Not Tropeworthy: Vapor Wear

This trope is about characters who are obviously going without underwear, and that's it. While the description offers several possible meanings, they're rarely used in examples, off-page (didn't check on page) and that's when the trope is being used correctly at all!

The Vapor Wear Wick Check shows that it's a mess of usage, as well. Examples about characters being barely clothed, examples where characters' lack of undergarments has to be revealed to the audience, and even examples where the supposed to be obvious lack of underwear is actively hidden from the audience are included alongside the usual ZC Es, a typo for Vapor Ware (which this trope is obviously a snowclone of) and correct but meaningless examples. Out of the 57 wicks checked, 19 were correct but lacked any explanation for why they go without (and, per the precedent set by Does Not Like Shoes, there needs to be meaning behind an aspect of their appearance for it to be tropable). Another six offered some explanation, but the use on those pages is all over the place, and two of them are from playing with pages, so not exactly proper examples.

I think disambiguating between Stripperiffic, Going Commando, Theiss Titillation Theory, and potentially other tropes is the best option for this page, unless we can find some meaning to coalesce a trope around, and I'm not sure we can.

• (Innocent Fanservice Girl) Darkstalkers:
  • Felicia is always naked outside of a fur bikini. It may be providing the absolute minimum coverage where it counts, but that's her own fur, not clothes. However, Felicia's butt is fully exposed, as some animation frames and some character design sheets show that her fur "panties" only cover her front part. This is a specific type of Japanese fanservice called maebari — the use of tape (or, in this case, fur) to cover up the genital region, a relic from when Japan prohibited the display of such in adult media. Contrast "pasties" from US and Carnaval. The designers are well aware of this too, as Felicia's "Dancing Flash" super move involves a barrage of kicks and scratches to her opponent. At one point, she delivers a high kick that leaves her butt fully exposed to the player. Her right hand just so conveniently drops down to her waist in order to censor it for that split second right before she uses it to scratch again.

• (Seductive Mummy) Queen's Blade: Antagonist character Menace is based on this trope, and emphasizes the "Seductive" aspect so much that you can easily be ignorant that she's supposed to be a mummy at all unless you paid attention when her backstory came up. She forgoes any semblance of bandages, sexy or otherwise, and just looks like a voluptuous bronze-skinned beauty running around in jewelry-based Vapor Wear. Her backstory is that she's the last ruler of an Egypt-themed fallen nation called Amara, which was overrun by invaders because Menace was too preoccupied with the pleasures of her lesbian harem to pay attention to ruling, something she deeply regretted when she was captured and thrown into her palace's slave pits to be beaten and raped to death. Brought back from the dead by the Swamp Witch, she's determined to rebuild her fallen nation and her harem, in roughly that order.

• (Wardrobe Malfunction 1/3) The central character of the highly obscure manga Buraburabanban (loosely cognate with "brass brass band band" via use of shortened loanwords) suffers one of these when, while conducting a performance of the school band, her motions become so vigorous that her shirt flies up, revealing to the audience that she forgot to wear a bra that day. Much later, in the final pages of the last chapter, a Call-Back strikes during an even bigger and more public concert: her baton catches on the strap of her dress, which completely falls off. And this time she isn't wearing panties either.
• (Wardrobe Malfunction 3/3) The "daring" Dominique Auxilly dress that Adrienne Bailon wore to a March 2012 concert is a perfect example of how the Theiss Titillation Theory can backfire spectacularly to cause one of these. She was posing for photographers on the red carpet when a gust of wind suddenly revealed that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
• (Characters.Miss Kobayashis Dragon Maid Kobayashi Household) Vapor Wear: She wears band-aids over her nipples in lieu of a bra. Then again, her massive breasts would make it impossible for her to find a bra that fits. For the record, I know this scene, and she does have to lift her shirt to show the bandages
• (Characters.My Hime) Vapor Wear: "What's "bra?" Is It Something You Eat??"
• (Characters.No Rin) Vapor Wear: Reveals that she isn't wearing a bra after giving Kosaku her red shirt to distract the bull in the first episode.
• (Characters.Seven Heavenly Virtues 1/4) Vapor Wear: She doesn’t wear a bra, as she unintentionally shows to a messiahs candidate.
• (WesternAnimation.Duck Pimples) Vapor Wear: Pauline as she holds up her dress, jumps, and runs in place before fleeing. She's revealed to go without any knickers under it.
• (Wrestling.Stephanie Mc Mahon) Vapor Wear:
  • Her feud with Triple H, starting with the failed "wedding" described below, saw her suffer Clothing Damage and demonstrated that she hadn't bothered to wear much underneath.
  • The March 11, 2002 Raw saw her try to escape from HHH in the ring and he grabbed her pants and exposed her bare ass.
  • That Thursday on Smackdown, HHH went for the Pedigree on an announce table and her breasts fell out of her dress.
• (Anime & Manga) In the final episode of Bakemonogatari's first season, we get an upskirt of Shinobu. Most people will probably only realize that there should have been an upskirt somewhere in there later on. It's an upskirt and not a panty shot because she's only wearing a bandaid.

• (Wardrobe Malfunction 2/3) The Mummy (1999): It turns out that Evelyn's (Rachel Weisz) nightgown from the boat scene got very translucent when wet, and Weisz wasn't wearing anything underneath. Of course, by the end of the scene, she ended up in the water, giving the rest of the cast and crew an eyeful and requiring touching up in post-production to keep its rating.
• (Film.Diamonds Are Forever) Vapor Wear: Plenty O'Toole didn't wear a bra 'til some Moral Guardians made them paint one on.
• (TheMummy1999.The Mummy 1999 Tropes M To Z) Wardrobe Malfunction: It turned out that Rachel Weisz's nightgown from the boat scene got very translucent when wet, and Weisz wasn't wearing anything underneath. Of course, by the end of the scene she ended up in the water, giving the rest of the cast and crew an eyeful and requiring touching up in post-production to keep the movie's rating.

• (Anime.Neon Genesis Evangelion) Vapor Wear: Seeing how Rei strips off all of her undergarments before putting on her plugsuit, it seems to imply that none of the pilots wear underwear while wearing their plugsuits in order to boost their synchronization rating. Asuka probably gets to have her panties on in her period, though.
• (Characters.American Hustle) Vapor Wear: There's a constant implication that Sydney doesn't wear anything under her dresses. Particularly in the stall sequence.

• (Characters.A Certain Magical Index True Gremlin) Vapor Wear: Her bandages clearly show she isn't wearing any underwear.
• (Characters.Altered Carbon 2/2) Vapor Wear: Is introduced dressed this way. It's pretty much her entire wardrobe. It's not as if Kristin Lehman is hard on the eyes.
• (Characters.Catwoman Selina Kyle) Vapor Wear: Certain artists draw her costume in such a way that there's no way she's wearing anything under it. Guillem March is a big offender. Paul Gulacy did several panels in his period as artist that outright showed her naked before putting the catsuit on.
• (Characters.Earth Twenty Seven Greek Pantheon) Vapor Wear: She clearly isn't wearing anything beneath her "clothes".
• (Characters.Fairy Tail Criminals) Vapor Wear: The amount of Underboobs she exposes makes it clear she's not wearing a bra. It's a wonder that she doesn't completely explode out of her top.
• (Characters.Pacific Heavy Cruisers And Battleships 2/2) Vapor Wear: If one looks closely enough, it's clear that she's not wearing any panties or a bra.
• (Characters.Sekirei Izumo Inn) Vapor Wear: Judging from their usual outfits and the faded nipples from their usual clothes shown, excluding Homura, none of the girls wear a bra.
• (Characters.Seven Heavenly Virtues 2/4) Vapor Wear: She isn't wearing a bra, and her thong barely covers anything.
• (Characters.Seven Heavenly Virtues 4/4) Vapor Wear: One quick look at her impossibly skimpy outfit is enough to see that she doesn't wear a bra. When looking at her from the backside, one realizes she doesn't wear panties, either.
• (Spider-Man: Supporting Characters) Vapor Wear: She's pretty evidently not wearing a bra under her shirts in most of her appearances (particularly the second half of Sins Remembered).
• (Characters.Strain Strategic Armored Infantry) Vapor Wear: The first episode makes a point of showing that Sara doesn't wear anything under her flight suit.
• (ComicBook.Zatanna Everyday Magic) Vapor Wear: Nimue and Zatanna's Navel-Deep Neckline outfits make it clear they're not wearing bras under them. Nimue at least has an excuse, since she was lounging in the privacy of her bedroom.
• (EvilIsSexy.Video Games) Fire Emblem:

  • Cornelia wears a strapless dress with the side of the skirt slit all the way up to her hip and a Navel-Deep Neckline that goes all the way down to the belt she apparently uses to keep it from falling apart (with no sign of her wearing anything at all underneath), and is quite shapely, to put it lightly.

• (Fanfic.Code Geass Numbers Reshuffled) Vapor Wear: It's clear to Lelouch that Milly isn't wearing a bra under the dress she's wearing to their date in Chapter 3. He notes that she doesn't seem to be wearing panties either.
• (Funny.Big Brother) Elena complaining that houseguests saw a little too much of her coming out of the shower because she sat down on the couch with no underwear on. She then exaggerates the gesture at bedtime and does a spread-eagle pose... which Paul proceeds to duplicate.
  Paul: I see... EVERYTHING!!
• (Literature.Dragon Crisis) Vapor Wear:
  • Bianca is clearly not wearing any normal panties.
  • Literal example is Maruga's Melting Bikini-top in the Beach Episode (...don't ask).
  • Eriko doesn't always wear a bra either, such as her dress from episode 6.
• (Literature.Rising X Rydeen 2/2) Vapor Wear: Mikan doesn't wear a bra under her school uniform. Were it not for the fact that clothes in this series behave like their stuck on a female character's breasts a Wardrobe Malfunction would be a given with her.
• (Sandbox.Characters Ace Attorney Minor Characters Investigations) Vapor Wear: She's very obviously not wearing a shirt or a bra during the flight under her open uniform, not that anyone actually calls attention to it.
• (Characters.Hunie Pop) Vapor Wear: Most of her outfits make it very apparent that she's not a fan of bras.

• (Characters.Altered Carbon 1/2) Ms. Fanservice: Her sex appeal is a major aspect of her character, and she's a Silver Vixen who often wears Vapor Wear.
• (Characters.Arknights Defenders A To M) Stripperiffic: Eunectes' outfit leaves very little to imagination, being fashioned out of cloth scraps and straps that are fastened haphazardly onto her exposed thighs and midriff. Even her yellow "dress", which is also semi-transparent, doesn't even properly cover her. This is to be expected given her Nubile Savage theme.
• (Characters.Bayonetta Titular Character) Sexy Backless Outfit: The game takes Third-Person Seductress to whole new levels; she wears a variety of these, all made out of her hair. In Bayonetta 2, the backless outfit actually becomes functional in addition to alluring, since she can now use her demonic summons to become a Winged Humanoid. In Bayonetta 3, it's where the demon tattoos she's contracted with shows up.
• (Characters.One Piece Fishman Island) Navel-Deep Neckline: Her hoodie covers her chest, but it has a frilled V-neck and Sharley doesn't seem to be wearing anything underneath it, leaving a good part of her chest exposed.
• (Characters.Seven Heavenly Virtues 3/4) Hypocritical Humor:
  • Chides her Messiah candidate for speaking loudly at night because it will bother the neighbors, after she announced her arrival by knocking very strongly at his door.
  • Represents chastity and berates other people for engaging in evil lustful behaviour, yet wears a tiny outfit while obviously lacking underwear.
• (Literature.Rising X Rydeen 1/2) Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Just about every top on a female character in this series wraps around their breasts. The most noticeable case being Mikan, whose top for her Sailor Fuku is open in the from the collar down, she doesn't wear anything underneath it, and manages to avoid Wardrobe Malfunction because it behaves like it's glued to her breasts.
• (Ms. Fanservice.Literature) Zero Sight: Rei Acerba Bathory is a Proud Beauty with Raven Hair, Ivory Skin that doesn't wear bras and is frequently out her clothes, without any regard for modesty, enjoying doing scandalous things such as going Skinny Dipping at the academy pool. Dieter experiences this side of her shortly after their meeting her and Fainting after a bloody fight; he wakes up to find himself in a shower, with Rei casually showering in a stall right beside him, having finished undressing and washing him herself. His mind short circuits between staring at her bare back and worrying about the fact she likely just gave him a sponge bath.
• (VideoGame.Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns Of The Patriots 2/2) Schmuck Bait:
  • While tracking Naomi when she's taken in Act 2 you can potentially end up going the wrong way and end up in an ambush. Some of these traps involve just stepping on explosives or getting ambushed by the Frogs, while others include hearing a very obviously fake recording of Naomi being tortured in a shack to lure Snake in or finding her bra near some tracks to throw you off the trail. In the last example, an observant player could avoid falling for it if they had noticed that Naomi clearly wasn't wearing a bra in the earlier cutscene.
• (ComicBook.Spider Man) Ms. Fanservice: Mary Jane is a Head-Turning Beauty and frequently used for fanservice.
  • Her debut in the strip is just as much of an Establishing Character Moment as it is in the source material: she's wearing a shirt, with the only "buttoned" button being the one right above her belly button, and not wearing a bra.
• (Film.Lesbian Vampire Killers) Ms. Fanservice: The lesbian vampires are all very beautiful, dressed in diaphanous dresses which barely cover them', while several also show breasts at different points. Before turning, the women often wore low-cut tops and short-shorts too.
• (Recap.A Certain Scientific Railgun T Ep 13 SYSTEM) Clothing Damage: The rip in Shokuhou's PE shirt seems to change size from one shot to the next. Most of the time it merely goes up to her waist, but now and then it randomly expands into Sideboob territory (incidentally confirming her apparent lack of a bra).
• (Recap.Twenty Fifteen Brit Awards Taylor Swift) Impossibly-Low Neckline: Taylor Swift appeared to go braless under her deep plunging neckline.
• (SkewedPriorities.Literature) Stephanie Plum: In one of the novels, Stephanie is kidnapped by the bad guys and in the process of escaping manages to lose all her clothes (it's a long story). She manages to find a replacement T-shirt and some jeans, but no undergarments. When she returns to safety, her mother is much more concerned about Stephanie's going braless than that she's been held captive by murderous criminals.

• (Characters.Final Fantasy X Heroes) Vapor Wear: The top of her dress seems to be a corset, with nothing else underneath.

• (Characters.Final Fantasy X Other Characters Introduced In Final Fantasy X 2) Vapor Wear: Leblanc's outfit in particular.
• (Characters.Venus Blood Brave) Vapor Wear: Her outfit covers everything it needs to, but also exposes quite a bit of her thighs. Either this or pure misuse
• (Literature.How To Succeed In Evil) Vapor Wear: Cindi with an I.
• (VideoGame.Divinity Original Sin) Vapor Wear: Astarte.

• (Characters.Pacific Heavy Cruisers And Battleships) Stripperific: Her outfit in comparison to her other sisters. Though like O'Bannon's case Vapor Wear is averted.
• (Funny.Undead Unluck 2/2) The following chapter focuses on Fuuko trying to be a normal student. Emphasis on trying.

  • In the background of the flashback, Ichico can be seen begrudgingly properly buttoning her shirt because she can't go with her usual Vapor Wear in a school.

• (FinalGirl.Live Action Films Subversions Aversions And Parodies) Maxine in X doesn't just violate every moral rule of slasher movie survival, she does so professionally. She's a literal porn star who habitually uses cocaine and the most scantily-clad female character in the film, spending most of it (when she isn't outright fully nude) wearing overalls with nothing underneath that just barely cover her breasts. The ending also reveals the televangelist we see throughout the film railing against the sins of pornography is her father. She winds up the Sole Survivor who departs the film with a triumphant snort of blow as she drives away, having no doubts or second thoughts about her line of work. Meanwhile, Lorraine, the virginal "church mouse" who does the audio on the porn film that the protagonists are making, is initially presented as Final Girl material, but later decides to star in the film herself (cheating on her boyfriend in the process, while he's filming it) — and sure enough, she's the last of them to die.
• (PlayingWith.Fidelity Test) Parodied:
  • Alice goes to the bar wearing Vapor Wear as part of her disguise and does everything she can think of to seduce Bob.
• (PlayingWith.Lingerie Scene Inverted: Vapor Wear - Alice is fully clothed but wears no underwear. Could think of nowhere else to put it
• (Series.Porridge Vapor Wear: Played for Laughs in "Heartbreak Hotel". When Fletcher's daughter, Ingrid, pays him a visit (in the open-plan visiting room), he is outraged that she's not wearing a bra and all the other prisoners can see it. Next time she visits, she puts a bra on, and just to make sure he knows it, she lifts up her t-shirt to demonstrate. To get a laugh from the audience is a reason, right?
• (VideoGame.Metal Gear Solid 4 Guns Of The Patriots 1/2) Navel-Deep Neckline:
  • Naomi Hunter also has an unbuttoned blouse and is clearly not wearing a bra. Believe it or not, the lack of a bra turns out to be important, as when you're trying to track Naomi down when she's being carted off by a bunch of soldiers, you find a discarded bra left behind as one of the soldiers' many fake outs. She never bothers to reacquire one later. Stuck it here because it has a gameplay reason
• (Webcomic.Nineteen Ninety Something) Vaporwear: Denise and Kendra, in true hippie fashion, never wear bras. Though Kendra might've gone back to wearing a bra as she has since decided to give up her hippie lifestyle.

• (Funny.Undead Unluck 1/2) The first conversation Nico and Ichico have in the 101st loop mirrors a similar conversation they had in their first meeting the previous loop...where Nico tells her that she should cover up her "unsightly mounds of flesh" and Ichico bluntly replies no. Fuuko panics thinking she's ruined things between the two and apologizes to Mico.

• (LegFocus.Video Games) The novels indicate that this is what Jim Raynor was thinking about Sarah Kerrigan during the "I finished scouting the area and—you pig!" scene in StarCraft. The player can't actually tell, considering she's a low-detail sprite, but promo shots for the Vaporwear Third-Person Shooter StarCraft: Ghost indicate that Ghost uniforms are practically painted on. Fixed, BTW

• (Characters.Goblin Slayer Goblin Slayer) Not Distracted by the Sexy: Cow Girl has made likely several flirtatious gestures towards him, the first shown in Volume 1 where she greets him in the morning in only her underwear. He doesn't skip a beat. Then, in Volume 2, after suffering gruesome injuries that left him at death's door, he was healed with Resurrection, a miracle that requires the target to sleep naked in the same bed with a Maiden. When he woke up, said Maiden greeted him while wearing a single piece that hid nothing. Priestess, also healed and naked, was asleep with her arms around his waist. Goblin Slayer was more interested in confirming that Resurrection exists.
• (PlayingWith.My Girl Is A Slut 1/2) Exaggerated: Alice wears practically nothing and has slept with pretty much Anything That Moves, and Bob is proud to marry her and call her his wife.
• (PlayingWith.My Girl Is A Slut 2/2) Parodied: Alice shows up at Bob's residence in Vapor Wear, smelling of cologne Bob doesn't have. Bob is very happy to see her, and doesn't comment on her state of undress.
• (VideoGame.Blood Rayne 2) Vapor Wear: Ferril is mostly nude, if you took her markings away from her.
• (VisualNovel.Being ADIK) No Dress Code: Justified as the characters are in college, not high school, and so it makes sense that relatively few rules surrounding dress would be strictly enforced. However, some of the students manage to get away with clothing that barely covers their bodies.
• (Star Trek: The Next Generation S1 E7 "Justice") Vapor Wear: Apparently a common form of traditional dress on Edo, for both men and women. If they were wearing any less fabric, there would be no need to bother with fabric at all. (A bit of Fridge, especially for older and athletic viewers: those slippers they're wearing have no support whatsoever, and they're all running on hard-surfaced pathways. )