History Main / DressedInLayers

* The iconic opening shot of ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' has James Bond emerging from the ocean in a wetsuit which he unzips to reveal he's wearing a tuxedo. This was inspired by the real-life intelligence agent [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tazelaar Peter Tazelaar]], who [[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7601274/The-secret-war-mission-that-inspired-Goldfinger-scene.html did the same during WW2]] to infiltrate a German-occupied castle in Scheveningen during a reception. The scene was added to the film by script doctor Paul Dehn, who knew Tazelaar during the war.

** In ''Film/SpiderManNoWayHome'' the Raimi version of Peter Parker is introduced wearing plain street clothes. When asked if he needs to borrow a suit for the final battle he pulls down the collar of his t-shirt to reveal that he still wears his Spider-Man suit under his clothes at all times, just in case.

In short, when the character wears their costume or uniform under his regular clothing for quick changing when there's evil afoot. Also not regular ol' dressing in layers, like the [[StockCostumeTraits Stock Costume Trait]] for the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent.

*** Subverted in ''Comicbook/Millennium1988'' when [[Characters/SupermanSupportingCast Lana Lang]], controlled by the Manhunters, tried to expose Clark as Superman by ripping open his shirt in the Daily Planet offices. As it turns out, Clark is thanking his lucky stars that he happened to not be wearing his supersuit that day and so Lana was stunned to find only his bare chest.
*** In ''Comicbook/SupermanBrainiac'' Clark is talking to [[Characters/SupermanLoisLane Lois Lane]] when his super-hearing senses an emergency. Quickly he rips his shirt, revealing his costume beneath.

* Done by Gonzo in ''Film/TheMuppets''. Turns out he's been wearing his stuntman outfit under his work clothes every day for the past 20 years so he can be prepared the day the rest of the Muppets come to get the old gang back together.

* In ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Heart Gold/Soul Silver]]'' the player is required to disguise themselves as a Rocket Grunt to enter the Team Rocket controlled radio tower. TheRival appears and, recognizing them, removes their uniform. In the game the player simply reverts to their default sprites (somehow managing to hide their hat under it), in the COPIOUS amount of fanart of said scene... [[{{Rule 34}} not so much]].

* It's implied Team Rocket from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' does this since their reveals involve pulling off their disguise to reveal the uniform underneath. Even when James' [[CreepyCrossdresser female]] {{disguise|dInDrag}} is quite skimpy. And almost anytime they get to hide gloves under bare hands.

** Franchise/{{Superman}} in all his adaptations:

*** Subverted in ''Comicbook/Millennium1988'' when Comicbook/LanaLang, controlled by the Manhunters, tried to expose Clark as Superman by ripping open his shirt in the Daily Planet offices. As it turns out, Clark is thanking his lucky stars that he happened to not be wearing his supersuit that day and so Lana was stunned to find only his bare chest.
*** In ''Comicbook/SupermanBrainiac'' Clark is talking to Comicbook/LoisLane when his super-hearing senses an emergency. Quickly he rips his shirt, revealing his costume beneath.
** Franchise/{{Batman}} usually. Sometimes shown having his costume in his briefcase.
** ''Franchise/GreenLantern'': Hal Jordan used to wear his uniform under his clothes in UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|OfComicBooks}}, but he eventually realized he does not have to bother when he can simply use his power ring to change his clothes into that outfit.
** When Comicbook/{{Supergirl}} appeared in ''ComicBook/{{Batgirl 2009}}'' #14, both girls enjoyed a pleasant (and normal) night at Comicbook/{{Batgirl}}'s college campus. Later, [[ItMakesSenseInContext after the sudden appearance of 24 Draculas]], the two realized that they would need to cut their night-off short and save the day. Supergirl [[ClothingDamage ripped off her top]] to reveal her costume beneath it, then turned to Batgirl:

** Notably averted by Barry Allen, Franchise/TheFlash, who kept his costume compressed in his ring. When released, the costume expanded to full size. Perhaps implausible scientifically, but it allowed Barry to wear ordinary clothes and avoid this trope... except that every once in a while, they indicated that the Flash followed this trope ''in reverse''. Supposedly, the Flash wore his costume ''over'' his regular clothes, which themselves were somehow super-compressed to give him his usual "skintight costume" appearance! Most fans [[FanonDiscontinuity sensibly ignore]] these occasional revelations, particularly since the hero is more than fast enough to change clothes and hide his regular outfit... or, heck, even ''run home'' and neatly fold his clothes before putting them away in his closet, without missing a beat.
** ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} had an unusual variation on this trope in her earliest adventures. Barbara Gordon wore clothes that would be ''converted'' into parts of her Batgirl outfit. For example, her beret unrolled to become Batgirl's cowl, and her reversible skirt, when removed, became a cape. After a couple stories, the writers evidently noticed certain flaws in this arrangement (most notably, the requirement that Barbara always wear pretty much [[LimitedWardrobe the same exact outfit]]), and in later stories either showed her changing at home, or didn't go into detail about how she managed to change elsewhere.

** When Tim Drake was still ComicBook/{{Robin}} he wore the tunic and pants portion of his Robin suit under his civilian clothes on occasion, though he normally just carried it in a hidden inner pocket of his backpack. The only times he's seen with it on under his shirt it was on days he didn't have school so presumably he didn't wear it at school where the risk of it being noticed by people who knew him was higher.

** Franchise/SpiderMan. Though he's sometimes shown having his costume in his backpack. He's also one of the few superheroes who can rival Superman with the iconic shirt open reveal. And his daughter, Comicbook/SpiderGirl does it too once or twice.

** ComicBook/CaptainAmerica used to wear his suit ''and his shield, strapped to his back'', under his civilian clothes. This got {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the ''[[ComicBook/SpiderHam Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider Ham]]'' series, where Captain Americat did the same thing. Peter questions this and Cap says "My tailor is ''very'' good."

* ''Film/UndercoverBrother''

** In her unaired "pilot reel" (used to sell the network on the proposed new character), ComicBook/{{Batgirl}} ''did'' follow this trope, converting her regular clothing into Batgirl's costume using the same method as in her first comic book appearances (see above.) In the actual series, however, she changed clothes the old-fashioned way -- off camera.

* Done in early episodes of ''Series/LoisAndClark'', before they decided on spinning into costume instead. On one occasion, Clark is wearing a shirt with the top two buttons undone, and clearly isn't wearing his costume underneath it. Then there's a shift of camera angle, and suddenly the shirt is buttoned to the neck, just in time for him to rip it open...

* On ''Series/SavedByTheBell'' Slater would take off his school clothes to dance for Jessie in tights. He would repeat this in a 2015 skit on ''Series/TheTonightShow'' with Creator/JimmyFallon.

* Subverted in [[http://kerrycallen.blogspot.com/2012/07/super-embarrassing.html this web art]]. In one, Franchise/WonderWoman pulls open her shirt only to reveal her bra, not her supersuit. In the other, Franchise/{{Superman}} has an even worse fate.

* Played for laughs during the Nordverse skits on CriticalRole, where Cryptonic Override routinely rips off her sunglasses to reveal another pair of sunglasses underneath.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''

* ''WesternAnimation/SuperTed'' takes this to an similar extreme. [=SuperTed=] would unzip his fur to reveal his costume, then unzip his costume to reveal his fur afterwards, infinitely.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', when Robin is forced to go to a prom with a girl. At one point he rips off his prom suit to reveal his costume - including the gloves, even though his hands had been bare while he was in the suit. An unusual example of this trope because Robin was still wearing his mask and not concealing his heroic identity (on this show, secret identities are a non-issue, with heroes being in that persona 24/7). Presumably, he was just wearing the suit because it was a formal occasion.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'': The episode "The Sweaters" has Carlton give Gumball one of his sweaters as a sign of respect, but not before taking off all of the ones he has on his body, shoulders and waist. [[OverlyLongGag He removes nine sweaters in total.]]

* In the first season finale of ''Series/{{Hawkeye}}'', the Hawkeyes attend a formal dinner party in an attempt to thwart the assassination of [[spoiler: Kate's mother]]. Yelena Belova is there to kill Clint. throughout the episode, each of them get their outerwear removed to reveal their costumes underneath.

In short, when the character wears their costume or uniform under his regular clothing for quick changing when there's evil afoot. Also not regular ol' dressing in layers, like the HollywoodDressCode for the OrdinaryHighSchoolStudent.

** Comicbook/PowerGirl follows this trope, especially as drawn by Amanda Conner. Conner is one of the few artists to clearly put a lot of thought into making this trope ''plausible'' as something a real person might actually do. Karen Starr's outfits are carefully chosen to work with her costume. She usually wears bulky sweaters, and scarves to cover up the Power Girl costume's high collar. And she frequently wears Power Girl's big, serious ''boots'' with these outfits, though somewhat disguised by colorful leggings. "Non-concealable" pieces, like her cape and gloves, go into a gym bag. It's not only believable, but it gives Karen Starr her own unique style that's quirky, a little kooky, and even sexy, considering how much is covered up.
** Comicbook/TheAtom originally had an inverted version of this trope. Namely, his costume is worn ''outside'' his civilian clothes, but it's a special tough material stretched so thin, it's invisible. Only when he shrinks significantly does it become visible.
** When Tim Drake was still [[ComicBook/RobinSeries Robin]] he wore the tunic and pants portion of his Robin suit under his civilian clothes on occasion, though he normally just carried it in a hidden inner pocket of his backpack. The only times he's seen with it on under his shirt it was on days he didn't have school so presumably he didn't wear it at school where the risk of it being noticed by people who knew him was higher.

*** Subverted in ''Comicbook/{{Millennium}}'' when Comicbook/LanaLang, controlled by the Manhunters, tried to expose Clark as Superman by ripping open his shirt in the Daily Planet offices. As it turns out, Clark is thanking his lucky stars that he happened to not be wearing his supersuit that day and so Lana was stunned to find only his bare chest.

* In ''Skyrim'', the female Forsworn armor covers less than the default underwear.

Sometimes, the "under" clothes somehow cover more than the outer layer. Depending on the work, this can be carefully justified, handwaved, ignored or for comedies, lampshaded.

Contrast GoingCommando, SexyCoatFlashing and NakedInMink, which are about people wearing fewer layers than is usual.

* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', during the first invasion of Konoha, the Third Hokage [[FlungClothing flings off his clothes]] to reveal a full suit of armour. Apparently he was wearing it under his Hokage robes [[ProperlyParanoid just in case he was attacked]]. Quite a few character seemingly wear some kind of chainmail vests under their shirts, Naruto included, though for some of them at least a little is visible through their shirts.
* It's implied Team Rocket from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' does this, since their reveals involve pulling off their disguise to reveal the uniform underneath. Even when James' [[CreepyCrossdresser female]] {{disguise|dInDrag}} is quite skimpy. And almost anytime they get to hide gloves under bare hands.

** Near the end of a story Paperinik, got dipped by marking ink. The defeated villain started bragging that at least he'd expose Paperinik's secret identity, as his face was covered in ink too... At which point Paperinik revealed he was wearing a full body suit, [[LatexPerfection including his face, mask and hat]], over his costume.
** More often Paperinik disguises himself as Donald for some reason, and wears a Donald suit over his superhero costume.

* Lampshaded in ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy''. Ganke insists that Miles wear his costume benaeth his civilian clothes, but all that really gets him is a smelly spandex costume after all the sweat it accumulated throughout the day.

** At the beginning of the movie, Undercover Brother wore his normal outfit under a janitor's uniform. When some security guards grabbed at him the removed the uniform and exposed his regular clothes.

* In ''Series/{{Community}}'' episode [[Recap/CommunityS1E14InterpretiveDance "Interpretive Dance"]], Troy uses rip away clothing to disguise the fact that he is taking a dance class.

* In ''Series/{{Glee}}'', Kurt Hummel does this during his big audition for NYADA: he comes out onstage wearing a tuxedo, cape and mask for 'Music of the Night' from ''Phantom of the Opera'', but when he realizes his auditor will be bored senseless by hearing the song for the millionth time, rips away the tux to reveal a black blouse and skintight gold pants, and proceeds to sing 'Not the Boy Next Door' from ''The Boy From Oz'' instead.
* In ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'', Ralph wears his supersuit under his clothes, although he finds removing his outer outfit an really time-consuming process. On the other hand, when he tried giving up the suit, he was later in the middle of a shoot out and he was terrified that for the first time he was not wearing what is essentially the ultimate BulletproofVest.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "Heat Wave", Mr. Boynton, Harriet Conklin, Walter Denton and Stretch Snodgrass are wearing bathing suits underneath their regular clothes, covertly plotting an escape from school and a trip to the swimming hole. [[spoiler: In the end, it so happens Miss Brooks is wearing a bathing suit underneath her regular clothes as well.]]

* Mickey and Riku in ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''. At various points, they both tear off their full-length hooded trenchcoats to reveal their civilian clothes underneath. This is a canon side effect of putting on the coat. It automatically causes the clothes worn beneath it to change to those seen in-game, and to include a pair of black gloves and boots. If gloves are already being worn, then they will change to the black set.

* Bellezza in ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' does this. She dramatically pulls off her outfit to reveal her uniform... that covers more then the outfit she had on before. It also changes her hairstyle.

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': Peter, Cleveland and Quagmire are dressed as waiters at a fancy dinner party at the Pewterschmits' mansion and are planning to rob their vault. They rip off their tuxes to reveal black 'thieving' clothes underneath, complete with black stocking caps.

* Lampshaded in ''Fanfic/AmazingFantasy''. May and Ganke insist that Miles wear his costume benaeth his civilian clothes, but all that really gets him is a smelly spandex costume after all the sweat it accumulated throughout the day.

* Parodied in the ''VideoGame/LegoDimensions'' level based on ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoBatmanMovie'', in which Dick can tear off his Robin outfit to reveal the Nightwing suit underneath it, and then rip ''that'' off to reveal the Robin suit again. When Batman asks how he can wear long pants under short pants, he replies "I don't know!"