History Main / BlingOfWar

** Ahtal-Ka, the G-rank FinalBoss of ''Generations Ultimate'', is a female of the species. They're normally brown, but by [[MonstrousCannibalism eating]] the golden males of the species, she becomes more golden-colored and more attractive to ''other'' males. As a result, the armor made from her carapace is golden as well.
** Kulve Taroth of ''World'' is an Elder Dragon who lives in the Caverns of El Dorado, [[DragonHoard a cave chock-full of gold and precious ore]], which she melts down into a giant mantle with which to cover her body; good thing for her, too, as the mantle protects her from her crippling weakness to Ice attacks. Despite being fused to her body, the mantle has a ''lot'' of assorted junk contained within; special golden weapons that boast much higher stats than the regular versions, and in the case of the Kjarr versions, the rare Critical Element skill inbuilt.
* Protoss in ''VideoGame/StarCraftII'' suddenly developed a taste for flashy decorations, and that is after they were shown walking around almost naked in ''[[VideoGame/StarCraftI Brood War]]''.
** This is actually due to improvements in technology allowing the Zealots' and High Templars' golden body armor to show on their in-game models. The big yellow segments were always present in the original's and BW's concept art.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'': Before the final battle at Chichen Itza, Lea fulfils the tradition of Faerie Godmothers creating magnificent CostumePorn clothes. As she says, she "never got the chance to indulge". She and Susan dress Harry up in all sorts of things, but settle on a gold-embossed magically enhanced suit of conquistador armour. He complains that he looks like the Games Workshop version of a Jedi Knight. It's still awesome.

* ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'': Combat takes place in the normal spacesuit/armored suit, but the noncombat uniforms are impressive. Barrayar has "undress greens" (typical daily wear), "dress greens" (fancier, for formal occasions such as parties or weddings), and most formal of all, "parade red-and-blues" (for major governmental functions such as the Emperor's Birthday; high collar, tall boots, and ''two'' ceremonial swords). Plus, Vor are allowed to wear their medals with their House colors. In ''Literature/{{Memory}}'', Miles Vorkosigan, off to talk to the Emperor, pulls out all of his medals and puts them on with his House colors, for effectively the first time. Even he hadn't realized what a collection he had. (The Emperor's reaction upon seeing him: "Good God".) The "House colors" are a riot. Sixty districts, each with a different pair of heraldic colors, and wearing them at major occasions. Vorkosigans are lucky, with a restrained brown and silver, and some (such as the Vorpatril blue and gold) are bona-fide impressive, but some... note that ceremonial reds-and-blues are just the House Colors of the ruling Vorbarra clan, all Barrayaran military legally just being their official retainers. They also use the cut inhherited from the Times of Isolation, which looks vaguely Napoleonic.

* Wealthy knights in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' love to wear extremely ornate armor, especially during jousts, but often into actual battle as well. Various knights wear gem-encrusted breastplates, laquered armor, fancy capes and so forth. Even knights without money to burn will get themselves sculpted helmets. Particular examples include:

* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', even the lowliest foot soldier apparently gets outfitted with one of those snazzy uniforms, and they're not just for show -- in [[Anime/FullMetalAlchemist the 2003 anime adaptation]], we see Amestris soldiers going into ''battle'' wearing them.

* In ''Anime/GhostInTheShellArise'' Batou's [[ForcedIntoTheirSundayBest JMSDF dress uniform]] [[http://mangapark.com/manga/ghost-in-the-shell-arise/s2/c6/22 looks significantly more blingy]] than the Major's JGSDF one, though the latter probably just didn't go all the way (like [[TheStarscream Kurtz]] with her AbsoluteCleavage).

Personal weapons may or may not involve BlingBlingBang. The [[NiceHat hat]] is often a CommissarCap. Officers and senior enlisted may carry some [[StaffOfAuthority stick or baton indicating their rank]], and expect their [[ChestOfMedals chests to be covered in various jangling medals]]. Futuristic settings can even have PoweredArmor or HumongousMecha in this style.

** Bling of War + NiceHat + CoolMask + a ''kilij'' scimitar = Turkey.

* The various military forces in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' are generally practical -- by the standards of the mid-19th century. And they usually include a NiceHat. In fact, the Jägermonsters ARE this trope in spades. Originally, in their "generic monster" days, they wore uniforms that actually were uniforms, but it's pretty much unknown these days to see two wearing the same outfit.

* Apparently the guiding principle of TheEmpire in ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes''; its highest-ranking admirals sport full capes (in unique colors!) and field marshals' batons.

** Subverted with the Hyaku Shiki from ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'' and the Akatsuki from ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEEDDestiny''. Both are painted in brilliant gold, (in fact, the Hyaku Shiki is the trend setter for gold mobile suits in ''Gundam,'') but there are good reasons behind their colors. The Hyaku Shiki's scheme is a result of being covered in Anti-Beam Coating, as well as acting as a [[DidYouJustFlipOffCthulhu middle finger]] to the Titans (i.e. "we can make new MS right under your nose"), made possible through [[RedBaron "Quattro Bajeena"]] being the pilot. Meanwhile, the Akatsuki takes its predecessor's special feature UpToEleven, in that its gold armor is actually an advanced beam reflection system.

* Somewhat justified in ''Manga/OnePiece''. A lot of the really blinged out Marines in the series have Devil Fruit powers which turn both them and their clothes into some kind of element. The one that doesn't, Sengoku, drops the bling when using his powers (though said [[LivingStatue powers]] provide [[UpToEleven a whole different bling]]).

* Taken UpToEleven in the ''Series/StarTrekDiscovery'' version of the MirrorUniverse, with starship captains wearing golden breastplates in addition to the above-mentioned Sam Browne belts. Some captains even customize theirs. For example, Mirror!Tilly's breastplate puts the emphasis on the "breast" part by having a cleavage. Burnham's is more conservative, although it's still gleaming. And, of course, nothing compares to what TheEmperor is wearing, plus a ceremonial sword.

*** Eldar can go either way largely because each of their Aspect Warrior castes have specific uniforms. This ranges from the dark and intimidating [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Reaper Dark Reapers]] who seem to be aiming for a "Death in armour with a missile launcher" look, right up to the [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fire_Dragon Fire Dragons]] who, true to their name, wear bright orange armour with yellow helmets. Special characters, as so often happens, [[UpToEleven turn this way up]]; [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Asurmen Asurmen]] goes into battle with blue and gold armour, an enormous red helmet with a crest and a huge flag on his back.

** Necrons of Nephrekh Dynasty take this UpToEleven: their every single warrior is made from [[Main/SufficientlyAdvancedAlien sufficiently advanced]] "metagold" alloy or, in other words, ''pure blingness''.

*** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'' takes it UpToEleven. Behold: [[http://images.wikia.com/assassinscreed/images/c/cf/Ottoman_Janissary.png Janissaries]], [[http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-19/art/acr-tarik-barleti.jpg their commander]], [[http://images.wikia.com/assassinscreed/images/3/36/Manuel_Palaiologos.png Manuel Palaiologos]], [[http://www.creativeuncut.com/gallery-19/art/acr-shahkulu-renegade.jpg his dragon, Shakulu]], [[http://feedyourconsole.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ACR_SP_EzioTurkishArmor.jpg Ezio's ultimate armour]], and [[http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/AssassinsCreedRevelations/acr_sp_render_02_ahmet.jpg Prince Ahmet]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'' can be considered taking this UpToEleven for three reasons:
** First is the Orokin. Everything they made was covered in lots of silver and gold, and their weapons were no exception. The Prime Warframes are the most obvious, as they look like ostentatious display pieces but are actually [[SuperPrototype more powerful than the standard variants]].
** Second is the players who show great love for Bling as true Orokin descendants, buying a lot of [[Main/BadassCape badass capes]] and various decorative armor elements for donate currency. Developers at one point made a special tool that allows to safely create fancy screenshots.
** Third -- everything above is about [[Main/CyberNinja ninjas]], so no enemy could ever guess that Tenno is one of them.

*** The Crystal Empires' guardsponies can be seen wearing crystalline armour that's [[UpToEleven even shinier]] than that of the normal royal guards.

* One interesting example would be the way the US Army Air Forces painted their aircraft during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. For the first part of the war, USAAF planes were typicaly painted in Olive Drab or Desert Pink to make them harder to spot when parked on the ground. Naturally, this served no particular benefit for them in the air, especially for the famed [[WeHaveReserves massive bomber formations]] with their massive collection of contrails being impossible to miss on a clear day, and the Germans had radar anyways. By the end of the war, the USAAF had given up on this entirely and instead elected to send the planes into combat using only necessary identification markings (plus a strip of paint in front of the canopy to avoid sun glare), leaving them with a shiny metallic finish. This also saved a few hours per plane on the production lines(and a bit of weight), allowing the American industrial machine to crank out [[UpToEleven even more]] aircraft.

* ''Fanfic/AgesOfShadow'': Just before her FinalBattle with [[Anime/YuGiOh Yugi Moto]] {{Expy}} Trace, [[FallenHero Jade]]/[[PhysicalGod Yade Khan]] completely coats herself in molten gold.

* Just about every important military character in ''Anime/GlassFleet'', though Michel and Vetti's are the most noticeable. Justified in that ''Anime/GlassFleet'' is the French Revolution [[RecycledInSpace in space!]]

* ''Literature/BazilBroketail'': Heruta wears armor with gold highlights.

* Real-Life Inspiration for the page pic [[http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/fleet-admiral-in-the-imperial-japanese-navy-from-the-story-news-photo/188001928#fleet-admiral-in-the-imperial-japanese-navy-from-the-story-of-seventy-picture-id188001928 Fleet Admiral Togo Heihachiro.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Blind your foes with Sigmar's light.]]

You've just entered your country's military force. And everyone seems to have great dress uniforms. Really fancy, with actual silk and gold.

What? Those are ''combat'' uniforms?

* [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tsar_Nicholas_II_%26_King_George_V.JPG Imperial Russia and Britain.]]

*** The exception that proves the rule is Lord Louis Mountbatten (later [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]), British naval veteran and uncle to Prince Phillip, the Queen's late husband. A professional naval officer, Mountbatten served in both world wars, the second as an admiral in high strategic commands in India and southeastern Asia. The sheer scope and variety of his assignments and campaigns alone would make him one of the highest decorated members of the British military. But on top of all that, he was a member of the extended British royal family (besides his relation to Prince Phillip, he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria),[[note]]And had relations among European royalty; he was particularly closely related to the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian royals]], as his great-aunt Marie and his second cousin Alix married Alexander II and Nicholas II, respectively.[[/note]] and that put him front and center of the glittery metal explosion factory that is the British honours system. On top of the aforementioned earldom[[note]]Which was given special dispensation to be inherited through his daughters because by the time he got it (1) he had no sons and (2) his wife had stopped sleeping with him in favour of pretty much anyone else she fancied and everyone in high society knew it.[[/note]] and receiving appointments to four separate orders of chivalry, he was also entitled to various royals- or dignitaries-only awards and a smattering of other European chivalry inductions, enough so that by the end, the size, weight, and girth of his medals melted together could form a reasonably effective breastplate. And he ''gloried'' in his achievements, wearing all his awards to any occasion that called for it, even when the size of his medal bar blocked him from moving his left arm or when his ribbon rack rode up so high it extended above his shoulder like an extremely flamboyant hunchback.

*** The exception that proves the rule is Lord Louis Mountbatten (later [[UsefulNotes/KnightFever the Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]), British naval veteran and uncle to Prince Phillip, the Queen's late husband. A professional naval officer, Mountbatten served in both world wars, the second as an admiral in high strategic commands in India and southeastern Asia. The sheer scope and variety of his assignments and campaigns alone would make him one of the highest decorated members of the British military. But on top of all that, he was a member of the extended British royal family (besides his relation to Prince Phillip, he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria),[[note]]And had relations among European royalty; he was particularly closely related to the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian royals]], as his great-aunt Marie and his second cousin Alix married Alexander II and Nicholas II, respectively.[[/note]] and that put him front and center of the glittery metal explosion factory that is the British honors system. On top of receiving appointments to four separate orders of chivalry, he was also entitled to various royals- or dignitaries-only awards and a smattering of other European chivalry inductions, enough so that by the end, the size, weight, and girth of his medals melted together could form a reasonably effective breastplate. And he ''gloried'' in his achievements, wearing all his awards to any occasion that called for it, even when the size of his medal bar blocked him from moving his left arm or when his ribbon rack rode up so high it extended above his shoulder like an extremely flamboyant hunchback.

*** The exception that proves the rule is Lord Louis Mountbatten (later [[KnightFever the Earl Mountbatten of Burma]]), British naval veteran and uncle to Prince Phillip, the Queen's late husband. A professional naval officer, Mountbatten served in both world wars, the second as an admiral in high strategic commands in India and southeastern Asia. The sheer scope and variety of his assignments and campaigns alone would make him one of the highest decorated members of the British military. But on top of all that, he was a member of the extended British royal family (besides his relation to Prince Phillip, he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria),[[note]]And had relations among European royalty; he was particularly closely related to the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian royals]], as his great-aunt Marie and his second cousin Alix married Alexander II and Nicholas II, respectively.[[/note]] and that put him front and center of the glittery metal explosion factory that is the British honors system. On top of receiving appointments to four separate orders of chivalry, he was also entitled to various royals- or dignitaries-only awards and a smattering of other European chivalry inductions, enough so that by the end, the size, weight, and girth of his medals melted together could form a reasonably effective breastplate. And he ''gloried'' in his achievements, wearing all his awards to any occasion that called for it, even when the size of his medal bar blocked him from moving his left arm or when his ribbon rack rode up so high it extended above his shoulder like an extremely flamboyant hunchback.

*** The exception that proves the rule is Lord Louis Mountbatten, British naval veteran and uncle to Prince Phillip, the Queen's late husband. A professional naval officer, Mountbatten served in both world wars, the second as an admiral in high strategic commands in India and southeastern Asia. The sheer scope and variety of his assignments and campaigns alone would make him one of the highest decorated members of the British military. But on top of all that, he was a member of the extended British royal family (besides his relation to Prince Phillip, he was a great-grandson of Queen Victoria),[[note]]And had relations among European royalty; he was particularly closely related to the [[UsefulNotes/TsaristRussia Russian royals]], as his great-aunt Marie and his second cousin Alix married Alexander II and Nicholas II, respectively.[[/note]] and that put him front and center of the glittery metal explosion factory that is the British honors system. On top of receiving appointments to four separate orders of chivalry, he was also entitled to various royals- or dignitaries-only awards and a smattering of other European chivalry inductions, enough so that by the end, the size, weight, and girth of his medals melted together could form a reasonably effective breastplate. And he ''gloried'' in his achievements, wearing all his awards to any occasion that called for it, even when the size of his medal bar blocked him from moving his left arm or when his ribbon rack rode up so high it extended above his shoulder like an extremely flamboyant hunchback.

** Second is the players who show great love for Bling as true Orokin descendants, buying a lot of [[Main/BadassCape badass capes]] and various decorative armor elements for donate currency. So the game earned FanNickname "Fashionframe" and developers at one point made a special tool that allows to safely create fancy screenshots.

* King Cailan Theirin from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is decked out in massive ''gold'' armor. Sophia Dryden's armor might count as well, considering how fancy and decorative it looks. The knight Ser Nancine has a jewel encrusted sword. The item is specifically labeled as "Ser Nancine's Ornamental Sword" in your inventory, and the description calls it "gaudy".

* King Cailan Theirin from ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'' is decked out in massive ''gold'' armor. Sophia Dryden's armor might count as well, considering how fancy and decorative it looks.

* In the ''ComicBook/WhatIf'' story "What If Doctor Doom Had Become A Hero" Doom still wears a version of his traditional armor, but instead it's a [[http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6xoH967aC00/S4l-pMyhCwI/AAAAAAAAW2U/nq4RzI949gg/s400/wif22-2.jpg shining golden number]] that makes him look like a KnightInShiningArmor - even as a good guy, Victor will ''always'' have his AwesomeEgo.

* ''Fanfic/CyclesUponCycles'': Legion, after [[spoiler: the Geth becomes a protectorate of the Protoss,]] gains itself a shiny gold platform.

** Otherwise averted for the Empire as a whole, as they wear eminently practical uniforms. The novel ''Literature/{{Tarkin}}'' reveals that [[DefiedTrope Tarkin designed the uniform specifically to avoid it]], purposefully going for the plain and leaving space only for the rank badge - the only decoration he believes appropriate for a military officer.

** Deconstructed - Ce'Nedra leads an army into battle wearing a suit of armor made entirely of pure gold but knows exactly how impractical it is in an actual fight. She uses it entirely to serve as an inspirational figure to bolster the troops morale.

* In ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' the male MirrorUniverse uniforms aren't that different (except maybe for Kirk's) but the women's uniforms include a bare midrif - and a ceremonial but very effective dagger for any male crewman who crosses the line.

* ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' has the plane of Bant, where this is standard dress for soldiers. It's justified in that war in Bant is so heavily tied to a code of honour that no one uses ambushes or sneak attacks - Bant soldiers don't even wear armour on the back of their bodies because no one ever dares to sneak up on them from behind.

* Lyude from ''VideoGame/BatenKaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean'' is an ambassador connected to the Imperial Army, so he can be somewhat forgiven for his extravagant military-esque outfit and apparently brass-plated gun-horn - although his brother and sister, actual soldiers, have no such excuse.

* ''VideoGame/BionicCommando: Rearmed'' features the 1st and 2nd division, led by an officer in fancy dress - complete with so many medals that he's bulletproof [[spoiler:from frontal attacks.]]

* The ''Franchise/MassEffect'' universe is generally pretty restrained (or at least low on the sparkle), but some of the Krogan armour certainly qualifies, especially the [[http://images.wikia.com/masseffect/images/f/fd/Heavy-krogan-Warlord.png Warlord-class]] and [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/File:Heavy-krogan-Battlemaster.png Battlemaster-class]] lines. A JustifiedTrope in this case - the krogan don't really care about cover, they're naturally incredibly tough, and they certainly want their enemies to [[BloodKnight see them before they die]].

** The [[LargeAndInCharge Shadow]] [[TheChessmaster Broker]] wears [[spoiler: [[http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Shadow_Broker#Mass_Effect_2 a rather nice suit]]]].

** Third - everything above is about [[Main/CyberNinja ninjas]], so no enemy could ever guess that Tenno is one of them.

** Dress uniforms, especially that famous black SS uniforms with lots of leather and silver braid.
** The most impressive dress uniforms in terms of bling were those of the ''Kriegsmarine'', out of all arms, due to them sticking to the tradition of the Imperial Navy. An naval officer had at least 2 service dresses (blues / whites), a [[http://uboat.net/media/men/uniforms/daoff.jpg full dress]], a [[http://uboat.net/media/men/uniforms/kzsgrda.jpg parade dress]] (frilliest of them), a walking-out dress for city wear and an [[http://www.hermann-historica.de/auktion/hhm64.pl?f=NR_LOT&c=7178&t=temartic_R_D&db=kat64_3R.txt evening dress uniform]] (which could have also had a lot of decorations and a ceremonial dagger for even more formal events). They subverted the trope by wearing mostly the service dress or civilian jumpers and leather coats aboard ship.
** Oh, the uniforms of Reichsmarschall Göring. They couldn't even be called "uniforms" because they, well, [[CustomUniform weren't uniform]]. Perfectly tailored and designed by him, to reflect his unique position, self-aggrandizing titles, and the amount of loot he stole along the way. He also loved medals. His StaffOfAuthority was also superior to the regular officer's [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baton_(symbol) baton]]. There was a joke in Nazi Germany: "What is one gör? It's the maximum amount of metal a man can wear on his chest without tipping over."
** Regular officers of the Wehrmacht did not carry batons. The baton was the symbol of rank of Field Marshals. Goering, at his own urging, was made Reichsmarshall by Hitler, the only one ever, and thus his baton was gaudier then that of a mere Field Marshal. "Der Dicke" (the Fat One) did love his rank, power, and bling.
** Goring for the record was a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI fighter pilot and a legitimately successful one (he was the Red Baron's squadron XO). The Luftwaffe under his command achieved several great successes. So, with the caveat, his bling would have been impressive enough had he just kept the medals he had legitimately earned, but for some reason, he went excessive.
* Golden-Age of Piracy pirates liked to wear their treasure, making it harder to steal. Bartholomew Roberts wandered around with a giant, diamond-studded cross on a chain around his neck.

* [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/84/Tsar_Nicholas_II_%26_King_George_V.JPG Imperial Russia and Britain.]]

* Leonid Brezhnev was so fond of the Bling of War that he awarded himself loads of improbable awards, including UsefulNotes/WorldWarII awards as late as the 1970s--including the Order of Victory, a diamond-and-ruby affair awarded to a few (as in less than 20) top commanders, which Brezhnev could hardly count himself among (the other members included the likes of Stalin, Marshal Zhukov, and Marshal Rokossovsky among the Soviets, and Bernard Montgomery and frickin' UsefulNotes/DwightDEisenhower among the Western Allies). He also awarded himself the coveted Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labour awards for such [[SarcasmMode momentous achievements]] as his birthday (Brezhnev was one of only two individuals -- the other being Marshal Zhukov, the conqueror of Berlin -- to receive ''four'' Hero of the Soviet Union medals). This eventually got to the point where a [[RussianHumor a common Soviet joke of the era]] was about Brezhnev needing chest expansion surgery to accommodate an ever-increasing number of medals. After his death, a number of award regulations were [[ObviousRulePatch changed to specifically exclude the awards being granted for things such as birthdays]], and his Order of Victory was outright revoked.

* In ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' before the final battle at Chichen Itza, Lea fulfils the tradition of Faerie Godmothers creating magnificent CostumePorn clothes. As she says, she 'never got the chance to indulge'. She and Susan dress Harry up in all sorts of things, but settle on a gold embossed magically enhanced suit of conquistador armour. He complains that he looks like the Games Workshop version of a Jedi Knight. It's still awesome.
** Susan has a magical costume which seems to be a wry nod to the habit of female heroes armour being more for FanService than practicality. Sure it's sexy - as Sanya remarks on seeing her, 'sometimes I love this job' - but Lea shows its effectiveness by having her servant shoot Susan. The bullet is flattened and Susan doesn't even feel it. It also lets her turn invisible at will.
* Creator/DanAbnett's Literature/GauntsGhosts series:
** Contrasting the Ghosts' uniforms to those of [[BlueBlood aristocratic]] units always shows the Ghosts' as more subdued. (Better for subterfuge at any rate.) Conversely, one mark that they can integrate with the Belladon soldiers is that the Belladons take their advice about darkening their insignia so it doesn't show up on the battlefield.
** ''First and Only'':
*** The Vitrian Dragoons regiment all wear very shiny armor, but this is subverted in that the armor is actually adaptive camouflage;
*** General Dravere, a textbook [[ArmchairMilitary Armchair General]], insists on wearing all of his medals on his uniform, at all times (his former superior, Warmaster Slaydo, who despised him, derisively nicknamed him "The Old Gong");
** ''His Last Command'': the Dev Hetra, being NewMeat and {{Blue Blood}}s, are very fancifully dressed. They in fact scorn Ludd because his clothing is rumpled after running over a battlefield to reach them.
* In Creator/JamesSwallow's ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' Literature/BloodAngels novel ''Red Fury'', when the Blood Angels and Flesh Tearers meet, one of the Blood Angels suspects that -- with the Flesh Tearers' unadorned power armor and the gold filigree, rubies, votive chains and other adornment on the Blood Angels' -- the Flesh Tearers take them for peacocks.
* The Literature/InheritanceCycle has Fadawar, who wears golden armour, although this may simply be a ceremonial dress uniform (although, it says a lot for his strength that he can walk about in it).
* Averted in the Literature/{{Lensman}} novels. Most of the Galactic Patrol wears flashy dress uniforms, but the uniform of an Unattached Lensman is plain gray leather with no ornamentation at all.
* Ras the Exhorter in ''Literature/InvisibleMan'' applies this trope heavily after becoming [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Ras the Destroyer]], though rather than using gold and such, he wears "the costume of an Abyssinian chieftain." The narrator mocks him for it, but at least the spear comes in handy.
* In Creator/LoisMcMasterBujold's ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', combat takes place in the normal spacesuit/armored suit, but the noncombat uniforms are impressive. Barrayar has "undress greens" (typical daily wear), "dress greens" (fancier, for formal occasions such as parties or weddings), and most formal of all, "parade red-and-blues" (for major governmental functions such as the Emperor's Birthday; high collar, tall boots, and ''two'' ceremonial swords). Plus, Vor are allowed to wear their medals with their House colors. In ''Literature/{{Memory}}'', Miles Vorkosigan, off to talk to the Emperor, pulls out all of his medals and puts them on with his House colors, for effectively the first time. Even he hadn't realized what a collection he had. (The Emperor's reaction upon seeing him: "Good God".)
** The "House colors" are a riot. Sixty districts, each with a different pair of heraldic colors, and wearing them at major occasions. Vorkosigans are lucky, with a restrained brown and silver, and some (such as the Vorpatril blue and gold) are bona-fide impressive, but some...

** Note that ceremonial reds-and-blues are just the House Colors of the ruling Vorbarra clan, all Barrayaran military legally just being their official retainers. They also use the cut inhherited from the Times of Isolation, which looks vaguely Napoleonic.

** The Borogravians in ''Literature/MonstrousRegiment'' also sport the redcoat look, of which Polly notes the exact same objection to wearing in a grey forest.

* In Neil Rutledge's ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' story ''Small Cog'', played with, with enthusiasm. The forces were on a ceremonial duty when the attack came. On one hand, this let them get to their current position in time to defend. On the other hand, they were in ceremonial uniforms. The colonel is ''not'' pleased with the latter fact.

* Both played straight and subverted in ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''.
** The Imperium of Man (or should I say [=PIMPerium=]) pretty much defines this trope. See for yourself: [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/3/3f/Emperor_VS_Horus.jpg The God Emperor of Mankind,]] who might just as well be the avatar of Bling, his own [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/8/82/Custodes_terminators.jpg Adeptus Custodes Terminators,]] and a [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/a/af/Venerable_Dreadnought.jpg Space Marine Venerable Dreadnought,]] which is basically enshrinement taken literally. The {{Space Marine}}s and Grey Knights have all kind of skulls, eagles and junk on their PoweredArmor. Supposedly, some of them are "blessed" to be useful. And the [[EvilCounterpart Chaos Space Marines]] [[SpikesOfVillainy seem to have a spike fetish]], but they kinda use them, at least. Sanguinius excels all others in this respect as he is described in the Horus Heresy series, wearing his fancy armour with a web of jewelled chains on his head and [[WingedHumanoid wings]].
*** At first glance, the model of Ultramarines Second Company Captain Cato Sicarius makes you think, "Wow, that's a lot of bling, looks pretty gaudy to me." Then you read his fluff, and you realize that ''he earned every single piece of that bling on the battlefield.'' Then suddenly his bling is less gaudy and more ''badass.''
*** Parodied with Marneus Calgar of Ultramarines aka [[FanNickname Papa Smurf]], the biggest pimp in the galaxy as can be seen [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Marneus_Calgar here]].[[note]]Original official art that they Photoshopped [[http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Marneus_Calgar here]][[/note]]
** Averted by the Dark Angels, who wear plain robes over their armor to denote rank. Higher ranking members will still get some awesome gear, it just won't be as flashy as other chapter's.
** With the Imperial Guard, it tends to be a mishmash. Take the Cadians for example. They wear practical body armour in camouflage colours, and tend to resemble contemporary soldiers. But they're quite likely to be fighting alongside a chap looking like [[http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m2510144_99060105261_IGLordCommissar_873x627.jpg this]] or [[http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1241869_99060105222_IGEnginseer1main_445x319.jpg this]].
*** Don't forget [[http://www.games-workshop.com/MEDIA_CustomProductCatalog/m1440155_99060105135_lordsolarmacharius_873x627.jpg Lord Solar Macharius.]]
** The whole point behind the difference between Imperial Guardsmen and Space Marines is that Guardsmen are effectively regular soldiers; Space Marines on the other hand dress to impress because they ''want you'' to see them coming so you can ''[[TheDreaded piss your pants]]'' before [[CurbStompBattle they destroy you]].
--->'''CAMOUFLAGE IS THE COLOUR OF FEAR'''
** Done by the Mordian Iron Guard regiment, who wear fantastically gaudy dress uniforms into war. Many enemies have been fatally surprised to discover that the flashy uniforms are being worn by fiercely disciplined and competent soldiers. The concepts of coloured uniforms helping morale similar to their use in Napoleanic Warfare's smoky battlefields likely applies to the Mordians as well, amplified by them frequently fighting [[BrownNote the bowel-voidingly disturbing forces of Chaos]] and how the side of the planet Mordia everyone lives on (the other side being burning and over-lit) is without sunlight.
** It's not limited to armor either: Commissar Yarrick owns a pimped-up [[TankGoodness Baneblade]] called the [[AceCustom Fortress of Arrogance]].
*** Then people try to [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gTkB1dNnfY surpass it...]]
** The Imperium as a whole has a tendency to try and make anything bigger than a jetbike resemble a cathedral. And we're not talking about a subtle, restrained cathedral here, [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Emperor_Titan it's the full Notre Dame effect.]]
** There is some kind of irony in fact that aforementioned space marines and also [[Main/ChurchMilitant Adepta Soroitas]] use Rhino transports aka METHUL BAWKSES which are definition of BoringButPractical and carry no Bling at all, or at least compared to the people inside. And human wearpons also have tendency to be boring and [[Main/OurWeaponsWillBeBoxyInTheFuture boxy]] beause their design belongs to the time when humanity was not so fond of Bling.
** Orks bling it up, too. It's just that instead of skull moldings and gold, they go for...skulls. And helmets. On sticks. As a way of honoring a worthy opponent.
*** Of course, defined by the Bad Moons clan, and the Flash Gitz in particular, who believe the richer and flashier they are, the more powerful they are. They even have their gretchin talk big about them just to make other, less fortunate orks jealous. Of course, instead of rising to any kind of position of power in their clans, they instead get booted out for being too self-absorbed in their wealth. They usually end up as mercenaries for various xenos species in the galaxy... or as [[SpacePirates Korsairs]]. The orks are never ''too'' insulted by this though, because any ork that is hard enough can just mug them if he wants their wealth.
*** Imperial Bling of War works against humans when fighting orks: since to the LargeAndInCharge-following orks, all humans are the same size, they figure the 'umiez solve the "who's in charge" problem by giving their leaders bigger and awesomer hats (which is true to an extent). Which is why many a CommissarCap has been removed from its owner's head (and the head from the body as well) to be put on an ork warboss as a symbol of authority.
** Eldar are mostly relatively restrained, just going for functional bling like magic gems that increase their magic power, but Eldrad goes a bit over the top.
*** Well, [[http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh19/Mordheimer/40k%20Motivational%20Posters/40kEldar.jpg sometimes,]] at least.
*** Eldar can go either way largely because each of their Aspect Warrior castes have specific uniforms. This ranges from the dark and intimidating [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dark_Reaper Dark Reapers]] who seem to be aiming for a "Death in armour with a missile launcher" look; right the way up to the [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Fire_Dragon Fire Dragons]] who, true to their name, wear bright orange armour with yellow helmets. Special characters, as so often happens, [[UpToEleven turn this way up]]; [[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Asurmen Asurmen]] being a great example with blue and gold armour, an enormous red helmet with a crest and a huge flag on his back.

*** [[https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Yvraine Yvraine]] and [[https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/The_Visarch Visarch]] are two highest peaks of eldar blingness. In Visarch's case this is even {{lampshaded}}: the style of his armor is from GoldenAge of eldar which Ynnary try to return.

** All high level commanders in the 40k universe are guilty of this trope. This is made especially apparent in the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' series, particularly in Dark Crusade when your respective commander gains all of the available wargear. That's when they look REALLY fancy.
*** Except Tau, who are more pragmatic and whose commanders look little different from their other [[InstantAwesomeJustAddMecha mecha]]. That said, they tend to be identified by having the more unique battle equipment, as higher ranking Tau are trusted with more experimental, or custom designed equipment suited for them, such as a simple monocle eye piece that works as a HUD that scans weak points in an opponents armor and anatomy, or simple gauntlet design that essentially acts as an ultra powerful High Explosive Anti Tank round with each punch, or a giant battle suit that makes use of an experimental Dark Matter powered reactor that carry's vehicle grade weapons. The closest the Tau ever come to guady, are it's Ethereals, who are more spiritual leaders of the Tau, and thus, their gear doubles as symbols of their office, Commander Far Sight, who just has some cloth strips tied to his armor with Tau writing on it, and carries a artifact sword he found that is also very powerful, and Commander Shadowsun, who despite wearing gleaming white armor, is actually wearing a ''Stealth suit'' equipped with optic camouflage systems.
*** The [[BugWar Tyranids]] also avoid gaudyness, as theircommanders' bling is [[{{Squick}} more bio-enhancement evolutions]].