Wig, Dress, Accent: Difference between revisions

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[[File:~~Justin_Beiber_disguise_3407~~.jpg|link=Justin Bieber|frame|"And hoo ees dis Joostin Beever of which you speak?"]]

[[File:Justin Beiber disguise 3407.jpg|link=Justin Bieber|frame|"And hoo ees dis Joostin Beever of which you speak?"]]

When a character uses physical props to disguise themselves. This is a staple of [[Spy Drama]], where the hero will often use a wig and dress and affect an accent, thus the name of the trope.

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* Happens quite often in [[Osamu Tezuka]]'s works. In [[Phoenix]], the protagonist disguises himself as a surprisingly attractive maiden to get himself closer and kill the rival king.

* In one episode of ''[[Pokémon (anime)|Pokémon]]'', Ash has to dress up like a girl to get into one of the gyms to battle its leader for a badge. [[media:1141848330152.jpg|Here]] is the result.

** Jessie and James have a tendency to do this in a number of episodes, usually involving some [[Gender Swap~~|Gender Swapping~~]] and including, but not limited to, dressing as vikings, Pokémon stylists and traditional Japanese samurai.

** Jessie and James have a tendency to do this in a number of episodes, usually involving some [[Gender Swap]]ping and including, but not limited to, dressing as vikings, Pokémon stylists and traditional Japanese samurai.

* An episode of ''[[Outlaw Star]]'' involves Gene dressing up as a woman so he can enter an all-female wrestling tournament. He is defeated in the first round. There was at least the explanation that they bribed the judges, and the one guy who knew him, but was not in on the plan, recognized him instantly. In the same episode, Aisha infiltrated the competition by stealing the costume of one of the regular entrants, since Ctarl-Ctarl weren't allowed to enter.

* ''[[Monster (manga)|Monster]]'' has an interesting take on this: a wig, dress, and an affected voice is quite literally all {{spoiler|Johan}} needs to fool the ''reader''. (Don't forget, in the Anime, some make-up for skin tone.)

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* In the ''[[Super Mario Adventures|Super Mario World]]'' comic, Luigi swaps clothes with Princess Peach (or Toadstool) and dons a wig to infiltrate the Koopa Kids' stronghold, in which Mario is kept. In his defense, he at least tried to hide his face with a mask, which also justified her deep voice as "having a nasty cold."

** Peach also disguised herself as Luigi, in a comic. The difference in size between herself and Luigi was [[Totem Pole Trench|made up for with Bob-ombs]].

* There are quite a few examples in ''[[Tintin]]'', particularly the Thompson twins, who fail utterly. Tintin is also known to do it a fair bit, and several villians have tried to pull beards off certain men of short stature who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong ~~time -- needless~~ to say, Tintin shows up on the next page having hidden in a large Chinese vase or having been disguised as a black waiter. In another story, Tintin and the Captain don burqas in Arabia in order to get out of the city where there is a bounty on their ~~head -- Snowy~~ is carried in a vase on the Captain's head. Of course, the alarm is raised when a real Arabian woman tries to speak with them.

* There are quite a few examples in ''[[Tintin]]'', particularly the Thompson twins, who fail utterly. Tintin is also known to do it a fair bit, and several villians have tried to pull beards off certain men of short stature who happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time—needless to say, Tintin shows up on the next page having hidden in a large Chinese vase or having been disguised as a black waiter. In another story, Tintin and the Captain don burqas in Arabia in order to get out of the city where there is a bounty on their head—Snowy is carried in a vase on the Captain's head. Of course, the alarm is raised when a real Arabian woman tries to speak with them.

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** In ''[[Discworld/The Truth|The Truth]]'', Gaspode the Wonder Dog (a terrier mix) is disguised as a poodle named Trixiebell, so the thugs out hunting for Wuffles (another terrier) won't catch him. Gaspode's disguise, applied under duress by Anhk-Morpork's premiere grooming shop, consists largely of an all-body pink dye job.

* ''[[Star Wars]]'' [[Expanded Universe]]:

** Leia's childhood friend, Winter Celchu, was frequently mistaken for Leia, due to Leia's tomboyishness and Winter's more ladylike behavior. As they grew older and joined the Rebellion, they had the bright idea to put this to good use, with Winter occasionally going in disguise as Leia to protect her. Winter would later become a full-fledged Intelligence agent and put [[Wig, Dress, Accent]] to more use.

** Leia's childhood friend, Winter Celchu, was frequently mistaken for Leia, due to Leia's tomboyishness and Winter's more ladylike behavior. As they grew older and joined the Rebellion, they had the bright idea to put this to good use, with Winter occasionally going in disguise as Leia to protect her. Winter would later become a full-fledged Intelligence agent and put Wig, Dress, Accent to more use.

** Also, Mara Jade disguises herself as Jabba's dancing girl Arica. Sometimes Arica is depicted with black hair, [[Heroes Want Redheads|unlike]] Mara's actual hair color (and is therefore most likely a wig), while other times Mara appears to be using her real hair. [http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/5/5e/Arica.jpg Here's] [http://freewebs.com/mskywalker/gallery/illust34.jpg some] comparisons, for the curious.

* ''[[Les Misérables]]''

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** Javert himself uses a disguise when he infiltrates the barricades and Eponine disguises herself as a boy for most of the end of the story.

* Used repeatedly by Harry Dickson and his pupil Tom in [[Jean Ray]]'s novels, so succesfully that they even fool close friends like their cook or the police chief. Or each other.

* In the ''Shadow'' pulp novels, recurring character Myra Reldon is Caucasian but easily able to pass as Chinese. Walter Gibson specifies that she uses tape to create a fake epicanthic fold, but doesn't explain how she turns her brown eyes ~~black -- it~~'s a bit early for contact lenses in this time period.

* In the ''Shadow'' pulp novels, recurring character Myra Reldon is Caucasian but easily able to pass as Chinese. Walter Gibson specifies that she uses tape to create a fake epicanthic fold, but doesn't explain how she turns her brown eyes black—it's a bit early for contact lenses in this time period.

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Double Star]]'', the narrator follows the theory that a thin disguise can be the best. He makes a few small changes to Dak Broadbent's ~~appearance -- posture~~, ~~mainly -- and~~ predicts that any acquaintance seeing him would say, "That guy looks a lot like Dak Broadbent. Of course, he isn't Dak. But he ''looks'' like him." And the observers' inability to pin down ''why'' they were so certain it wasn't really Broadbent would actually make them still ''more'' certain.

* In [[Robert A. Heinlein]]'s ''[[Double Star]]'', the narrator follows the theory that a thin disguise can be the best. He makes a few small changes to Dak Broadbent's appearance—posture, mainly—and predicts that any acquaintance seeing him would say, "That guy looks a lot like Dak Broadbent. Of course, he isn't Dak. But he ''looks'' like him." And the observers' inability to pin down ''why'' they were so certain it wasn't really Broadbent would actually make them still ''more'' certain.

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== Myths & Religion ==

* [[Older Than Feudalism]]: ''[[The Bible]]'', Old Testament, 1 Kings 20: A minor prophet disguises himself by wearing his headband down over his eyes.

* Possibly older than ''The Bible'': Greek Mythology has the myth of goddess of wisdom and crafts Athena disguising herself as an old woman to confront the young and foolish Arachne about Arachne's boasts that her weave-work was better than Athena's. Athena thus took off her disguise and challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Athena wins, naturally, and ~~Arachne~~ ~~-- so upset -- hangs~~ herself. {{spoiler|Athena feels pity for the poor thing and thus turns Arachne into a spider, which is, according to the mythology of the Greeks, why spiders weave webs}}.

* Possibly older than ''The Bible'': Greek Mythology has the myth of goddess of wisdom and crafts Athena disguising herself as an old woman to confront the young and foolish Arachne about Arachne's boasts that her weave-work was better than Athena's. Athena thus took off her disguise and challenged Arachne to a weaving contest. Athena wins, naturally, and Arachne—so upset—hangs herself. {{spoiler|Athena feels pity for the poor thing and thus turns Arachne into a spider, which is, according to the mythology of the Greeks, why spiders weave webs}}.

** ...Another version has it that Arachne wove scenes which offended Athena or she was simply better (your call) and Athena transformed her out of anger.

** And yet another version combines all of the above. Arachne wove better but was arrogant and used designs making fun of Zeus and his many sexual conquests. Athena broke the loom over Arachne's head and the girl tried to hang herself out of humiliation. Athena then turns her into a spider.

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** Exactly the opposite and a great example of this trope occurs in ''Metal Gear Solid 3'' with {{spoiler|[http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/2196/metalgearsolid3evatatya.png EVA/Tatyana]}}. Combed back hair, glasses, and a different set of clothes shouldn't really fool anyone, but instead of relying entirely on it, {{spoiler|she}} also changes {{spoiler|her}} body posture and movement and {{spoiler|her}} entire way of acting.

** {{spoiler|Liquid's disguising himself as Master Miller}} retroactively is this, as not only did he mimick {{spoiler|Miller}} in both {{spoiler|appearance and in voice}}, he also changed his {{spoiler|overall demeanor}} to be more similar to how {{spoiler|Miller}} would act. Originally, it was closer to [[Paper-Thin Disguise]], but the rereleases of the MSX [[Metal Gear 2 Solid Snake]] redid the design for {{spoiler|Miller}} to match his "appearance" in Metal Gear Solid, and his appearance in Peace Walker was based on his Metal Gear Solid appearance.

* ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'': In the middle of their adventure, the brothers stumble upon a situation that requires a stand-in for Peach. They weren't aware of this earlier, but, conveniently, have one of Peach's dresses with them [[Noodle Implements|((don't ask))]]. [[Bellisario's Maxim|We probably don't want to know]] why they have the wig, but this fits the trope namer to a ''T'', because, in addition to the dress and wig, in all of the other scenes, both brothers have vague-italian ~~accents -- though~~, in this instance, Luigi does a disturbingly accurate impression of Peach...

* ''[[Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga]]'': In the middle of their adventure, the brothers stumble upon a situation that requires a stand-in for Peach. They weren't aware of this earlier, but, conveniently, have one of Peach's dresses with them [[Noodle Implements|((don't ask))]]. [[Bellisario's Maxim|We probably don't want to know]] why they have the wig, but this fits the trope namer to a ''T'', because, in addition to the dress and wig, in all of the other scenes, both brothers have vague-italian accents—though, in this instance, Luigi does a disturbingly accurate impression of Peach...

* In ''[[Primal]]'', the protagonist briefly loses her ability to shapeshift into various demonic forms and is thus forced to dress herself up as demon in order to blend in.

* In ''[[Space Quest]] IV'', you do this to access an ATM.

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== Web Comics ==

* ''[[The Order of the Stick|Order of the Stick]]''

** Roy is forced into a [[Gender Bender]] once. Roy is bald, and in his own words, "The lesson here is, if the magic item doesn't specifically SAY it grows hair, it probably doesn't." So he gets forced into a literal [[Wig, Dress, Accent]], minus accent 'cause it's a webcomic.

** Roy is forced into a [[Gender Bender]] once. Roy is bald, and in his own words, "The lesson here is, if the magic item doesn't specifically SAY it grows hair, it probably doesn't." So he gets forced into a literal Wig, Dress, Accent, minus accent 'cause it's a webcomic.

** And then there's the time Vaarsuvius' raven familiar Blackwing disguised himself to buy materials from a store where they'd been banned. Yes, the ''raven'' disguised himself. [http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0679.html with a moustache.]

* Red Mage in ''[[8-Bit Theater|Eight Bit Theater]]''. He already has long hair and he needs no accent (once again, because it's a webcomic). He simply puts on a dress and is able to fool anyone not in the party. He also tends to wear it even when ''not'' trying to disguise himself, which greatly disturbs both Black Mage and Thief. ("Cross-'''CHECKING'''").

** Probably worth noting that it's actually Thief's ~~fault -- Red~~ Mage cross-dresses so often because he has a complex that developed due to his father hating him for being a boy (he wanted a girl.) The twist? This didn't actually ~~happen -- Thief~~ just fabricated those memories.

** Probably worth noting that it's actually Thief's fault—Red Mage cross-dresses so often because he has a complex that developed due to his father hating him for being a boy (he wanted a girl.) The twist? This didn't actually happen—Thief just fabricated those memories.

* ''[[George the Dragon]]'' has pulled this particular one off. Even though it was a rather [[Paper-Thin Disguise]], it seems to [http://www.drunkduck.com/George_the_Dragon/index.php?p=321300 have worked like a charm].

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== Western Animation ==

* The ''Alias'' example is sent up on ''[[Robot Chicken]]'' with "Whalias", substituting an orca for Sydney. The whale's disguises work just as well as hers usually do.

* On ''[[American Dad]]'', Roger the Alien wears many [[Wig, Dress, Accent]] disguises, and they all fool everyone who isn't acquainted with the real Roger. Storywise, the disguises' function of hiding his alienhood is taken for granted, and what Roger really has fun with is creating a new fictitious identity for himself in each episode. If Roger were a believer in creating a stable identity for himself, nothing would stop him from using the same disguise whenever he meets someone outside the Smith ~~family--but~~ he prefers to go through an endless succession of identities. [[Cross Dresser|Of both genders.]]

* On ''[[American Dad]]'', Roger the Alien wears many Wig, Dress, Accent disguises, and they all fool everyone who isn't acquainted with the real Roger. Storywise, the disguises' function of hiding his alienhood is taken for granted, and what Roger really has fun with is creating a new fictitious identity for himself in each episode. If Roger were a believer in creating a stable identity for himself, nothing would stop him from using the same disguise whenever he meets someone outside the Smith family—but he prefers to go through an endless succession of identities. [[Cross Dresser|Of both genders.]]

* ''[[Avatar: The Last Airbender]]''

** Aang disguises himself as a old man with a mustache and hair made of fur from Appa the flying bison the first time Team Avatar goes to Omashu. He gets found out when it blows off.