History Main / DressingToDie

* In ''Film/TheFamily'', Belle takes a [[VirginInAWhiteDress white dress]], implied to be her mother's wedding dress, and her mother's pearls when [[DrivenToSuicide she goes to kill herself]]. She doesn't end up jumping, but the intent is there, as she is heartbroken after the man she gave her virginity to (and sex is SeriousBusiness to her) says that it was nice but doesn't want to be with her over the phone after avoiding her. Her family about to be relocated and her realising she's never going to have any sort of quiet life she wants is also a contributing factor.
* In ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'' some of the men are seen returning to their rooms to change into their formal suits when they realise that they're going down with the ship. The captain also goes to put on his Captain's hat and jacket, parts of the official regalia not usually worn when actually captaining a ship but for ceremonial purposes, when he chooses to stay on the bridge. Benjamin Guggenheim, one of the First Class passengers who remained aboard, declines a life jacket offered by a steward by saying "We are dressed in our best and [[FaceDeathWithDignity prepared to go down like gentlemen]]. [[INeedAFreakingDrink But we would like a brandy!]]". The first half of the quote is reportedly one of the last things [[TruthInTelevision the real Benjamin Guggenheim was heard saying]].
* In ''Film/AFewGoodMen'', Lt. Col. Markinson donned his full dress Marine uniform before he AteHisGun.
* In ''Film/TheGuard'', Sergeant Boyle puts on his full Dress Uniform before he heads out to face off the drug smugglers possibly single handedly, since [[PoliceAreUseless the rest of the police force has been bought off by the drug dealers, so they intentionally guarding the wrong docks.]]

* In ''Film/TheShawshankRedemption'' Brooks puts on his suit and straightens his tie in the mirror before hanging himself.

* ''Film/{{Killshot}}'': The old man whom mafia hitman Blackbird kills in the opening decides that he'd rather die with some decent clothes when Blackbird catches him walking out of the shower.
* A very subtle, subtextual example in ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'', as confirmed by WordOfGod, is that Gary King dresses in his high school clothes for this reason. He drags his friends along on OneLastFieldTrip to recreate the last time in his life that he felt things were going well, with the implication that afterward he intends to kill himself.
* In ''Film/GranTorino'', Walt gets himself fitted for a suit specifically because he knows he'll get murdered by the Hmong gangsters in a ThanatosGambit[=/=]unintentional MercyKill.
* In the film version of ''Literature/HouseOfSandAndFog'', Colonel Behrani puts on his uniform before committing suicide.
* In ''Film/ThePatriot'', Maj. Villeneuve shows up for the film's climactic battle (against the numerically superior British forces) in a [[BlingOfWar very fancy French uniform]]. When Benjamin Martin gives him a funny look, Villeneuve explains, "If I die, I will die well-dressed."

* ''Film/ScentOfAWoman'': Retired Lt. Col. Frank Slade gets dressed in his full uniform before he finally decides to kill himself. Charlie, a young man responsible for chaperoning him, convinces him to not kill himself.

* ''Film/DeepImpact:'' Shortly after learning that nobody over the age of 50 will be eligible for the emergency bunkers Jenny Lerner's mother is seen choosing an evening gown, doing her make-up and putting on her jewelry. The next scene is Jenny getting a phone call from a hospital where she collects her mother's necklace, implying that the mother [[DrivenToSuicide chose to end her own life]] rather than wait to die when the comet hit.
* ''Film/DeadtimeStoriesVolume2'': In "On Sabbath Hill", Allison very carefully does her hair, puts on her favourite earrings and perfume, and dons a sexy low-cut green dress before blowing her brains out in the middle of Professor Weaver's classroom.

* The end of the ''Manga/DeathNote'' anime heavily implies that Misa throws herself off a building. She dresses herself in a black gothic lolita style.

SuperTrope to BarefootSuicide. Often leads to FrozenFashionSense when the character was from the past and gets resurrected. In some cases the character might just want to avoid [[JacobMarleyApparel looking ridiculous in the afterlife]].

SuperTrope to BarefootSuicide. Often leads to FrozenFashionSense when the character was from the past and gets resurrected. The character might also want to avoid [[JacobMarleyApparel looking ridiculous in the afterlife]], just in case.

SuperTrope to BarefootSuicide. Often leads to FrozenFashionSense when the character was from the past and gets resurrected.

* In ''Film/{{Downfall}}'', SS officer Hermann Fegelein is roused out of bed by armed soldiers and pulled out into the streets of Berlin. When the commander of the detachment orders him to halt and reaches for his gun, Fegelein hurriedly buttons his jacket and snaps to attention before being shot.

[[quoteright:350:[[Film/AFewGoodMen https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/601px_fgm_beretta3.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:He wanted to look his best before he {{ate his gun}}.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:He wanted to look his best before he AteHisGun.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/601px_fgm_beretta3.jpg]]

When a character knows they are going to die - possibly by suicide, execution, going to fight with terrible odds, or a case of YourDaysAreNumbered - they may prepare to FaceDeathWithDignity by laying out clothes or finding a nice outfit to die in.

[[folder:FanWorks]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action Television]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]

[[folder:WebComics]]

[[folder:Web Video]]

[[folder:WebComics]]
* In ''WebComic/HeroOhHero'', [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Daryl]] is seen wearing his old Captain of the Guard uniform. Everyone's wondering why he [[HesBack didn't come to reclaim his old job]] and they realise he's probably going to commit SuicideByCop by challenging the hero (who he blamed for the situation).
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* In ''WebVideo/DarkDungeons,'' Marcie changes out of her Black Leaf costume and back into her normal "good girl" clothes before hanging herself.

[[folder:{{Comics}}]]
* The French comic ''Le Vent des Dieux'', set in feudal Japan, has one samurai always go to battle in his finest BlingOfWar, as to wear any less would dishonor his enemy. He ends up ready to die standing against the enemy's entire cavalry force, who proceed to ignore him entirely, made even worse when the lord denies him the right to commit seppuku.

* ''Film/DeepImpact:'' Shortly after learning that nobody over the age of 50 will be eligible for the emergency bunkers Jenny Lener's mother is seen choosing an evening gown, doing her make-up and putting on her jewelry. The next scene is Jenny getting a phone call from a hospital where she collects her mother's necklace, implying that the mother [[DrivenToSuicide chose to end her own life]] rather than wait to die when the comet hit.

* Invoked in the ''Frozen'' two-shot ''Fanfic/ByTheHandsOfThePeople'', which revolves around a RulingFamilyMassacre. Princess Anna is dressed in a black dress with red trimmings while Queen Elsa is dressed in a pure black dress the day they're assassinated.

* In ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'' some of the men are seen returning to their rooms to change into their formal suits when they realise that they're going down with the ship. The captain also goes to put on his Captain's hat and jacket, parts of the official regalia not usually worn when actually captaining a ship but for ceremonial purposes, when he chooses to stay on the bridge.