Theiss Titillation Theory: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
[[File:TTT.jpg|link=Star Trek|
This basic theory underwrites [[Stripperiffic]] clothing, [[Impossibly Cool Clothes]], and pretty much anything else you stick female characters into: what makes clothing sexy is the hope of a catastrophic [[Wardrobe Malfunction]]. The [[Trope Namer]] is William Ware Theiss, costume designer on ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series]]'', who first codified the concept.
The theory acknowledges that this possibility is entirely imaginary: the [[Magic Skirt|true magic]] of these outfits is that no matter what [[She Fu]] the wearer attempts, she is ''never ever'' going to [[Nipple-and-Dimed|expose a nipple]]. Not in this time slot. Having said that, the
Particularly common in [[Science Fiction]] and related genres. However in ''[[Will and Grace]]'', [[Debra Messing]] occasionally wore outfits that would not be anatomically feasible for a
Though Theiss was a costume designer, according to ''Inside Star Trek: The Real Story
[[Impossibly Low Neckline]] ("What's holding it ''up''?"), [[Absolute Cleavage]] and [[Sideboob]] ("What's keeping those two strips from slipping off to one side or the other?"), [[Godiva Hair]] ("All she has to do is turn her head a ''little''...") and [[Underboobs]] ("That shirt should ride up!") are common forms of this.
Theiss was further able (forced?) to add to the effect by the censorship rules of the time in terms of what parts of the body could or could not be shown (the navel being the most well-known restriction of the era). He found he could get a surprisingly erotic effect from the carefully arranged display of areas of skin not generally considered erogenous.
Compare [[Wardrobe Malfunction]]. Contrast [[Fetish Retardant]].
Not to be confused with the [[The Eye of Argon|Theis]] Titillation Theory.▼
▲Not to be confused with the [[The Eye of Argon|Theis]] Titillation Theory.
{{examples}}
== [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==▼
* ''[[One Piece]]''
▲== Anime and Manga ==
**
** And yet [http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Rindou Rindou], her bazooka-wielding underling probably has her beat as far as this trope is concerned. Seriously, is her short jacket duct-taped to her nipples or something?
** And let's not even get ''into'' Sadi-Chan from the Impel Down arc. If you think [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Sadi this devil-themed dominatrix outfit is unbelievable], you should see her in the fight scenes in the animated versions; it defies reality.
** Even worse than Sadi-Chan is [https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Belo_Betty Belo Betty], a member of the Revolutionary Army. This one is at very least understandable, as her design is supposedly based on Marianne from Eugène Delacroix's painting ''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty%20Leading%20the%20People Liberty Leading the People]''.
* Gaap in ''[[Umineko no Naku Koro ni]]'' wears a dress that appears to have a pretty good-sized strip chopped out of it all the way down and very barely stitched back together with laces. It's been described as "a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen."
* In ''[[Macross Frontier]]'', [[Idol Singer|Sheryl]]'s stage outfits fit the trope enough. However, this is only an illusion as most of the time she's actually wearing a holographic body suit.
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* ''[[Getsumen to Heiki Mina]]'' has Ootsuki Miina has an [[Impossibly Low Neckline]] that her transformation has got to include double sided tape to keep those puppies from popping out.
== [[Comic Books]] ==
* Several female superheroes fall under this. Notable examples include [https://web.archive.org/web/20120124183552/http://www.dccomics.com/media/_dcu/heroes_and_villains/origin_stories/starfire/1.jpg Starfire] whose outfit is part lingerie, part bondage gear and [http://media.photobucket.com/image/Power%20Girl/fairygrl_2006/powergirl.jpg Power Girl] and her infamous boob window.▼
* Dear God, Emma Frost. As a member of the Hellfire Club, her outfit, while skimpy, was believable. [[Dominatrix| (It was white lingerie resembling the kind that anyone could buy at Victoria's Secrets, combined with knee-high boots and a cape.)]] However, after her [[Heel Face Turn]] her outfits got more daring and more improbable in design. One good example was when she first joined the X-Men: her outfit combined [[Absolute Cleavage]] and [[Impossibly Low Neckline]], using a few strategically placed scraps of fabric to form a reverse "X" with her exposed skin. Of course, the lingerie was a dress code for the Hellfire Club, but being [[Attention Whore| the type of person she is]], quitting the Club actually gave her a chance to be more daring.
* Exactly how [[Vampirella]] keeps her costume from falling off is a mystery. ''Wizard'' magazine claimed that for [[Real Life]] models who dress as the character at conventions, they use aerosol spray glue.
==
* ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''. Was there any more to Leia's dancing-girl costume beneath the panels of cloth hanging from front and back of the waistline? According to [[Carrie Fisher]] on the DVD commentary, there wasn't, and at times, crews standing behind her could see "all the way to Florida", as it were. Oola suffers a wardrobe malfunction as she is being dragged towards Jabba the Hutt, and again as she falls through the trap door. You can still see a short bit of the first malfunction in the current special edition. Older editions have longer scenes.▼
▲* Several female superheroes fall under this. Notable examples include [http://www.dccomics.com/media/_dcu/heroes_and_villains/origin_stories/starfire/1.jpg Starfire] whose outfit is part lingerie, part bondage gear and [http://media.photobucket.com/image/Power%20Girl/fairygrl_2006/powergirl.jpg Power Girl] and her infamous boob window.
▲* ''[[Return of the Jedi]]''. Was there any more to Leia's dancing-girl costume beneath the panels of cloth hanging from front and back of the waistline? According to Carrie Fisher on the DVD commentary, there wasn't, and at times, crews standing behind her could see "all the way to Florida", as it were. Oola suffers a wardrobe malfunction as she is being dragged towards Jabba the Hutt, and again as she falls through the trap door. You can still see a short bit of the first malfunction in the current special edition. Older editions have longer scenes.
* [[Hammer Horror]] movies in particular lived with this trope. Women in form-fitting see-through nightwear that could slip off their smooth shoulders at any moment.
* Subverted in the live-action ''[[Vampirella]]'' movie. Unsurprisingly, a realistic version of the iconic costume tended to fall off a lot, and they had to switch to a more practical design. The original can still be seen in some promotional material.
== [[Literature]] ==
* Vetinari mentions this in Terry Pratchett's ''[[
* All over the place in [[Piers Anthony]] works
==
* One of the best examples of it at work is Theiss' own creation in the ''[[Star Trek: The Original Series|Star Trek]]'' episode "[[Star Trek/Recap/S1/E07 What Are Little Girls Made Of?|What Are Little Girls Made Of?]]" In that episode, a female android named [https://web.archive.org/web/20130414225732/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Star_Trek_-_What_Are_Little_Girls_Made_Of.jpg Andrea] has a costume the upper portion of which is merely two crossing strips of material. Off the set, public
▲* Vetinari mentions this in Terry Pratchett's ''[[Discworld/Jingo|Jingo]]''. "Curiously, the purpose of the nautch girl or exotic dancer has always been less to reveal and more to suggest the ''imminence'' of revelation."
** In [[William Shatner]]'s ''Get A Life'', he tells a story about how [[Gene Roddenberry]] talked that same outfit into a fashion show at a Sci-Fi con. According to one of the people there, the model apparently had to spend the evening [[That Came Out Wrong|"beating men off with a stick"]]. Notable is the fact that Star Trek ''hadn't even aired yet''.▼
▲* All over the place in [[Piers Anthony]] works -- Anthony is fond of having some characters go completely clothed, others go completely nude, and a third group go partially clothed. The first two groups are seen as more-or-less nonsexual, but the third is a major turn on.
** According to Herb Solow and Robert Justman's book on ''Star Trek,'' William Shatner couldn't stop hitting on Sherry Jackson, the actress playing Andrea, once he saw her in the outfit. Further, the first public
▲* One of the best examples of it at work is Theiss' own creation in the ''Star Trek'' episode "What Are Little Girls Made Of?" In that episode, a female android named [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/Star_Trek_-_What_Are_Little_Girls_Made_Of.jpg Andrea] has a costume the upper portion of which is merely two crossing strips of material. Off the set, public modeled displays of this costume ''never'' failed to get a dramatically appreciative reception from at least the men.
▲** In William Shatner's ''Get A Life'', he tells a story about how Gene Roddenberry talked that same outfit into a fashion show at a Sci-Fi con. According to one of the people there, the model apparently had to spend the evening [[That Came Out Wrong|"beating men off with a stick"]]. Notable is the fact that Star Trek ''hadn't even aired yet''.
▲** According to Herb Solow and Robert Justman's book on ''Star Trek,'' William Shatner couldn't stop hitting on Sherry Jackson, the actress playing Andrea, once he saw her in the outfit. Further, the first public modeled display of the costume was in Desilu Studios' lunch room, where Ms. Jackson entered in said outfit -- according to Herb, forks stopped midway to people's mouths.
** Similarly, the [http://bp2.blogger.com/_tBl_3BU6-1c/RZrYC6QnGFI/AAAAAAAAAME/n-3uZ-gdEiM/s1600-h/Carolyn+Palamas+3.jpg top part] of the Greco-Roman-style outfit worn by Leslie Parrish (playing Lieutenant Carolyn Palamas) in "Who Mourns For Adonais?" consisted of a single swath of cloth draped across her breasts and slung over her shoulder. Most people who were there believed that nothing held it in place except its own weight, and were absolutely certain it was going to fall off at any second. Parrish, on the other hand, knew that it was stuck to her skin via massive amounts of two-way tape which had torn off chunks of skin during the original fitting; this is why she instead wore a bathrobe during all rehearsals, even the dress rehearsal.
** In "Mudd's Women," Maggie Thrett, playing the character of [http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/File:Ruth_in_sickbay.jpg Ruth], suffered repeated wardrobe malfunctions during shooting
* In a male example, one scene in an episode of ''[[White Collar]]'' had Neal Caffrey wearing nothing but some very low-riding sleep pants, with a waistband that looked ''very'' loose. You could practically hear the fangirls pleading for him to bend just a ''little further''...
* With the amount of bouncing and jumping around [[Elvira, Mistress of the Dark]] does, it's a wonder her boobs never fell out of her dress.
** That's because she's a [[Incredibly Lame Pun|master (mistress?) of suspense]].
* Watch episodes of the old ''[[Wonder Woman (TV series)|Wonder Woman]]'' series [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nclu82DbXpc&lc=Ugx7FHB_SrrUWUk0PS14AaABAg.9bS-ePBArfk9bSDcSboKic like this one] and you start to wonder if Lynda Carter's costume was glued on.
== [[Music Videos]] ==▼
▲== Music Videos ==
* [[Lady Gaga]] usually wears skin-tight clothing, bypassing this trope; but in the video for ''Poker Face'', one of her outfits is a criss-crossing number obviously inspired by the [[Star Trek]] [[Trope Codifier]].
* [[Kylie Minogue]]'s video for ''Can't Get You Out Of My Head'' features a stunning outfit that ''must'' be just about to fall off. A still image can be seen [http://www.vam.ac.uk/images/image/31692-popup.html here]. Apparently there was a lot of double-sided tape involved.
== [[Tabletop Games]] ==▼
▲== Tabletop Games ==
* In the D&D 3.5 edition Player's Handbook, all of the female examples shown in the races chapter have clothing that looks almost exactly like the example pictured at the top of the page. Not to mention the Nymph in the Monster Manual, the Elemental Savant in Complete Arcane, for that matter just about any female character pictured in any D&D book.
** A noteable exception being the iconic 3.5 rogue, the halfling Lidda, who's typically fully clothed from her neck to her toes. On the other hand, that clothing tends to be skintight, so...
== [[Video Games]] ==▼
* The entirety of the female cast of ''[[Soul Calibur]]''
▲== Video Games ==
▲* The entirety of the female cast of ''[[Soul Calibur]]''--with the ''possible'' exception of [[Lady of War|Hilde]]--are participants in this trope, thanks to the implementation of female-focused clothing damage in ''Soul Calibur IV''. In addition to, you know, the huge quantities of cleavage and the rather [[Fetish Fuel|unusual designs]] that were carried on from earlier games.
* Yoshino "Haru" Harusawa of ''[[Devil Survivor|Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor]]'' wears an outfit that would do Theiss proud. Looking at her sprites, it's a wonder she isn't having a wardrobe malfunction every few seconds. Needless to say she's a popular character.
** Specifically, she wears what would normally be a form-fitting dress, except that it's at least two cup sizes too big for her. This makes the top half hang off dangerously low.
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** [[Hot Mom|R]][[Christmas Cake|u]][[Even the Girls Want Her|b]][[Shop Keeper|y]] is wearing what appears to be a strategically-tied ''bedsheet'' with [[Vapor Wear|no bra]]. The jury's out on whether it's being held up by her rack or by the sheer force of her hotness.
** Sam. They don't make cover-alls in her size.
* Pretty much the entire cast of ''[[Disgaea: Hour of Darkness]]'', males included. The archers are only kept decent by the camera angles.
* ''[[Dead or Alive]] [[Beach Episode|Extreme Beach Volleyball]]'': Unrealistic clothing physics are the only thing that keep this from being an [[H-game]].
* This would probably explain the immense popularity of [http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Elementalist_Sunspear_armor_f.jpg Sunspear] [http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Elementalist_Elite_Sunspear_armor_f.jpg armor] and [http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Ritualist_Kurzick_armor_f.jpg Kurzick] [http://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/File:Ritualist_Elite_Kurzick_armor_f.jpg armor] among [[Guild Wars]]'s Elementalists and Ritualists, respectively.
* Morrigan's robes in ''[[Dragon Age]]''. There are more [[Stripperiffic]] examples, but the loose fit, the cleavage and [[Sideboob]] indicating lack of a bra, make it look like she could escape her top during any of her magical gestures.
* Mai in ''[[Fatal Fury]]''/''[[King of Fighters]]''. Her outfit looks ''designed'' to fall off.
* In ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links]]'', the some monsters - like [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1lAo9Dzt-c Dark Magician Girl] and [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cyf0A9sz5c Fairy Cheer Girl] - barely avoid [[Panty Shot]]s in their summoning animation.
* Fans of the ''[[Street Fighter]]'' franchise have often questioned whether Chun-Li is wearing anything under her qipao (yes, that is what it's called), a concept that would make her iconic [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD8F7VDsesA Spinning Bird Kick] (or for that matter, a lot of her moves) rather risque. [[Word of God]], however, confirms that yes, she is.
== [[Western Animation]] ==▼
▲== Western Animation ==
* This is parodied in an episode of ''[[The Simpsons]]'', when it's Agnes Skinner who wears a skintight dress to Homer's award ceremony as "Man of the Hour". Homer's father, her co-host, asks, "What's holding that dress together?", to which Sideshow Mel stands and answers, "The collective will of everyone in this room!".
== [[Real Life]] ==▼
▲== Real Life ==
* This is the idea behind the "fan dance" and "bubble dance" invented by the famous burlesque dancer, [[wikipedia:Sally Rand|Sally Rand]].
* Gypsy Rose Lee's burlesque routines famously didn't reveal much skin; her signature move was sliding her shoulder strap off her shoulder.
* ''Soooo'' many red-carpet dresses, it's not even funny. Whether it be see-through or the slow edging of a nipslip, you know that the more TTT a dress is, the more likely that's what's gonna be leading on TMZ that night.
* In Brazil, this trope is invoked for strapless dresses/bikinis, being usually called "Tomara-que-caia" ("I-hope-it-falls-off").
* [[Paris Hilton]] is well known for wearing [http://lh5.ggpht.com/-COn7x_WyAxw/RzXetS4O7pI/AAAAAAAAAKg/ychZXjdWjIU/parishilton_26%25255B1%25255D.jpg outfits] like [https://web.archive.org/web/20190722165421/http://www.mycitybynight.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Paris-Hilton-11-435x650.jpg this] for the cameras.
{{reflist}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Partial Nudity Tropes]]
[[Category:Always Female]]
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[[Category:Audience Reactions]]
[[Category:Costume Tropes]]
[[Category:The Utterly and Completely Definitive Guide to Cool]]
[[Category:Alliterative Trope Titles]]
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