History Main / EarnedStripes

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' / ''Franchise/SuperSentai'': The leader of a ranger team almost always has a red uniform. Certain members of the team have earned it through their actions, Tommy being the first to come to mind. The series sometimes subverts the earning it part with {{Rookie Red Ranger}}s however, and on at least one occasion Red was an ordinary member and White (also Tommy) outranked him. Another notable exception is ''Series/UchuSentaiKyuranger'', where the team leader Shou Ronpo is violet instead of red and wears a unique variant of the team uniform with a symmetrical version of the team's emblem and a BadassLongcoat. In their unpowered forms, most of the kyrangers wear uniforms that are dark blue, silver, and their own color, but Shou Ronpo wears a fancy outfit with HighColarOfDoom, which originally was worn by the previous leader of the rebellion, and which he later passes to Stinger at the end of the show.

* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'': Red denotes the leader of a Power Rangers team. Certain members of the team have earned it through their actions, Tommy being the first to come to mind. The series sometimes subverts the earning it part with {{Rookie Red Ranger}}s however, and on at least one occasion Red was an ordinary member and White (also Tommy) outranked him.

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-->-- "[[Recap/FireflyE04Shindig Shindig]]", ''Series/{{Firefly}}''

* In Chinese elementary and secondary schools, student prefects are generally marked with red stripes on their uniforms. The ranks go from one stripe (class prefect), to two (grade prefect), and generally top off at three (head student). [[http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/05/05/five-stripes-rise-and-fall-of-china%E2%80%99s-youngest-political-star So wearing ''five'' stripes is generally considered grounds for some heavy mockery.]]

* ''Fanfic/RocketshipVoyager''. While Captain Janeway is forced to give former [[SpaceX Space Commander]] Chakotay his rank back to get the help of his Maquis rebels, she refuses to promote B'Elanna Torres to Chief Engineer because a) she's a civilian and b) she doesn't appear to have the temperament for command. However at the end of the story, B'Elanna is wearing the uniform of a Tech Lieutenant (j.g.) after proving her abilities as an engineer under fire.

* The ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' short story "Sector 13" ends with one of the MauveShirt guardsmen who were accompanying Cain complaining about his newly-earned stripes (as he doesn't think they feel right), but is reassured when Cain points out [[MilitaryMaverick he'll soon manage to lose them.]]

* By the end of ''Series/AdamTwelve'', Pete Malloy was promoted to Officer III (two stripes) and then appointed Officer [=III+1=] (the addition of a star), indicating his status as senior lead officer in the district, with all other officers looking to him for guidance when there's no one more senior present.

* In Chinese elementary and secondary schools, student prefects are generally marked with red stripes on their uniforms. The ranks go from one stripe (class prefect), to two (grade prefect), and generally top off at three (head boy/girl). [[http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/05/05/five-stripes-rise-and-fall-of-china%E2%80%99s-youngest-political-star So wearing ''five'' stripes is generally considered grounds for some heavy mockery.]]

* ''F19 Stealth Fighter'' displayed the player's formal uniform at the end of each mission. Depending on actions taken by the player, increasing ranks and earned medals are displayed on the uniform.

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* In ''WebComic/HeroOhHero'', the suspiciously video-gamelike {{Dungeon Crawl}}s which Raulians use to gather resources have classes which individuals can level up in. Getting a new level in a given class leads to a snazzier colour scheme, [[http://www.neorice.com/hoh_398 as Sari demonstrates.]]
* ''WebComic/YumisCells'' has a variation. Normally, Cells all wear identical colored jumpsuits, but when a Cell becomes their person's most important emotion/feeling, they upgrade into a Prime Cell. Primes are generally told apart by their unique, non-jumpsuit outfits, which are also personalized and multicolored.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'', when airbenders are recognized as masters they are give blue arrow tattoos that follow chi lines from their forehead, to their hands and feet. Aang was one of the youngest to ever wear tattoos at age 12, until his grand daughter Jinora earned them at age 11 in ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars''. Some hairless characters invoke the system through jewelry. Ahsoka wore a line of beads on her head that emulated the rat-tail, [[spoiler: and removed them when she was expelled from the order.]]

* Finishing ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}'' for the first three times will place progressively fancier decorations on your avatar's robe, letting other players recognize you as a seasoned traveler. [[spoiler:The White Robe is awarded for finding all glowing symbols, indicating to everyone that you know this game in and out]]. A version of AndYourRewardIsClothes that's visible to other players online.

* Finishing ''VideoGame/{{Journey}}'' for the first three times will place progressively fancier decorations on your avatar's robe, letting other players recognize you as a seasoned traveler. [[spoiler:The White Robe is awarded for finding all glowing symbols, indicating to everyone that you know this game in and out.]] A version of AndYourRewardIsClothes that's visible to other players online.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline''
** Reaching the rank of rear admiral, lower half as a Starfleet PlayerCharacter unlocks a waistcoat in your uniform selection.
** The [[http://memory-beta.wikia.com/wiki/Starfleet_uniform_(2410s) official version of the Odyssey style]] puts admirals in a longer version of the uniform jacket that does not get tucked into the pants, and gives them metallic braid at the cuffs and around the divisional color bar. They also wear a belt buckle of the Federation's starfield-and-laurels insignia. Meanwhile starship and station commanders wear a version of the officer service uniform that has white shoulders, whereas ordinary officers get dark grey. Another color combination denotes enlisted personnel.
** The Klingon Defense Force denotes ranks with progressively more elaborate metal sashes. The Romulan Republic uses pauldrons and capes of increasing complexity.

* ''F19 Stealth Fighter'' displayed the player's formal uniform at the end of each mission. Depending on actions taken by the player, increasing ranks and earned medals are displayed on the uniform.
* Dalish elves in ''Franchise/DragonAge'' earn ''vallaslin'' ("blood writing") when they complete their rites of adulthood. These are facial tattoos that each correspond to a different god in the Dalish pantheon -- it's not known who chooses what tattoos they receive. [[spoiler:As revealed in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'', the practice actually originated with upper-class elves tattooing their ''slaves'' in devotion to a particular deity.]]

* In ''Literature/Temeraire'', when Laurence becomes captain of the dragon Temeraire and therefore must resign his post as navy captain, he removes his captain's epaulettes and gives one to his lieutenant Riley (the other can be worn only after three years as captain). This signals a change in authority even before it can be legally done. (This doesn't quite count as an InsigniaRipoffRitual, because Laurence himself removed the epaulettes and it was not intended to be humiliating to him.)

* In Chinese elementary and secondary schools, student prefects are generally marked with red stripes on their uniforms. The ranks go from one stripe (class prefect), to two (grade prefect), and generally top off at three (head boy/girl). [[http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/05/05/five-stripes-rise-and-fall-of-china%E2%80%99s-youngest-political-star/ So wearing ''five'' stripes is generally considered grounds for some heavy mockery]].