up. Inside the suit, her feet are flat. Basically, they're walking around on short stilts sculpted to look like high heels. The actresses who voiced them did some publicity shots in fibreglass mock-ups, and after a few minutes' adjustment, had no difficulty walking, running, and jumping.

** The oneshot chapter that started ''Mushishi'' was intended to take place in the present. It was only when it won an award and the mangaka decided to expand on it that the setting changed to a feudal one. The original chapter was even included in the expanded version since it took place in a rural setting where the time period wasn't obviously apparent.

* God in ''[[The Demon Ororon]]'' is a mild case. He is shirtless and wears a pair of jeans which are unbuttoned, unzippered ''and'' do not seem to have anything under them. The jeans never go past his hips even while standing. Justified in the fact that he's God, and can probably keep them up by sheer divine will.

** At least the [[School Festival]] arc justifies it, as most of them are wearing costumes or cosplaying. Then we get to the Magic World, where ''everybody'' dresses like this...

** And it seems to be confirmed that Setsuna's battle outfit is a maid uniform and cat ears.

** Bleach's chapter covers almost always feature one or more characters in very trendy clothing. Tite Kubo has said in an interview that after he finishes Bleach he wants to design clothes.

* In what may be a subtle lampshading of this trope, the [[Artificial Human|Fatimas]] of ''[[The Five Star Stories]]'' wear impossibly cool clothes that could never look right on a real woman's figure. This is because they don't have a real woman's figure. When we see them naked they look obviously inhuman, with exaggeratedly protruding joints, unnaturally long limbs & unhealthy-looking emaciated bodies. There are apparently very strict, Sharia-esque laws about how they can dress, probably because few people want to see that. The fact that they don't age still makes them quite popular with men, though.

** Mamoru Nagano is so fond of this trope that even in his other works he tends to lapse into it. Just look at his entry on the [[Bling of War]] page...

* The titular ''[[Hell Girl]]'', Enma Ai, takes the cake with a simple, traditional kimono... except the fabric is ''animated''. And it glows.

* Lelouch's ridiculously awesome Zero outfit in ''[[Code Geass]]'', with that [[Badass Cape|cape]] which practically qualifies as a [[Large Ham]] all by itself.

** More so the ''R2'' version; the original is simply a bodysuit, while the revised version is essentially a very elaborate three-piece suit.

*** Oh, have we forgotten the white outfit and [[Nice Hat|Kite-Hat]] worn near the end of R2 when he {{spoiler|becomes Emperor}}? Not to mention Suzaku's outfits, the outfits of the royal family, and... well... pretty much every nobles' outfit. It helps that the series' outfits are [[Memetic Mutation|inspired by G Gundam... no, not the outfits of G Gundam, the MECHA]]. Also, it was designed by CLAMP, so yeah...

** Killer Bee has similar "armless sunglasses" though the lenses are at least connected to ''each other''.

* ''[[Shaman King]]'' - Hao's pants, [http://haopants.tripod.com/ 'nuff said.]

* Erza from [[Fairy Tail]] has plenty of these.

* Kamina from ''[[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]'' has a pair of sunglasses that seemingly float in front of his eyes, immune to the laws of gravity.

** Gurren also has some awesome sunglasses, that can (apparently) split in two when thrown or in up to five pairs when needed to really, really impale another mecha to prevent it from running... All later versions of Gurren Lagann also wear glasses due to the [[Rule of Cool]].

 

== Comic Books ==

* The Unstable Molecules created by Reed Richards to allow the powers of the ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' to not burn away their clothes, or force them to go naked if they want to be invisible. They, of course, were what ''[[The Incredibles]]'' Edna Mode was paying homage to in the first place. They were also used to explain why the X-Men and other spandex clad Marvelites were so hard to hurt: the unstable molecules used in their costumes were flexible under normal circumstances, but hardened to bulletproof levels when subjected to the appropriate stresses. A rare subversion of the [[Reed Richards Is Useless]] trope.

** And surprisingly, close to [[Truth in Television]]. [http://www.d3o.com/ D3O] is a material that is now available for a variety of sport clothes which flexes under normal use but hardens into armor under impact.

** And continued to be used far into the future as well. [[Marvel 2099|Miguel O'Hara]] uses a UMF costume that he bought for the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico the year before as his Spider-Man costume.

* Forge, of ''[[X-Men]]'' fame, is credited with making the costumes for the late-eighties X-teams.

** In one 1970s comic story, he lost his cowl and had to resort to stealing a copy from a costume shop, one that did ''not'' render his eyes blank white shapes but acted like a "real" mask would.

** Also, who can forget the [[Brown Bag Mask|Amazing Bag Man]] costume?

* You wouldn't think it, but Alex Ross's photo realistic painting of [[The Flash]] pretty much proves that his uniform looks ridiculous on any normal person.

** His paintings of Jay Garrick in ''his'' Flash costume, on the other hand, are eminently practical, seeing as it's essentially [[Civvie Spandex|a long-sleeved undershirt and jeans]].

** Tripp too, who is obviously referencing to the clothing brand, but it has yet to be mentioned in canon.

* [[Doctor Strange]]'s [[Badass Cape|Cloak of Levitation]] has two hornlike projections on the collar which stand up by themselves (and of course the whole thing billows artistically as required). Without magic, it simply hangs on him, which looks as pathetic as it sounds.

 

== Film ==

* Brandon Routh's costume in ''[[Superman Returns]]'' included padding that would be switched for each shot to create the best look for each pose. Routh's underpants required extensive trial-and-error to avoid emphasizing his wang.

** They ended up having to use CGI to de-emphasize his package. Apparently, the dude is packing.

* ''[[Batman]]'' was one of the earlier examples of this trope, although there were many superhero-based film serials in the 1940s who showed it as well. The difficulties inherent in creating an authentic-looking Bat-cowl that allows the actor to move his head and neck have plagued every film incarnation of the hero. The ''Begins'' reboot came pretty close.

** Lampshaded in ''[[The Dark Knight]]'', when Bruce specifically asks Lucius Fox to build him a Batsuit that allows him to turn his head. ''[[The Dark Knight]]'' was the first movie to include a cowl that allowed full range of head movements.

'''Tracy:''' Wearing that dress is a step in the right direction. }}

* Costume designers for ''[[The Matrix]]'' apparently struggled to create the right clothing for Neo. They felt he should wear a leather trenchcoat like your standard [[Badass Longcoat]], but even garment-weight leather is too heavy and stiff to billow and flow the way they wanted. They had to settle for a dark silvery-gray cloth coat.

** Then there's the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWZ4E6aR4Vg suitcase armor].

* Olivia Newton John had to be sewn into her famous leather pants from the end of ''[[Grease]]''.

* The brown Jedi robes in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' prequel movies were supposed to be made of wool, but they are also voluminous, and wool fabric is heavy. This prevented the robes from flapping in the wind properly during vehicle chase scenes.

** Most of the costumes qualify, even the stuff seen on screen for less than a second. Amidala and Leia's wardrobes are stuff of [[Costume Porn]] legend.

 

== Literature ==

** And subverted with the Assassins. They wear black because it looks cool. Vetinari wears grey because it doesn't show up in the dark, always useful when you're sneaking up to someone to kill them.

* The sky pirate outfits in ''[[The Edge Chronicles]]''. You have breastplates, goggles, giant tricorn hats, gauges, levers, backpacks, wings, pouches, pockets, several magic charms (usually), and an insanely huge compass, all hanging off of a gigantic coat. [[Rule of Cool|And it looks awesome]].

* At the end of ''[[X Wing Series|Starfighters of Adumar]]'', Wes Janson gets a cape that is essentially a supremely-flexible flat-screen TV. Being the comic relief character that he is, he sets it to an image of a bunch of Jansons with their arms linked, kicking their legs like chorus dancers. Wedge Antilles wonders if he can find a way to [[Thrown Out the Airlock|space it]] on the flight home.

 

* The live-action version of ''[[The Flash]]'' had to resort to (movie) ''[[Batman]]''-style sculpted rubber, which didn't look nearly as good as it did on Burton's Batman. It was explained as being originally designed as a Soviet space-suit. The justification for using it was that normal clothes just ripped right off his body when he ran at top speed.

* In the original ''[[Superman]]'' series, Superman's costume was, as a ''[[Seinfeld]]'' parody put it, "impervious to stain." It was never damaged, no matter how much of a beating he took. There have been a variety of pieces of [[Scotch Tape]] applied to this.

** ''[[Lois and Clark]]'' included a scene with Clark, early in his superhero career, calling his mother for advice on how to get a "bomb stain" out of his outfit.

* Superman may have an Impermeability Field, but what about Hopalong Cassidy, [[The Lone Ranger]], Gene Autry, and [[Roy Rogers]]? A hero in a Western series could take on six bad guys, duck a hail of bullets, fall off his horse, and roll 400 feet down a dusty hill. And when it came to his closeup, not only would his pure white suit be in perfect shape, but also his hat would still be on his head. I suppose Western stars had a Stunt Man Field.

* Speaking of Canadians, how about the Red Serge that constable Benton Fraser wears in ''[[Due South]]''?

 

== Music ==

* Suzi Quatro once had to be sewn into her leather outfit for a top of the pops show

 

== Tabletop Games ==

** Of course, it also has an optional set of rules covering Bulletproof Nudity.

* ''[[Champions]]'' provided advantages for sufficiently cool costumes and penalties for lame ones.

* Wayne Reynolds' character designs for ''[[Pathfinder]]''. His design philosophy seems to be "Design a fairly streamlined (if flowy) fantasy outfit with a bazillion individual pieces/panels/dangly bits, then slap about 14 more belts/streamers/pendants/dangly bits on it."

 

== Video Games ==

** And ''[[Kessen II]]'' takes it even further than that, with almost ludicrously gaudy outfits for everyone.

* Sakura Kasugano from the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' series wears a school uniform which not only allows for frequent upskirt shots (because of which she has the sense to wear her gym shorts underneath), but exposes her midriff too.

** Vulcano Rosso is probably one of the worst offenders out of the Street Fighter series (albeit the Arika-developed Street Fighter EX series), whose patched-up, 20-zipper outfit consists of what is basically [http://streetfighter.wikia.com/wiki/File:VulcanoRossoSFEX2.jpg a long jacket, jumpsuit, assless chaps, and gloves all at once.]

* Felicia and Morrigan of ''Darkstalkers'', who have the excuse of them not actually being clothes (but rather fur and magically shaped bats, respectively).

** ...Lucky bats.

** Morrigan also has the excuse of being a succubus, so she has a reason to [[Stripperiffic|expose some flesh]].

** Lulu's dress not only makes no physical sense in terms of being made out of ''belts'', but also there doesn't seem to be any way for it to stay up even if it had been made out of conventional material. Even with her assets, it rides so low on her chest it must be glued to it.

** And God help the poor fanboy who tries to imitate Wakka's hair...

** Yuna's Summoner outfit in X is a milder version of this: While it's fairly easy to make with sufficient skill, having to ''wear'' it is an entirely different matter. Her [[Detached Sleeves]] are notorious for causing cosplayers headaches, and her shirt in [[Real Life]] requires safety pins ''and'' lots of strategic stitching. Not even going to mention her obi, which needs to be right over her ribs for the proper effect.

*** Are we forgetting her wedding dress, which has a five-foot train trimmed and lined with hundreds of pure-white feathers?

*** Yunalesca is essentially wearing a wire coconut bra and, even more confounding, a ''double'' G-string.

** Tidus wears overalls whose pant legs are different lengths. Attempts to recreate this fashionably in real life have failed.

** Rinoa wears shorts with garter straps that pull upward... over tights... under a skirt. It somehow manages to be provocative ''and'' prudish at the same time.

*** Lightning's miniskirt has ''curved'' zippers that zip ''down'', which is not only impossible, but also begs questions regarding her chastity.

** Hope is actually wearing a shawl and knickers. No one questions this.

** [[Advent Children]]? Cloud is wearing a sleeveless knit sweater and one-half a trenchcoat. Really. It's just a dismembered sleeve. Also his boots have 3 zippers each.

** [[Memetic Mutation|BELTS AND ZIPPERS]] appeared only when Tetsuya Nomura became a main designer of a series. Back when the characters were still designed by Yoshitaka Amano their clothing was in general somewhat more subdued, but Amano drifted in the other direction. His designs were often so stylized that sometimes one has difficulty seeing ''people'' in them, not their clothes.

*** Or distinguishing between what parts are clothing and what parts are people.

** [[The Chick|Vanille's]] and [[Action Girl|Fang's]] {{spoiler|traditional Gran Pulsian attire}}; the former's is a pink halter top, numerous belts, adornments, beads, and a skirt made of scraps of material covered by a bear pelt. The latter's is a black halter top, open-toed boot-sandle-things and a long piece of elaborately folded blue cloth, all held in place by a single belt at her waist.

** Serah's outfit in [[Final Fantasy XIII-2]], as well as all of the subsequent DLC bonus outfits. As well as Lightning's new silver armour and Noel's outfit (MC Hammer pants with more belts and adornments than Vanille).

** There's just something about Donald's hat. In the first game, his Court Mage outfit includes a Wizard's hat with ''square spirals''.

** In a cutscene where Lady opens fire on Dante, several of the bullets pass through his coat as he flips past them and he holds up his coat as he lands, annoyed at the holes in them. The holes are not present once gameplay resumes, though.

** Strangely enough, {{spoiler|the real Shiki}} has a practical, realistic outfit, despite the fact that she's shown to be more interested in fashion than any of the other characters are. It works for her, though.

*** It's probably because she's not confident of her own looks to wear something cool.

* In ''[[Apollo Justice]]'' the TREADS of Klavier Gavin's shoes have his band's logo on them!

* Pretty much anything made by Satoshi Urushihara for ''Growlanser'' and ''Langrisser''. Doubly for anything the females wear.

** Specifically KOS-MOS and T-elos. Making the outfit for cosplay is hard enough, but wearing it is virtually impossible, whether it's due to a certain level of modesty or the sheer number of pieces to each outfit.

*** How does MOMO even keep her dress down?

** Considering who plays Tanya, that may not be too far from the truth.

** They kept this, at great difficulty and expense, when the game went 3D.

** A contest is being held for ''No More Heroes 2'', in which fans may design their own shirt for Travis to wear in the game.

* Karin in ''[[Shadow Hearts]]: Covenant''. Swordfighting in ''high heels'' and a microskirt that doesn't actually reach all the way around her waist. And some of her skills require her to ''jump'' in that getup. She basically floats up off the ground, because there's no way she'd be able to actually do that. And then there's the [[Stripperiffic|Dating Costume]], which is basically a few threads held together by sheer willpower.

** And that's just the "one size fits all" generic armor of the [[Mass Effect 1|first game]]. [[Mass Effect 2|The second game]] takes impossible outfits [[Up to Eleven]].

*** Asari Justicar Samara has a v-neck body suit that accentuates her curves, though impractical in combat, it is thoroughly pleasing to the eye. Considering the reliance on personal shields, perhaps she can afford to wear something a little more comfortable.

** It appears the designers like [http://s460.photobucket.com/albums/qq326/DELTA_1551/armor2.jpg Impossibly Cool Armor].

* At least somewhat averted in ''[[Star Craft 2]]'' - Space Marine suits are constructed around the marine. They also consciously break away from just scaling up everything around the marine to achieve bigger body height: A marine's hands are actually in the forearms of his armour and move the suit's hands by feedback. They still seem to work pretty fine with regards to manual dexterity as experienced users like Tychus can for example hold a cigar for smoking without either dropping or crushing it.

** Iori, prior to ''XII'', would wear pants that have a strap that binds both legs. Why anyone would fight with an intentional handicap like that is his business (he even does a nearly straight-up kick with no difficulty).

 

== Web Comics ==

** They doubled as [[Fetish Fuel]]. They really ''are'' impossibly cool clothes!

* [[Loserz]] one of the main characters has a [[Star Wars]] hat that changes its lettering when its on his head, but as soon as the hat is off it goes back to being a regular Star Wars hat.

* Foil's scarf from [http://indepos.comicgenesis.com Indefensible Positions] never has anything happen to it, until he gets his real one (it's complicated) when it disintegrates. His real one becomes impossibly cool as soon as he puts it on.

 

== Web Original ==

** Alternately, for people with special needs. Such as werewolves. Who can't change back.

* ''[[New York Magician]]'''s Michel sure likes his Burberry (later London Fog) coat, which is resistant to harm.

 

== Western Animation ==

** Because then they could use it as an impromptu shield when in a pinch.

* Goldie Gold from ''[[Goldie Gold and Action Jack]]'' goes adventuring in a [[Pretty in Mink|white fur coat]] and [[Gold Makes Everything Shiny|gold colored pants]]. They never get so much as a speck of dirt, even when she falls in dirt.

* [[Betty Boop]]'s most featured cut of clothing.

 

* The company Abbyshot tries very hard to make these in [[Real Life]]. [http://www.abbyshot.com/products/ps-leather-stampede-duster.php They've had some impressive successes.]

* In [[Real Life]], many famous actresses on such special events as awards nights, opening nights for movies, and so on, wear dresses that they literally need to be sewn into.

** One country singer successfully sued the IRS for the right to declare her stage clothes as being business expenses by pointing out that they couldn't be for personal use since she couldn't sit down in them.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Artistic License Physics]]

[[Category:Costume Tropes]]

[[Category:Improbable Appearance Tropes]]