Seashell Bra: Difference between revisions

'''Siren:''' They're just [[Stealth Pun|B-shells]], but thanks.|''[[Rusty and Co (Webcomic)|Rusty and Co.]]''}}

Since, by definition, a mermaid is a fish from the waist down, it's only her top half that must be covered, and often [[Godiva Hair]] just won't do. Thus, the seashell'''Seashell braBra''' was invented to preserve the modesty of female merfolk everywhere. You probably think this originated with Disney's ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'', but Disney was using it all the way back in 1953 to depict the mermaids in ''Peter Pan'' (although they looked distinctly less bra-like in those days). Expect bras to also be made out of other marine trappings, such as starfish (though glomping a living creature to one's own body doesn't sound like a good idea in hindsight -- especiallyhindsight—especially if it [[Nightmare Fuel|ejects its stomach and starts digesting your nipples]]) or perhaps seaweed or other vague underwater flora, though the shells are often depicted as somehow clinging magically without any accompanying harnesses or straps, seaweed or otherwise. Also, the bra will almost always be made from scallop shells rather than clam, oyster, conch, or [http://en.[wikipedia.org/wiki/:Image:NautilusCutawayLogarithmicSpiral.jpg |nautilus shells]] (not unless they are hollowed out).

Of course, not every culture shares the notion that the sight of [[Nipple -and -Dimed|female nipples]] somehow corrupts children, hence the [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_articles/507/ Japanese animated version]'' of the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale features bare-chested mermaids. It's also possible to avert the whole issue entirely by making the "fish-parts" ascend all the way to the [[Non -Mammal Mammaries|bustline]] and mimickmimic a one-piece swimsuit or a strapless dress as Disney did with [[The Little Mermaid|Ursula]].

A [[Sub -Trope]] of [[Improvised Clothes]].

== [[Anime]] &and [[Manga]] ==

* ''[[Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch (Manga)|Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch]]'' takes [[Color Coded for Your Convenience]] to the extreme, so of course, mermaids always have seashell bras that match their tails. They do, however, wear other kinds of clothing at times, such as skirts, but these are purely ceremonial, and usually a mermaid is depicted in only the shell bra.

* Somewhat related example from ''[[Love Hina (Manga)|Love Hina]]'': Having found an oasis after getting lost in the middle of the desert, Naru makes improvised bikinis for herself and Nyamo (and then later, Shinobu, whose [[Clothing Damage|clothes had been destroyed]] by one of Motoko's sword techniques) out of giant leaves. Not explained is why Kitsune put Motoko in the exact same type of outfit when they were still in civilization. This also allows a "trap" that unleashes ''caterpillars'' to be [[Clothing Damage|somewhat threatening]], in a way.

* ''[[One Piece (Manga)|One Piece]]'':

** Sanji has some [[Imagine Spot|Imagine Spots]]s of gorgeous sirens wearing Seashell Bras, but it's averted when they meet an actual mermaid, who wears a T-shirt. Also, [[World's Most Beautiful Woman| Princess Shirahoshi]] often wears a blue blouse or golden bikini top, and while both [[Absolute Cleavage| are rather daring]], she avoids the seashell style.

* In ''[[Dragon Ball (Manga)|Dragon Ball]]'' too, when Goku brings a mermaid to Kame-Sennin, she wears a T-shirt (but doesn't look wet). Wouldn't the wet T-shirt potential open a whole new can of [[Fan Service]]?

* ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (Animeanime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]'' Red Archery Girl and Toon Mermaid have these, although the English version of Red Archery Girl gives her an extra bit of cloth to wear under her bra.

* Shows up in a dream/hallucinatory sequence in ''[[Kaleido Star (Anime)|Kaleido Star]]''. Dream Mermaid!Sora gets this to a T (well, the current performance ''is The Little Mermaid''). She also seems a bit more... [[Fan Service Pack|ample]] in this sequence.

* San the mermaid [[Yakuza Princess]] from ''[[Seto no Hanayome (Manga)|Seto no Hanayome]]'' wears this in her first appearance.

* Lampshaded in ''[[Kamichama Karin (Manga)|Kamichama Karin]]'', in which Kazune points out, "How do those stay ''on''?"

* Misty from ''[[Pokémon (Animeanime)|Pokémon]]'' wears a pink one whenever she plays the Magical Mermaid.

* Seria from ''[[Rave Master (Anime)|Rave Master]]'' has an interesting variation: she wears a bikini top... with a [http://www.mangafox.com/manga/rave_master/v13/c103/7.html shell motif].

* ''[[Galaxy Angel Rune (Anime)|Galaxy Angel 3rd]]'' (manga) has the girls turned into mermaids at one point, complete with Seashell Bra.

* In an episode of the ''[[Ranma One Half (Manga)|Ranma One Half½]]'' anime, during an [[Eyecatch]] showing Akane as a mermaid, she wears a pink Seashell Bra ([http://www.anime-fanservice.org/coppermine/displayimage.php?album=26&pid=584#top_display_media can be seen on this] [[Caption Humor]] site).

* Guu from ''[[Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu (Anime)|Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Haré+Guu]]'' wears one during the [[Beach Episode]].

* There is an episode of ''[[MaicchinguMaicching Machiko Sensei (Manga)|Maicchingu Machiko Sensei-sensei]]'' in which a male teacher imagines the main character as a mermaid with the obligatory seashell bikini.

* In book 10 of the ''[[Urusei Yatsura (Manga)|Urusei Yatsura]]'' manga, both Lum and Shinobu are disguised as mermaids and wear seashell bras.

* Towards the end of the ''[[Panty and& Stocking With Garterbelt (Anime)|Panty and Stocking Withwith Garterbelt]]'' episode "If Angels Wore Swimsuits", Panty's bikini becomes ripped by a Giant Crab Ghost and falls off. Unfortunately for all the onlooking male beach-goers, two Mini-Starfish Ghosts and a Sea Anemone Ghost jump up and latch onto her in ''just'' the right places.

* In the comic book ''[[Boneyard]]'', one of the local Universal-like monsters is a female version of the Gill Man from ''Creature from the Black Lagoon''. Nessie, as she's called, covers her monstrous [[Non -Mammal Mammaries]] with tiny seashell ''pasties''. She also wears actual fishnet stockings.

* The Blue, a fictional underwater race from the ''[[Fathom]]'' comics, make all clothing up to full body armor using bits of underwater flora and fauna. Despite them also having [[Schizo -Tech|far more advanced technology than surface dwellers]].

* The mermaid encountered by Superboy (a sort of next-gen Lori Lemaris) in ''Adventure Comics 80 Page Giant''. [[Post -Crisis]] Lori herself sometimes wears a normal bikini top, but more often has [[Godiva Hair]]. [[Pre Crisis]] Lori wore a blouse at all times.

* When Namorita, [[Distaff Counterpart]] of the [[Sub -Mariner]], turned blue and changed her name to Kymera, she added a net skirt and one seashell "cup" to her bikinilike outfit.

* Interesting variation in Disney's ''[[Fantasia (Disney)|Fantasia]]'', with female centaurs wearing tops and necklaces made out of ''flowers'' that appear to be motivated more by the [[Theiss Titillation Theory]] than actual modesty, even though the centauresses otherwise exhibit [[Barbie Doll Anatomy]]...

* Before ''[[The Little Mermaid]]'' there was ''[[Peter Pan (Disney film)|Peter Pan]]'', whose mermaids sported a motley mix of [[Godiva Hair]], seashell bras, and starfish pasties.

* The title character of ''[[Paprika (Literature)|Paprika]]'' wears one while briefly in mermaid form.

* Also averted in ''[[Pirates of the Caribbean|Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides]]'', when [[Godiva Hair]] is used by the dangerous [[Just for Pun|man eater]] mermaids.

== [[Literature]] ==

* Not a mermaid, but in ''[[Dinoverse (Literature)|I was a Teenage T. rex]]'', one of the leads becomes a Leptoceratops, and despite not having anything to cover she didn't feel comfortable going naked. She tries sticking leaves on with sap -- theysap—they fall off. She ends up getting the quetzalcoatl to make a top-and-bottom out of seashells with holes poked in them and strung together by vines; these last a little longer.

* In an early scene from [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[I Will Fear No Evil]]'', Eunice and her husband are discussing the mermaid body paint she'll be wearing to work the next day. (Office dress codes having gotten ''really'' casual in the future.) They make a bet over whether a literally painted-on [[Seashell Bra]] will fool her employer into thinking it's real. (It does.)

== Live-Action TV[[Music]] ==

== [[Tabletop Games]] ==

* Averted in ''[[Old World of Darkness (Tabletop Game)|Old World of Darkness]]'' game ''Changeling: The Dreaming''. Female Merfolk (outlined in ''Blood-Dimmed Tides'') are just as topless as the men most of the time.

* Averted in ''[[Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop Game)|Dungeons and Dragons]]'' (3.5 ed.). The mermaid in the ''Monster Manual'' has [[Godiva Hair]]. The 2nd edition ''Monstrous Manual'', however, depicts an aquatic elf in a Seashell Bra and a mermaid in something a little scalier.

* The [[Pokémon]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20121122202306/http://www.arkeis.com/images/pokemonfactory/gorebyss.png Gorebyss] appears to have one even though it isn't remotely humanoid.

* Averted in ''[[The Goonies (Videovideo Gamegame)|The Goonies]] II]]'', where Annie has no covering (or [[Barbie Doll Anatomy|definition]]) at all. See {{[[media-|060714_goonies_end:060714 goonies end.gif| here}}]]

* Averted in ''[[Harvest Moon (Video Game)|Harvest Moon]] DS''. Leia wears a blue halter top, although she does wear seashells in her hair.

* Helena's Godfather bikini (and its pallette swaps) from [[Dead or Alive|Dead or Alive Xtreme 2]] is this... though itsit's so small it's more like Seashell PASTIES''pasties''...

* In one ''[[Homestar Runner|]]'': In one Strong Bad E-mail]], SB nicknames a cardboard cutout of a mermaid Princess Shellbra.

== [[Web Original]] ==

* In ''[[Regular Show (Animation)|Regular Show]]'', during Mordecai's dream sequence in the episode "Meat Your Maker", he envisions Margaret wearing one that just [[Getting Crap Past the Radar|''barely'']] covers her [[Unusual Euphemism|lady pecs]].

* Angel in ''[[Fish Police (Animationanimation)|Fish Police]]''.

* In an episode of ''[[Futurama (Animation)|Futurama]]'', Fry's mermaid fiancée wears a stereotypical clam bra (even though her father and other citizens of Atlanta wear full clothes). She strips it off and it floats away right as Fry learns about the [[Mermaid Problem]].

[[Category:Improvised IndexClothing Tropes]]

[[Category:Seashell Bra{{PAGENAME}}]]