All The Tropes

She Cleans Up Nicely: Difference between revisions

Page Discussion

She Cleans Up Nicely (view source)

Revision as of 14:34, 8 January 2014

1 byte added ,  10 years ago
m
Mass update links
VisualWikitext
m (Remove useless categories)
m (Mass update links)
Line 5:
{{quote|''"Did not the Abbe F-M say: 'Lost is that man who sees a beautiful woman descending a noble staircase', and were not both these ingredients here, and ready to her hand? What else but a staircase could so perfectly set off the jewel she had made of Elfine?"''|''[[Cold Comfort Farm]]''.}}
 
The [[Unresolved Sexual Tension|USTful]], [[Will They or Won't They?]], [[Slap Slap Kiss]] couple is at a formal event -- either as reluctant dates or as part of a group. Usually in some sort of [[DancesandDances and Balls|ballroom]] or fancy dress setting. The girl ([[Always Female|it's always the girl]] -- almost) appears a little late, [[Grand Staircase Entrance|standing at the top of the stairs]] in an outfit which is probably an order of magnitude more attractive and stylish than her usual wear. The light catches her just right so she [[Sparkles]]. And, of course, suddenly she's got boobs. The guy, at the foot of the stairs, glances up and sees her and his [[Jaw Drop|jaw drops]], eyes widen. The music rises. His heart flutters. [[Loud Gulp|He may gulp loudly]]. Can't make a coherent sentence for a minute or two. Sometimes the girl is self-conscious and shy of her new appearance, and sometimes she looks at the guy and goes [[Moment Killer|"What? What are you looking at me for?"]] Occasionally she smirks instead, enjoying the effect she's having on the guy.
 
For non-native English speakers (or anyone who's confused), the trope name refers to the subject cleaning ''herself'' nicely -- all prettied up for admiration.
Line 17:
While the ballroom and the staircase are not strictly necessary for this trope to function, they are the most common elements in which to place the events unfolding.
 
[[Sister Trope]] to [[Beautiful All Along]], [[Princess for A Day]], [[Hollywood Homely]] and [[Bathe Her and Bring Her To Me]]. Occasionally involves a [[Pimped -Out Dress]], but just as often a regular fancy dress will do. May be part of a [[Rags to Royalty]] situation. Sometimes overlaps with [[She Is All Grown Up]]. Contrast [[Unkempt Beauty]], where she doesn't need to be cleaned up to look nice. Be aware of the [[Unnecessary Makeover]] where this trope doesn't work for the audience.
 
{{examples|Examples}}
 
== Anime & Manga ==
Line 34:
** She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* Nadja Applefield from ''[[Ashita no Nadja]]'' embodies the trope whether dolled up via Leonardo and Thierry or wearing her [[Gorgeous Period Dress]] inherited from her [[Missing Mom]]. {{spoiler|When said gown is destroyed by Rosemary, with help of Grandma Anna Nadja sews the intact top part into a new dress.}}
* [[Tomboy|Cagalli]] had this trope [[Genre Savvy|deliberately]] invoked on her in the ''[[Mobile Suit Gundam SEED (Anime)|Gundam SEED]]'' first season. ''Twice''. She [[Well, Excuse Me, Princess!|wasn't really amused]] in any occasion.
* Continually subverted in ''[[The Wallflower]]'' -- whenever the guys trick/force Sunako-chan into some proper clothes, Kyohei knows she's still the same person, and is (frustratingly) not quite cognisant of any attraction to her no matter how good she looks.
* Even [[Sonic the Hedgehog|Amy Rose]] has done this on ''[[Sonic X]]'', complete with the reaction from Sonic himself.
* Subverted in ''[[Code Geass (Anime)|Code Geass]]'', where Nina Einstein is all dressed up in the pre-wedding celebration but is still much more confident at work as a scientist, which is demonstrated by comparison to matter. However, played straight with Milly Ashford on the same occasion and Cecile Croomy earlier. [[Absolute Cleavage]] indeed.
* Hitomi in ''[[Vision of Escaflowne]]''. When she borrows one of Millerna's [[Pimped -Out Dress|Pimped Out Dresses]], Van can't help but spend the entirety of the dinner conversation just gawking dumbly at her (or [[Dope Slap|Dope Slapping]] [[Mouthy Kid|Mer]][[Clingy Jealous Girl|le]] for getting in the way of his gawking dumbly at her).
* ''[[Akane-iro Ni Somaru Saka]]'' uses this. All of the girls dress up and appear, getting a vague response from the main character. Then his sister shows up (late to the entrance) and he's dumbfounded. She's squicked by this, and he's berated by his fiancée (part of the first group).
* In ''[[Demashita Power Puff Girls Z|Powerpuff Girls Z]]'', Kaoru/Buttercup gets her hair done and is dressed up nicely in the episode where she gets a crush on a guy with big muscles. She looks so different that the Professor and his son Ken didn't even recognize her. Momoko/Blossom and Miyako/Bubbles even managed to [[Up to Eleven|up it to eleven]] when they taught Kaoru manners.
Line 69:
* Masane from ''[[Witchblade (Anime)|Witchblade]]'' looks rather good when she gets dolled up for a party. Unfortunately, her personality and manners are exactly the same.
* When Maka of ''[[Soul Eater]]'' shows up in Soul's soul, wearing heels and a black ballgown. he's [http://www.mangareader.net/157-10163-34/soul-eater/chapter-18.html rather] [http://www.mangareader.net/157-10163-35/soul-eater/chapter-18.html shocked.]
* Liechtenstein, Ukraine and Hungary from ''[[Axis Powers Hetalia (Manga)|Hetalia]]''. The first looks very cute [http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-837.html in a blue ballgown], the second is quite a babe [http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11219211.html in her national dress], and Finland got a picture of [http://www.hetarchive.net/scanlations/hetastreeeem/xmas20113.php the third] wearing a very elegant [[Pimped -Out Dress]] during the [[Hetalia Blood Bath 2010]].
** Taiwan also [http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11597580.html looks very pretty in traditional clothing].
** Not to mention the usual [[Shorttank]] Wy looks adorable [http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/mcr_1920.jpg all dressed up.]
Line 81:
* In the [[Furry Fandom]] comic ''Ebin and May'', Prince Ebin insists on having his girlfriend, May the servant girl, join him for a royal function. Lord Valkyn is against this since he thinks the humble rabbit doe would feel terribly out of place, but Ebin insists she'll do fine. Valkyn is instantly convinced when May joins them [http://www.radiocomix.com/ebin-and-may/2009/07/01/cinderella-complex-pg5 all properly made up and wonderfully dressed to look like something like the most idealized fairy tale princess] while Ebin smugly enjoys his point being proven.
* ''[[Strangers in Paradise]]'''s Katchoo says this to Detective Walsh (and he to her) when {{spoiler|he goes undercover to help her bust Darcy}}. The normally tomboyish and disheveled Katchoo is wearing a fancy evening dress and makeup.
* Inverted in the early [[Post -Crisis]] ''[[Wonder Woman]]'', Mynda Mayer, publicist extraordinaire, first appears in a sleazy dress and jewelry when she comes to Julia Kapatelis' residence to talk turkey with the new superhero. After being told to take a hike by the Greek professor as a cheap opportunist, Mayer doesn't give up and asks for a meeting in her office. Princess Diana and Ms. Kapatelis decide to come to stop her harassment, and are stunned to see the publicist in plain casual clothes and pants with far more subtle makeup and thus looking cute as a button.
* ''[[Erstwhile]]'' demonstrates this trope while telling All-Fur, when the princess changes from her scruffy appearance to nice clothing for the ball. See it [http://www.erstwhiletales.com/allfur-09/#.T0k26PGDsy4 here].
 
Line 91:
** [[Joseph Jacobs (Creator)|Joseph Jacobs]]'s "[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/tattercoats.html Tattercoats]" also is a variant of the Persecuted Heroine, but unusually enough, the prince falls in love with her ''when she's wearing her tatters''; she is cleaned up only at the end to convince his father and the court that she is suitable to marry her guy.
** In another version of the tale, the prince agrees to marry her while she's in tatters but is confused as to why she goes around riding a goat and dressed in rags, while carrying a wooden spoon and with her face always dirty. With each question he has about her appearance (her mount, her clothing, her face, and her spoon), she replies that she only keeps those things because she wants to, and shows him that she is able to turn them into more beautiful things (a white horse, a gorgeous dress, a clean face, and a wand) should she desire. The prince gradually catches on and at the end, he doesn't even ask about the spoon, already knowing why she carries it.
* In "[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/grimms/186truesweetheart.html The True Sweetheart]", the heroine dresses up for the ball in order to win back the prince, who had been [[James Bondage|enchanted]] into [[Laser -Guided Amnesia|forgetting her]].
* Also used in the Japanese tale "Hat-wearing Hanako". The heroine is a [[Fallen Princess]] who hides her [[Memento MacGuffin]] (a small chest with a scroll that proves her heritage) under a [[Nice Hat|huge straw hat]], which she wears 24/7 and refuses to take off. She is taken in as a maid by a high-class samurai clan, and when the eldest son falls for her, she has to clean up nicely to be accepted by her beau's family and prove who she truly is.
* In a [[Gender Flip|Gender Flipped]] variant, in "[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/bearskin/index.html Bearskin]", when the hero, appalling shaggy, filthy and ragged, but rich, rescues a man from financial distress, the man [[The Promise|promises]] that he may marry one of his daughters. Only [[Youngest Child Wins|the youngest]] is willing. However, his appearance stemmed from a [[Deal With the Devil]], and that being over, He Cleans Up Nicely and formally arrives at their house as a wooer -- or, in some variants, at his own wedding. Somewhat subverted, in that while the older sisters are impressed, the youngest, being the sort who would marry a hideous man to redeem her father's promise, ignores him until he proves that handsome as he is, he is still the same man whom she promised to marry.
Line 121:
** According to the extras in the DVD release, that was one of the hardest scenes for [[Daniel Radcliffe]] and [[Rupert Grint]] to get right, because although ''Ron and Harry'' had never seen ''Hermione'' all dolled up before, ''they'' had seen Emma done up to the nines on many occasions.
** [[A Very Potter Musical|"I used to think looks weren't important, but now I think they're more important than anything!"]]
** A parody fic of [[The Movie]] called her "[[EverythingsEverything's Better With Sparkles|Sparkly]] [[EverythingsEverything's Better With Princesses|Princess]] Hermione".
* In ''[[Titanic (Film)|Titanic]]'' Rose DeWitt Bukater descends the grand staircase of the RMS ''Titanic,'' drawing the obligatory wide-eyed expression from Jack Dawson. However, most of their fellow passengers' comments are focused on the fact it's ''Jack'' who cleans up nicely. Molly even says "You shine up like a new penny!"
** Not to mention that Rose was wearing a rather pretty dress to dinner the night before. Seeing her dressed up would be a frequent event.
Line 242:
** Some fans have drawn a connection between this and his [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] stunt of the week -- an unexpected [[Undercover As Lovers]], which leaves poor Lisbon stunned and furious. [[Action Girl|She goes with furious]].
* In the BBC's ''[[Robin Hood (TV)|Robin Hood]]'', tomboy Djaq glams up in order to infiltrate Nottingham castle. The scene features both the possible outcomes mentioned in the trope description: Will is reduced to a staring, stuttering mess and receives a somewhat sharp [[Moment Killer]] response, while Allan manages to be a little more smooth, pays her a compliment and gets the gratified smirk.
* In ''[[Smallville]]'''s season 4 episode "Spirit", a possessed Lois descends the stairs at the Kent Farm in one of the most [[Pimped -Out Dress|hideous dresses]] ever seen -- Clark catches sight of her and gulps. There was also perhaps a better example from season eight's "Bride", where Lois comes down the same staircase in her formal wear as maid of honour at Chloe's wedding; Clark comes to meet her at the bottom in ''his'' formal wear and they both seem silently impressed.
* Parodied in ''Working''. Chris is one of many applicants for a newly opened position under the male chauvinist boss at the office. Chris prays on the boss's good-old-boy tendencies and general machismo to land the job. The show's main character (along with the audience) soon discovers that Chris is really a woman in disguise: Chris''tine''. When Christine outs herself, in the ''sauna'', accompanied by '''all the company's execs''', she returns to the office looking quite sexy in a skirt-suit. Cue one of the male characters saying "That's Chris?! He sure cleans up nice!"
* On ''[[Angel]]'', the titular character scores tickets for the opera. Everyone cleans up well, but Fred and Gunn, both of whom are probably the least upscale fashionable, seem to attract the most attention -- especially from each other.
Line 266:
* ''[[I Carly]]'' The focus of the episode "[[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|iMake Sam Girlier]]", both played straight and subverted. Sam is feeling down about her [[Tomboy]]/[[The Ladette|ladette]] image and decides to get a [[Girliness Upgrade]] to impress a boy she likes named Pete. She looks quite good in her more feminine outfit, prompting an audience reaction, and even though Pete is quite smitten with her new look, he reveals that he actually liked her tough girl image better.
** However, there have been other times in the series, before and after this episode, that Sam has put a dress on, and she looks quite good in them.
* Subverted to the point of parody in the ''[[MashM*A*S*H (TV)|Mash]]'' episode "Stars & Stripes". Margaret likes Sgt. (busted to Pvt.) Scully, whose attitude toward women is shall we say less than enlightened. To prove to him she's a woman along with being a Major and a Head Nurse, she gets all dolled up in an outlandish pink prom gown with Stepford pearls, high heels and lipstick. He appreciates it so much he flops down on her bed and asks her to (literally) [[Feminine Women Can Cook|cook him an omelet]].
* ''Dårfinkar & dönickar''. Simone, having been masquerading as a boy at her new school, turns up to class in a dress and lipstick. Subverted in that Isak, her crush, decides he likes her back after finding out she's a girl, but before he's ever seen her in girls' clothes.
* In ''[[The Suite Life of Zack and Cody]]'' Zack is persuaded to take tomboy Max out on a date. She appears at the restaurant in a nice dress with her hair done up and Zack's jaw drops.
* In an episode of ''[[H 2 OH₂O Just Add Water]]'' Zane buys tomboy Rikki a dress for her to wear at a dinner party at his house. Emma is at the dinner and her jaw drops when she sees Rikki walking down the stairs in the dress with her hair down. She's seen wearing dresses more frequently afterwards.
* In ''[[New Girl (TV)|New Girl]]'', this is Schmidt and Coach's reaction when they see Jess in the [[Little Black Dress]] her friend Cece helps her pick out... a reaction which is killed soon after, when Jess breaks into a celebratory dance.
* Played With in an episode of ''[[Boy Meets World]]''. Topanga suddenly becomes self-conscious about her looks, and decides to get a makeover. However, Cory and Shawn recognize that she was already beautiful before getting "cleaned up" and now with the makeover she will be "mega-beautiful", and sure enough she stuns them when she walks out of the beauty parlor. At the end of the episode she decides not to keep up the new appearance because it's not who she is.
Line 381:
** In the same episode, Robin himself looks quite nice in that tux.
** There's another instance for Starfire, in the episode "Go!". Throughout the entire episode, Starfire has been wearing her prison garb and either screaming at everyone or being suspicious of them (since she just escaped being sold into slavery, that's understandable). At the end, when the enemy has been driven away, Starfire shows up wearing the outfit she spends most of the series wearing, smiling and looking happy and relaxed for the first time. Everyone is amazed.
* ''[[Wakfu (Animation)|Wakfu]]'': Played with episode 4. When [[Action Girl|Evangelyne]] lets down her hair and puts on a princess gown, she thinks she must look ridiculous, but her friends are impressed. There are a few problems with this, though: they are supposed to disguise as "ugly" princesses, and Eva's cuteness makes her suspicious. Also, she can barely walks in high heels and [[Dojikko|falls several times]], making the stairs part of the trope quite perilous. As for the [[Love Interest]], [[Idiot Hero|Sadlygrove]], he sure finds her good-looking... although [[Paper -Thin Disguise|he doesn't even recognize her]].
* [[Daria]] invokes this trope in order to convince Quinn to stop posing as an intellectual.
* Done in an episode of ''[[The Weekenders]]'' where Lor develops a crush on a boy and starts acting more girly to impress him including wearing dresses and makeup and even Tino is shocked at how good she looks.
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Special:MobileDiff/485543"