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crossposting from Den Noh Coil
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* ''Anime/DenNohCoil'': During the FestivalEpisode where everyone is wearing traditional outfits, the boys really take a liking to seeing the girls, including Isako (who's seen for the first time with her hair down), all wearing kimonos.
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* Kaname of ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
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* ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'':
** In one episode of ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'', Kanameof ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.everyone.
** In ''The Second Raid'', Melissa Mao also does it, donning a slinky dress for an undercover operation ([[KickingAssInAllHerFinery on top of still kicking ass while wearing it]]).
** In one episode of ''Anime/FullMetalPanicFumoffu'', Kaname
** In ''The Second Raid'', Melissa Mao also does it, donning a slinky dress for an undercover operation ([[KickingAssInAllHerFinery on top of still kicking ass while wearing it]]).
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* ''Manga/BocchiTheRock'': Hitori usually wears a plain pink tracksuit, but whenever she wears clothes that actually suit her, her friends and bandmates agree that the band could potentially sell themselves on her looks alone, if Hitori wasn't so cripplingly shy and anxious. In one episode, Niijika and Kita also gush over how adorable she looks in a dress.
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* ''Manga/BocchiTheRock'': Hitori usually wears a plain pink tracksuit, but whenever she wears clothes that actually suit her, her friends and bandmates agree that the band could potentially sell themselves on her looks alone, if Hitori wasn't so cripplingly shy and anxious. In one episode, Niijika and Kita also gush over how adorable she looks in a dress.school uniform.
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* ''Manga/BocchiTheRock'': Hitori usually wears a plain pink tracksuit, but whenever she wears clothes that actually suit her, her friends and bandmates agree that the band could potentially sell themselves on her looks alone, if Hitori wasn't so cripplingly shy and anxious. In one episode, Niijika and Kita also gush over how adorable she looks in a dress.
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* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Misty has done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing a kimono at the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and actually rendering Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
** Also, in one episode, Ash and Company met a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, Brock reacted the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted her into resuming her boyishness.
** In ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
** Misty has done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing a kimono at the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and actually rendering Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
** Also, in one episode, Ash and Company met a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, Brock reacted the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted her into resuming her boyishness.
** In ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
to:
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
''Anime/PokemonTheSeries'':
** The tomboyish Mistyhas done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing dons a kimono at for the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and Festival]]; the sight of her actually rendering renders Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
speechless.
**Also, in In one episode, Ash and Company met company meet a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, girl dresses in a more feminine manner and Brock reacted reacts the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted prompts her into resuming to resume her boyishness.
** In''Sun and Moon'', ''Anime/PokemonTheSeriesSunAndMoon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee fiancée Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
** The tomboyish Misty
**
** In
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* Louise in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. [[SummonEverymanHero Saito]] always thinks Louise is cute (''physically'', anyway), but her attitude is [[{{Tsundere}} less tsun-tsun and more dere-dere]] at parties.
* Kaname of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* Kaname of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
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* Louise in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''.''Literature/TheFamiliarOfZero''. [[SummonEverymanHero Saito]] always thinks Louise is cute (''physically'', anyway), but her attitude is [[{{Tsundere}} less tsun-tsun and more dere-dere]] at parties.
* Kaname of''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' ''Literature/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* Kaname of
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* No one recognizes her, but Sanae Dekomori in ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' actually turns out to be pretty good-looking when she has her hair down and acts like a normal person.
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* No one recognizes her, but Sanae Dekomori in ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' ''Literature/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' actually turns out to be pretty good-looking when she has her hair down and acts like a normal person.
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* Taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' with the main characters who are all, you guessed it, zombies. They may have bandaged and stitched up blue-green skin and sunken red eyes, but whenever Kotaro uses his hollywood-learned makeup skills on them, they take on the appearance of living girls. The girls frequently comment on how pretty they look.
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* Taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' with the main characters who are all, you guessed it, zombies. They may have bandaged and stitched up blue-green skin and sunken red eyes, but whenever Kotaro uses his hollywood-learned makeup skills on them, they take on the appearance of living girls. The girls frequently comment on how pretty they look.look.
----
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* Inverted in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. StudentCouncilPresident [[IronicName Yamato Nadeshiko]] is introduced dressed in a skirt, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and [[LettingHerHairDown with her hair down]]. At the end of the chapter, she unfolds her skirt, braids up her hair, and puts her glasses back on for her normal look (though she's quite good-looking like that too).
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* Inverted in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. StudentCouncilPresident [[IronicName Yamato Nadeshiko]] is introduced dressed in a skirt, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], midriff and [[LettingHerHairDown with her hair down]]. At the end of the chapter, she unfolds her skirt, braids up her hair, and puts her glasses back on for her normal look (though she's quite good-looking like that too).
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* Pai in the first chapter of ''Manga/SazanEyes''. When she first appears, she has just got to Shinjuku, Japan, from an unknown place ''in the Himalaya'' and it shows, as Yakumo even notices how dirty she is. Then the crossdresser of Yakumo's gay bar give her a much-needed offscreen makeover, causing Yakumo to stare at her jaw-dropped.
* Daimakaicho Hagall from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''. When she first meets Hild, she's dressed in rags and looks like she's destitute. Hild takes her as her apprentice, gaining a tremendous boost in beauty and status.
* ''VisualNovel/AkaneIroNiSomaruSaka'' uses this. All of the girls dress up and appear, getting a vague response from the main character. Then his sister shows up (late to the entrance) and he's dumbfounded. She's squicked by this, and he's berated by his fiancée (part of the first group).
* Deunan of ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'' stunned everyone when she turned up for Hitomi's birthday party in a stylish dress, specially designed by [[http://chloeings.blogspot.com/2007/08/prada-designs-costumes-for-cartoon.html Muiccia Prada]]
** It was even lampshaded by one of the people present. Not surprising, considering the vast difference from Deunan's usual [[ActionGirl tomboy-ish]] looks.
* Kakeru from ''Manga/AreaNoKishi'' notices this when he reunites with childhood friend Seven. She appears far more feminine than [[OneOfTheBoys he remembered]] from their days in elementary school.
* Nadja Applefield from ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'' embodies the trope whether dolled up via Leonardo and Thierry or wearing her GorgeousPeriodDress inherited from her MissingMom. [[spoiler: When said gown is destroyed by Rosemary, with help of Grandma Anna Nadja sews the intact top part into a new dress.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Casca, who usually goes around in men's clothing, short hair and non-{{Stripperiffic}} armour, is seen for the first time in a very nice, feminine dress upon [[spoiler: Griffith's brief triumph after defeating Midland's king's rivals]]. Guts' priceless blank stare upon seeing her dressed this way is one of the series' very rare SugarWiki/FunnyMoments.
* ''Manga/BlueRamun'': Randy serves as the priest/healer of the Lezak district and Jessie's mentor, but his normal look more closely resembles [[NunTooHoly a bum than a man of the cloth]] -- unkempt PermaStubble, wrinkled priest robes, bad posture, and a tendency to be drunk before noon. While he slacks off when it comes to daily prayers and personal appearance, he takes his duties to the community seriously. When Randy is called upon to officiate ceremonies like weddings or funerals he puts in the effort to shave, slick back his hair, and wear a clean uniform.
* Used in a somewhat weird way in the seventh ''Manga/CaseClosed'' movie. [[spoiler: When Kazuha and Heiji were little, they visited Kazuha's family in Kyoto. Little Heiji ran off to a temple, and while waiting for him little Kazuha was dolled up in a kimono and got her hair done by her relatives. Little Heiji then saw her playing under the CherryBlossoms, but didn't recognize her... and "that girl from Kyoto" remained in his memory as "his FirstLove". Since the movie had a subplot in which Heiji was searching for the anonymous girl he once liked, it means Kazuha was jealous of... her dolled up little girl self. [[FirstGirlAfterAll And Heiji didn't find out until the end of the movie]], [[ChekhovsGun when he heard Kazuha sing a song that the "girl from Kyoto" was singing when he saw her]].]]
** Played straight when Conan sees Ran in a [[UsefulNotes/LolitaFashion sweet lolita]] [[PinkisFeminine pink]] dress. He was getting ready to snark at her and Sonoko for [[SkewedPriorities putting on such clothes while in a case]], but when he ''actually'' sees Ran he's completely starstruck, complete with LuminescentBlush.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Kaori has sometimes put on a long wig and fooled her partner Ryo Saeba. In episode 137, an old friend of her buys Kaori fashionable clothes, and, with her wig, starts successfully dating Ryo at night. "Cinderella" was even the French title.
* Subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where Nina Einstein is all dressed up in the pre-wedding celebration but is still much more confident at work as a scientist, which is demonstrated by comparison to matter. However, played straight with Milly Ashford on the same occasion and Cecile Croomy earlier, who both wear [[SexyBacklessOutfit backless dresses]] with a NavelDeepNeckline.
* Faye from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is not a slouch in the looks department to start with, being MsFanservice for the show. But when circumstances in "Ballad Of Fallen Angels" call for her to drop her usual trashy outfit and do up not only her hair but also makeup and wardrobe to pass for a high-class opera patron, the effect on her is impressive. Too bad the BigBad was waiting for her with a bunch of goons anyway.
* Miranda Lotto in ''Manga/DGrayMan''. It was a shock for most readers when they saw her for the first time. Only for Miranda to become like this after she gained her Innocence and self-confidence for the first time in her life.
* ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' have Nago--not that she had ''done'' that, but a convex mirror shows that she ''will'' look quite cute if she loses some weight.
* ''Manga/EmmaAVictorianRomance'': Emma is convinced to attend a ball, and is shown to clean up nicely when she wears a ball gown and no glasses in comparison with her usual maid outfit and glasses.
* Louise in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. [[SummonEverymanHero Saito]] always thinks Louise is cute (''physically'', anyway), but her attitude is [[{{Tsundere}} less tsun-tsun and more dere-dere]] at parties.
* Kaname of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* [[{{Tomboy}} Cagalli]] had this trope deliberately invoked on her in the ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]]'' first season. ''Twice''. She [[WellExcuseMePrincess wasn't really amused]] in any occasion.
* ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'':
** Louise Halevy puts on a nice pink kimono while visiting Japan. In the second season, she makes a ''really'' beautiful ElegantGothicLolita during a ball.
** [[spoiler:Tieria Erde]] not only dresses up ''really'' nicely for the same second season party, but mixes this with [[spoiler:WholesomeCrossdresser.]]
** Setsuna also cleaned up nicely in that same ball. Seeing him in a black suit was a very, ''very'' nice surprise.
* Happens during a FancyDinner scene in ''Anime/GunXSword'', with Wendy borrowing a fancy dress, taking her hair out of pigtails, and using makeup. Her dinner companion doesn't even recognize her at first. In context, his surprise may have a lot to do with the fact that she looks older--like a young woman rather than a child--than she does in her usual clothing.
* Not that Chizuru in ''VisualNovel/{{Hakuouki}}'' wasn't already cute, even when disguised as a boy, but her [[http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34300000/Kawaii-kawaii-anime-34343007-1280-720.jpg dolled up as a meiko]] in the OVA caused several of the captains, including [[TheStoic Saitou]] ''and'' [[SergeantRock Hijikata]], to stop and stare.
* Kurumi in ''Manga/HaouAiren'' fits very well in a UsefulNotes/{{Qipao}} and in a bridal gown.
* During the Greece Arc of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', Hayate winds up trying to pay back Hinagiku to show his appreciation for all her help. To do so he takes her out to a ''very'' fancy restaurant and tries very hard to put aside his troubling plot-related thoughts to ensure that she has a wonderful evening. He needn't have bothered as Hinagiku showed up a moment later wearing an elegant dress and looking literally stunning. As in Hayate's thoughts just stopped and he wound up [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring at her]] [[DistractedByTheSexy for a few minutes]] until she brought him back to reality.
* In ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' episode 23, everyone's got their eyes on [[{{Bifauxnen}} Itsuki]] after she first transforms into Cure Sunshine and later, when she first debuts in female clothing during the fashion club's trip in episode 25.
* Liechtenstein, Ukraine and Hungary from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. The first looks very cute [[http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-837.html in a blue ballgown]], the second is quite a babe [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11219211.html in her national dress]], and Finland got a picture of [[http://www.hetarchive.net/scanlations/hetastreeeem/xmas20113.php the third]] wearing a very elegant PimpedOutDress during the ''Manga/HetaliaBloodbath2010''.
** Taiwan also [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11597580.html looks very pretty in traditional clothing]].
** Not to mention the usual {{Shorttank}} Wy looks adorable [[http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/mcr_1920.jpg all dressed up.]] In that same picture, ''all'' the male micronations (save for Nikko-Nikko) clean up alongside her, and they all look quite handsome.
* Isao from ''Manga/InsideMari'' is a scraggly looking {{hikkikomori}} with MessyHair and a permastubble. When he [[spoiler:decided to get a part-time job]] he cut his hair and shaved his beard. It ended up making him look considerably younger.
* In ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' Tomoe has this reaction to Nanami after she gets some fashion help from Himemiko.
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': normally Sawako's look wavers between scary or rather plain (except when she smiles from the heart). After a surprise makeover and a butterfly hairclip from Yano and Chizu, though, she broke the pretty barrier.
* No one recognizes her, but Sanae Dekomori in ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' actually turns out to be pretty good-looking when she has her hair down and acts like a normal person.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Aizawa is normally a scruffy, bleary-eyed layabout who looks like he's been sleeping under a bridge. When he absolutely has to appear before the media, he shaves and puts on a suit, to the point that his students barely recognize him.
** ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'': Inverted. Koichi has an encounter with "vigilante idol" Pop Step where they foil a villain together. Later, a scruffy and plain-faced girl barges into his apartment, and it's not until she puts her makeup on that he recognizes her as Pop.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Asuna, once she lets her hair down and stops being overly violent for a bit.
** In the ball-related manga episodes, ''all'' of the girls dress up very nicely (including Kaede and Setsuna, who wear [[{{Bifauxnen}} tuxes]] instead). [[GenderFlip And so do Negi and Koutarou.]]
* ''Manga/NewGame'':
** In Chapter 23, Kou is forced to wear dressier clothes and do her hair for an interview. Aoba and Rin remark that she looks really cute that way.
** In Chapter 44, Rin, who wears nice but relatively casual clothing, wears a suit to a meeting with a client, and Aoba's impressed at how nice she looks.
** In the fourth volume Yun reveals she was pretty dorky when she was in school, complete with OpaqueNerdGlasses. The present-day version of her is quite a cutie in ElegantGothicLolita fashion (and no glasses).
* ''Manga/NotLoveButDeliciousFoodsMakeMeSoHappy'': It may just be the way she's drawn, but when Y-naga dresses up to go to a restaurant, she changes from her usual {{gonk}} to a beautiful woman.
* Koala in ''Manga/OnePiece'' was found by Fisher Tiger's crew, starting out like [[http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120401095145/onepiece/images/2/22/Koala.png this]], understandable since she was previously a slave. After spending some time with them, she looked like [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/onepiece/images/6/6d/Koala_After_Living_with_Sun_Pirates.png this]]. Hatchan even lampshaded how she has changed.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'''s Haruhi cleans up nicely in the first chapter/episode going from frumpy and disheveled to a {{Bifauxnen}}. She's also dolled up during the Christmas ball to help get two fiancés back together, complete with a wig, dress, and makeup. She complains about it and states that her face feels heavy with all the makeup, and that it's hard to walk in the heels the boys gave her.
* In another male example, [[spoiler:Brief]] from ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' cleans up [[{{Bishonen}} very]] nicely after he pulls up his hair. Despite the angels hating on him at first and didn't mind him dying from the villains, when he changes into his {{Bishonen}} form he ends up having sex with [[LovableSexManiac Panty]].
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Misty has done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing a kimono at the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and actually rendering Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
** Also, in one episode, Ash and Company met a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, Brock reacted the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted her into resuming her boyishness.
** In ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
* In ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'', Kaoru/Buttercup gets her hair done and is dressed up nicely in the episode where she gets a crush on a guy with big muscles. She looks so different that the Professor and his son Ken didn't even recognize her. Momoko/Blossom and Miyako/Bubbles even managed to teach Kaoru manners.
* Subverted in ''Manga/PrivatePrince'', where female lead Miyako looks extremely good but is ''terribly'' uncomfortable and trips over her high heels and long dress... [[MeetCute in front of Will, the lead male.]]
* Madoka, of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', is considered to be fairly plain ([[GenericCuteness by the show's standard, anyway]]). Upon her [[spoiler: AbstractApotheosis]], she looks properly majestic (though the [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow hair]] and [[PowerGivesYouWings wings]] certainly help).
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Akane gets Ranma ''but good'' twice, at the start and conclusion of the final story arc, when he sees her [[spoiler:in a wedding kimono (first instance) and then in a Western-style wedding dress]]. Of course, she dresses up in fancy dresses whenever she can and usually does look pretty good, it's just that those two are the most prominent.
** Also Ukyō in the Episode "Ukyō's Skirt, The Great Girly-Girl Gambit". Ukyō looks so stunning in a Fūrinkan girl's uniform that Kunō promptly decides to start courting her as well as Akane and "the pigtailed girl". Even Ranma only recognizes her because she's still carrying her giant spatula. Unfortunately for her, while all of the other guys at school wanted to date her, Ranma still didn't seem to get that what she wanted was to try and give their relationship a boost. Between that, and the fact it ended up in a contest where Ranma got beaten up by all of the other guys, she stopped wearing it out of remorse. She does occasionally dress up in more feminine garb, though the series has something of a LimitedWardrobe for her. She only wears the girl's uniform one other time, in her final appearance, and lampshades it in the original Japanese.
** A male example occurs with Ranma, in a brief storyline in which Kodachi brings him as her date, to be compared to her rival's date. When said rival sees Ranma for the first time, he'd just been run over by a herd of cows and hardly looked his best. When he shows up at the actual date, cleaned up and looking awesome in a suit, the rival actually is impressed.
*** In the same arc, [[HypocriticalHeartwarming Akane becomes very offended]] when the rival insults Ranma. So, she helps make him look handsome for the date and mentally lampshades this trope while doing it.
---> '''Akane:''' I'll show her! When you dress Ranma up, he can be plenty cool!
* In ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' Deedlit, wearing an extravagant white gown, walks down the stairs with Parn, who is having a LOT of trouble looking her in the eye. Subverted slightly as [[ObliviousToLove he spends most of the ball]] ignoring her advances and [[HoYay swooning]] [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee over a famous]] [[HeroWorshipper hero.]]
** And Deedlit herself is so uncomfortable with the PimpedOutDress that she whines quite a bit at first, too.
--> '''Deedlit:''' Ah, this dress is so tight! Seriously, I don't know how you court ladies can wear these things ever day...
* Oscar in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''. She dresses like a man every day of her life, except one, at a ball, where she decides to go as a woman, in order to impress Fersen. It works in a kind of way, but before it worked even more on her manservant [[spoiler:and future lover]] André. The idea of Oscar in dress makes him furious in manga, burst into laughter in anime... but in both, he stops and looks amazed when Oscar showed up [[GrandStaircaseEntrance at the top of stairs]] in her white odalisque dress. And so were the guests at the ball later.
* In the first chapter of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kenshin remarked how different Kaoru looked in her formal, feminine kimono compared to when they first met and she was wearing her scruffy dojo uniform.
** At the end of the anime-only Shimabara arc, the tomboyish Misao puts on a cute and frilly dress and uses a ParasolOfPrettiness. Sanosuke doesn't recognize her.
* The girls in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' started to invoke this in season 1 before formalwear became common. Usagi generally wears her school uniform, but she decks out in a princess gown to infiltrate Princess Dia's ball; both dub Lunas admit she looks great, and her dad photographs her while thinking she's someone else. R has it played to a horrifying effect when Prince Dimande captures Usagi, depowers her, and dresses her in the Neo-Queen Serenity gown swhile she's unconscious. Usagi is understandably creeped out as Dimande watches her rouse with a SlasherSmile.
* Inverted in ''Manga/SeiyusLife''. When Creator/YuiHorie first shows up in Episode 5, she looks like she just got out of bed. The dissonance between that look and how she looks in public appearances is enough for Ichigo to have to call her Hoi Yurie just to process it.
* Played straight in the ''Manga/SekainohateDeAimashou'' chapter "Prom Boy" except the "girl" in question is actually a reluctant involuntary GenderBender.
* PlayedForLaughs in episode 85 of ''Manga/ShugoChara Doki''. The Guardians go to a fashion event, so the girls wake up early to pick stylish outfits for the occasion. However, [[UnsettlingGenderReveal Nagihiko]] shows up a little late, and once he arrives, the others are in shock when they see him [[http://images4.fanpop.com/image/forum/72000/72015_1283260323979_full.jpg in clothes that manage to be even more stylish than the girls']], complete with BishieSparkle. His justification makes the scene even funnier.
-->'''Nagihiko:''' I couldn't decide what to wear, so I ended up running behind.
-->'''Amu:''' And it looks like we have a winner...
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' leads to this reaction pretty much ''every time'' Kyoko dresses up. This has to do with the fact that she rarely wears even a minimum of makeup, and that her attitude changes, especially when she's dressed for her acting roles. When [[ChildhoodFriend Sho]] saw her dressed up as an angel for his music video, he could do nothing but gawk at her in stunned silence.
* Even Amy Rose has done this on ''Anime/SonicX'', complete with the reaction from Sonic himself.
* When Maka of ''Manga/SoulEater'' shows up in Soul's soul, wearing heels and a black ballgown. he's rather shocked. Also in chapter 111 during the battle.
* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate - The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing #3'' reveals that Okabe is capable of turning Kurisu into a red-faced, panting wreck of hormones with the right clothes.
* Inverted in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. StudentCouncilPresident [[IronicName Yamato Nadeshiko]] is introduced dressed in a skirt, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and [[LettingHerHairDown with her hair down]]. At the end of the chapter, she unfolds her skirt, braids up her hair, and puts her glasses back on for her normal look (though she's quite good-looking like that too).
** Played straight in the beach trip, where [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Kogori]] doesn't even recognize her when she wears a bikini and lets her hair down.
* Shiraishi of ''Manga/TanakaKunIsAlwaysListless'' was somewhat a friendless nerd with a slovenly appearance when she was in middle school. To improve her social standing in high school she striaghtens up her appearance, to the point that she's now the SchoolIdol.
* It is noted at several points in ''Manga/TomoChanIsAGirl'' that [[NoSocialSkills socially challenged]] HeiressToTheDojo [[{{Tomboy}} Aizawa Tomo]] is an application of a hairbrush and someone else picking her outfit away from being a very lovely (if [[HugeSchoolgirl not particularly petite]]) young woman.
* In ''Touko-san Can't Take Care of the House'', when Akari moves in with Touko, a friend of her mother's, Touko strikes her as a slob, with messy hair and loungewear. As a result, Akari is stunned when Touko comes to breakfast wearing a business suit and glasses, and with her hair neatly done.
* In ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Ryūnosuke, who is easily the [[{{Bifauxnen}} most manly]] character in the show, has an episode dedicated to her struggle to become feminine. She really only wished to wear a sailor suit, but ends up [[WholeCostumeReference wearing Audrey Hepburn's iconic Ascot dress]] from ''Film/MyFairLady''. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke1_4524.jpg Before]] and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke2_8055.jpg After]].
* Hitomi in ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne''. When she borrows one of Millerna's {{Pimped Out Dress}}es, Van can't help but spend the entirety of the dinner conversation just gawking dumbly at her (or {{Dope Slap}}ping [[ClingyJealousGirl Merle]] for getting in the way of his gawking dumbly at her).
** There is also when Dryden, who while never ugly usually prefers the scruffy and disheveled look, dresses up for his wedding. He proves he can look quite genteel and even more handsome.
* Continually subverted in ''Manga/TheWallflower'' -- whenever the guys trick/force Sunako-chan into some proper clothes, Kyohei knows she's still the same person, and is (frustratingly) not quite cognisant of any attraction to her no matter how good she looks.
* [[{{Determinator}} It was a lot of work]], but Utako in ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'' basically turned [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_299.png from]] a fat girl to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_325.png one of the most photogenic girls in her grade]]. It is also noted, though, without makeup she is still kind of plain.
* Masane from ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' looks rather good when she gets dolled up for a party. Unfortunately, her personality and manners are exactly the same.
* In ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'', even rival ManChild Jumbo is impressed with Miura's traditional dress and performance at the autumn matsuri.
* Anna from ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' has come close to {{yandere}} status in her relations with Yuma, and a rare female case of SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp. Her tomboyish nature is even more evident in the original Japanese, where she uses "ore" (俺) when referring to herself (this is a pronoun that is predominantly used by males and very seldom used by females). Except at her mentor's wedding, that is. The flashback shows her in a nice white dress, and she pulls off the look quite well.
* Downplayed in ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' with Yuri Katsuki. While he's far from unattractive, there's a huge contrast with how he looks when he's wearing his glasses and his bangs are down with when the glasses are off and his hair is combed back.
* Taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' with the main characters who are all, you guessed it, zombies. They may have bandaged and stitched up blue-green skin and sunken red eyes, but whenever Kotaro uses his hollywood-learned makeup skills on them, they take on the appearance of living girls. The girls frequently comment on how pretty they look.
* Daimakaicho Hagall from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''. When she first meets Hild, she's dressed in rags and looks like she's destitute. Hild takes her as her apprentice, gaining a tremendous boost in beauty and status.
* ''VisualNovel/AkaneIroNiSomaruSaka'' uses this. All of the girls dress up and appear, getting a vague response from the main character. Then his sister shows up (late to the entrance) and he's dumbfounded. She's squicked by this, and he's berated by his fiancée (part of the first group).
* Deunan of ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'' stunned everyone when she turned up for Hitomi's birthday party in a stylish dress, specially designed by [[http://chloeings.blogspot.com/2007/08/prada-designs-costumes-for-cartoon.html Muiccia Prada]]
** It was even lampshaded by one of the people present. Not surprising, considering the vast difference from Deunan's usual [[ActionGirl tomboy-ish]] looks.
* Kakeru from ''Manga/AreaNoKishi'' notices this when he reunites with childhood friend Seven. She appears far more feminine than [[OneOfTheBoys he remembered]] from their days in elementary school.
* Nadja Applefield from ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'' embodies the trope whether dolled up via Leonardo and Thierry or wearing her GorgeousPeriodDress inherited from her MissingMom. [[spoiler: When said gown is destroyed by Rosemary, with help of Grandma Anna Nadja sews the intact top part into a new dress.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Casca, who usually goes around in men's clothing, short hair and non-{{Stripperiffic}} armour, is seen for the first time in a very nice, feminine dress upon [[spoiler: Griffith's brief triumph after defeating Midland's king's rivals]]. Guts' priceless blank stare upon seeing her dressed this way is one of the series' very rare SugarWiki/FunnyMoments.
* ''Manga/BlueRamun'': Randy serves as the priest/healer of the Lezak district and Jessie's mentor, but his normal look more closely resembles [[NunTooHoly a bum than a man of the cloth]] -- unkempt PermaStubble, wrinkled priest robes, bad posture, and a tendency to be drunk before noon. While he slacks off when it comes to daily prayers and personal appearance, he takes his duties to the community seriously. When Randy is called upon to officiate ceremonies like weddings or funerals he puts in the effort to shave, slick back his hair, and wear a clean uniform.
* Used in a somewhat weird way in the seventh ''Manga/CaseClosed'' movie. [[spoiler: When Kazuha and Heiji were little, they visited Kazuha's family in Kyoto. Little Heiji ran off to a temple, and while waiting for him little Kazuha was dolled up in a kimono and got her hair done by her relatives. Little Heiji then saw her playing under the CherryBlossoms, but didn't recognize her... and "that girl from Kyoto" remained in his memory as "his FirstLove". Since the movie had a subplot in which Heiji was searching for the anonymous girl he once liked, it means Kazuha was jealous of... her dolled up little girl self. [[FirstGirlAfterAll And Heiji didn't find out until the end of the movie]], [[ChekhovsGun when he heard Kazuha sing a song that the "girl from Kyoto" was singing when he saw her]].]]
** Played straight when Conan sees Ran in a [[UsefulNotes/LolitaFashion sweet lolita]] [[PinkisFeminine pink]] dress. He was getting ready to snark at her and Sonoko for [[SkewedPriorities putting on such clothes while in a case]], but when he ''actually'' sees Ran he's completely starstruck, complete with LuminescentBlush.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Kaori has sometimes put on a long wig and fooled her partner Ryo Saeba. In episode 137, an old friend of her buys Kaori fashionable clothes, and, with her wig, starts successfully dating Ryo at night. "Cinderella" was even the French title.
* Subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where Nina Einstein is all dressed up in the pre-wedding celebration but is still much more confident at work as a scientist, which is demonstrated by comparison to matter. However, played straight with Milly Ashford on the same occasion and Cecile Croomy earlier, who both wear [[SexyBacklessOutfit backless dresses]] with a NavelDeepNeckline.
* Faye from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is not a slouch in the looks department to start with, being MsFanservice for the show. But when circumstances in "Ballad Of Fallen Angels" call for her to drop her usual trashy outfit and do up not only her hair but also makeup and wardrobe to pass for a high-class opera patron, the effect on her is impressive. Too bad the BigBad was waiting for her with a bunch of goons anyway.
* Miranda Lotto in ''Manga/DGrayMan''. It was a shock for most readers when they saw her for the first time. Only for Miranda to become like this after she gained her Innocence and self-confidence for the first time in her life.
* ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' have Nago--not that she had ''done'' that, but a convex mirror shows that she ''will'' look quite cute if she loses some weight.
* ''Manga/EmmaAVictorianRomance'': Emma is convinced to attend a ball, and is shown to clean up nicely when she wears a ball gown and no glasses in comparison with her usual maid outfit and glasses.
* Louise in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. [[SummonEverymanHero Saito]] always thinks Louise is cute (''physically'', anyway), but her attitude is [[{{Tsundere}} less tsun-tsun and more dere-dere]] at parties.
* Kaname of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* [[{{Tomboy}} Cagalli]] had this trope deliberately invoked on her in the ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]]'' first season. ''Twice''. She [[WellExcuseMePrincess wasn't really amused]] in any occasion.
* ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'':
** Louise Halevy puts on a nice pink kimono while visiting Japan. In the second season, she makes a ''really'' beautiful ElegantGothicLolita during a ball.
** [[spoiler:Tieria Erde]] not only dresses up ''really'' nicely for the same second season party, but mixes this with [[spoiler:WholesomeCrossdresser.]]
** Setsuna also cleaned up nicely in that same ball. Seeing him in a black suit was a very, ''very'' nice surprise.
* Happens during a FancyDinner scene in ''Anime/GunXSword'', with Wendy borrowing a fancy dress, taking her hair out of pigtails, and using makeup. Her dinner companion doesn't even recognize her at first. In context, his surprise may have a lot to do with the fact that she looks older--like a young woman rather than a child--than she does in her usual clothing.
* Not that Chizuru in ''VisualNovel/{{Hakuouki}}'' wasn't already cute, even when disguised as a boy, but her [[http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34300000/Kawaii-kawaii-anime-34343007-1280-720.jpg dolled up as a meiko]] in the OVA caused several of the captains, including [[TheStoic Saitou]] ''and'' [[SergeantRock Hijikata]], to stop and stare.
* Kurumi in ''Manga/HaouAiren'' fits very well in a UsefulNotes/{{Qipao}} and in a bridal gown.
* During the Greece Arc of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', Hayate winds up trying to pay back Hinagiku to show his appreciation for all her help. To do so he takes her out to a ''very'' fancy restaurant and tries very hard to put aside his troubling plot-related thoughts to ensure that she has a wonderful evening. He needn't have bothered as Hinagiku showed up a moment later wearing an elegant dress and looking literally stunning. As in Hayate's thoughts just stopped and he wound up [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring at her]] [[DistractedByTheSexy for a few minutes]] until she brought him back to reality.
* In ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' episode 23, everyone's got their eyes on [[{{Bifauxnen}} Itsuki]] after she first transforms into Cure Sunshine and later, when she first debuts in female clothing during the fashion club's trip in episode 25.
* Liechtenstein, Ukraine and Hungary from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. The first looks very cute [[http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-837.html in a blue ballgown]], the second is quite a babe [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11219211.html in her national dress]], and Finland got a picture of [[http://www.hetarchive.net/scanlations/hetastreeeem/xmas20113.php the third]] wearing a very elegant PimpedOutDress during the ''Manga/HetaliaBloodbath2010''.
** Taiwan also [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11597580.html looks very pretty in traditional clothing]].
** Not to mention the usual {{Shorttank}} Wy looks adorable [[http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/mcr_1920.jpg all dressed up.]] In that same picture, ''all'' the male micronations (save for Nikko-Nikko) clean up alongside her, and they all look quite handsome.
* Isao from ''Manga/InsideMari'' is a scraggly looking {{hikkikomori}} with MessyHair and a permastubble. When he [[spoiler:decided to get a part-time job]] he cut his hair and shaved his beard. It ended up making him look considerably younger.
* In ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' Tomoe has this reaction to Nanami after she gets some fashion help from Himemiko.
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': normally Sawako's look wavers between scary or rather plain (except when she smiles from the heart). After a surprise makeover and a butterfly hairclip from Yano and Chizu, though, she broke the pretty barrier.
* No one recognizes her, but Sanae Dekomori in ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' actually turns out to be pretty good-looking when she has her hair down and acts like a normal person.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Aizawa is normally a scruffy, bleary-eyed layabout who looks like he's been sleeping under a bridge. When he absolutely has to appear before the media, he shaves and puts on a suit, to the point that his students barely recognize him.
** ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'': Inverted. Koichi has an encounter with "vigilante idol" Pop Step where they foil a villain together. Later, a scruffy and plain-faced girl barges into his apartment, and it's not until she puts her makeup on that he recognizes her as Pop.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Asuna, once she lets her hair down and stops being overly violent for a bit.
** In the ball-related manga episodes, ''all'' of the girls dress up very nicely (including Kaede and Setsuna, who wear [[{{Bifauxnen}} tuxes]] instead). [[GenderFlip And so do Negi and Koutarou.]]
* ''Manga/NewGame'':
** In Chapter 23, Kou is forced to wear dressier clothes and do her hair for an interview. Aoba and Rin remark that she looks really cute that way.
** In Chapter 44, Rin, who wears nice but relatively casual clothing, wears a suit to a meeting with a client, and Aoba's impressed at how nice she looks.
** In the fourth volume Yun reveals she was pretty dorky when she was in school, complete with OpaqueNerdGlasses. The present-day version of her is quite a cutie in ElegantGothicLolita fashion (and no glasses).
* ''Manga/NotLoveButDeliciousFoodsMakeMeSoHappy'': It may just be the way she's drawn, but when Y-naga dresses up to go to a restaurant, she changes from her usual {{gonk}} to a beautiful woman.
* Koala in ''Manga/OnePiece'' was found by Fisher Tiger's crew, starting out like [[http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120401095145/onepiece/images/2/22/Koala.png this]], understandable since she was previously a slave. After spending some time with them, she looked like [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/onepiece/images/6/6d/Koala_After_Living_with_Sun_Pirates.png this]]. Hatchan even lampshaded how she has changed.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'''s Haruhi cleans up nicely in the first chapter/episode going from frumpy and disheveled to a {{Bifauxnen}}. She's also dolled up during the Christmas ball to help get two fiancés back together, complete with a wig, dress, and makeup. She complains about it and states that her face feels heavy with all the makeup, and that it's hard to walk in the heels the boys gave her.
* In another male example, [[spoiler:Brief]] from ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' cleans up [[{{Bishonen}} very]] nicely after he pulls up his hair. Despite the angels hating on him at first and didn't mind him dying from the villains, when he changes into his {{Bishonen}} form he ends up having sex with [[LovableSexManiac Panty]].
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Misty has done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing a kimono at the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and actually rendering Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
** Also, in one episode, Ash and Company met a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, Brock reacted the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted her into resuming her boyishness.
** In ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
* In ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'', Kaoru/Buttercup gets her hair done and is dressed up nicely in the episode where she gets a crush on a guy with big muscles. She looks so different that the Professor and his son Ken didn't even recognize her. Momoko/Blossom and Miyako/Bubbles even managed to teach Kaoru manners.
* Subverted in ''Manga/PrivatePrince'', where female lead Miyako looks extremely good but is ''terribly'' uncomfortable and trips over her high heels and long dress... [[MeetCute in front of Will, the lead male.]]
* Madoka, of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', is considered to be fairly plain ([[GenericCuteness by the show's standard, anyway]]). Upon her [[spoiler: AbstractApotheosis]], she looks properly majestic (though the [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow hair]] and [[PowerGivesYouWings wings]] certainly help).
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Akane gets Ranma ''but good'' twice, at the start and conclusion of the final story arc, when he sees her [[spoiler:in a wedding kimono (first instance) and then in a Western-style wedding dress]]. Of course, she dresses up in fancy dresses whenever she can and usually does look pretty good, it's just that those two are the most prominent.
** Also Ukyō in the Episode "Ukyō's Skirt, The Great Girly-Girl Gambit". Ukyō looks so stunning in a Fūrinkan girl's uniform that Kunō promptly decides to start courting her as well as Akane and "the pigtailed girl". Even Ranma only recognizes her because she's still carrying her giant spatula. Unfortunately for her, while all of the other guys at school wanted to date her, Ranma still didn't seem to get that what she wanted was to try and give their relationship a boost. Between that, and the fact it ended up in a contest where Ranma got beaten up by all of the other guys, she stopped wearing it out of remorse. She does occasionally dress up in more feminine garb, though the series has something of a LimitedWardrobe for her. She only wears the girl's uniform one other time, in her final appearance, and lampshades it in the original Japanese.
** A male example occurs with Ranma, in a brief storyline in which Kodachi brings him as her date, to be compared to her rival's date. When said rival sees Ranma for the first time, he'd just been run over by a herd of cows and hardly looked his best. When he shows up at the actual date, cleaned up and looking awesome in a suit, the rival actually is impressed.
*** In the same arc, [[HypocriticalHeartwarming Akane becomes very offended]] when the rival insults Ranma. So, she helps make him look handsome for the date and mentally lampshades this trope while doing it.
---> '''Akane:''' I'll show her! When you dress Ranma up, he can be plenty cool!
* In ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' Deedlit, wearing an extravagant white gown, walks down the stairs with Parn, who is having a LOT of trouble looking her in the eye. Subverted slightly as [[ObliviousToLove he spends most of the ball]] ignoring her advances and [[HoYay swooning]] [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee over a famous]] [[HeroWorshipper hero.]]
** And Deedlit herself is so uncomfortable with the PimpedOutDress that she whines quite a bit at first, too.
--> '''Deedlit:''' Ah, this dress is so tight! Seriously, I don't know how you court ladies can wear these things ever day...
* Oscar in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''. She dresses like a man every day of her life, except one, at a ball, where she decides to go as a woman, in order to impress Fersen. It works in a kind of way, but before it worked even more on her manservant [[spoiler:and future lover]] André. The idea of Oscar in dress makes him furious in manga, burst into laughter in anime... but in both, he stops and looks amazed when Oscar showed up [[GrandStaircaseEntrance at the top of stairs]] in her white odalisque dress. And so were the guests at the ball later.
* In the first chapter of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kenshin remarked how different Kaoru looked in her formal, feminine kimono compared to when they first met and she was wearing her scruffy dojo uniform.
** At the end of the anime-only Shimabara arc, the tomboyish Misao puts on a cute and frilly dress and uses a ParasolOfPrettiness. Sanosuke doesn't recognize her.
* The girls in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' started to invoke this in season 1 before formalwear became common. Usagi generally wears her school uniform, but she decks out in a princess gown to infiltrate Princess Dia's ball; both dub Lunas admit she looks great, and her dad photographs her while thinking she's someone else. R has it played to a horrifying effect when Prince Dimande captures Usagi, depowers her, and dresses her in the Neo-Queen Serenity gown swhile she's unconscious. Usagi is understandably creeped out as Dimande watches her rouse with a SlasherSmile.
* Inverted in ''Manga/SeiyusLife''. When Creator/YuiHorie first shows up in Episode 5, she looks like she just got out of bed. The dissonance between that look and how she looks in public appearances is enough for Ichigo to have to call her Hoi Yurie just to process it.
* Played straight in the ''Manga/SekainohateDeAimashou'' chapter "Prom Boy" except the "girl" in question is actually a reluctant involuntary GenderBender.
* PlayedForLaughs in episode 85 of ''Manga/ShugoChara Doki''. The Guardians go to a fashion event, so the girls wake up early to pick stylish outfits for the occasion. However, [[UnsettlingGenderReveal Nagihiko]] shows up a little late, and once he arrives, the others are in shock when they see him [[http://images4.fanpop.com/image/forum/72000/72015_1283260323979_full.jpg in clothes that manage to be even more stylish than the girls']], complete with BishieSparkle. His justification makes the scene even funnier.
-->'''Nagihiko:''' I couldn't decide what to wear, so I ended up running behind.
-->'''Amu:''' And it looks like we have a winner...
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' leads to this reaction pretty much ''every time'' Kyoko dresses up. This has to do with the fact that she rarely wears even a minimum of makeup, and that her attitude changes, especially when she's dressed for her acting roles. When [[ChildhoodFriend Sho]] saw her dressed up as an angel for his music video, he could do nothing but gawk at her in stunned silence.
* Even Amy Rose has done this on ''Anime/SonicX'', complete with the reaction from Sonic himself.
* When Maka of ''Manga/SoulEater'' shows up in Soul's soul, wearing heels and a black ballgown. he's rather shocked. Also in chapter 111 during the battle.
* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate - The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing #3'' reveals that Okabe is capable of turning Kurisu into a red-faced, panting wreck of hormones with the right clothes.
* Inverted in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. StudentCouncilPresident [[IronicName Yamato Nadeshiko]] is introduced dressed in a skirt, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and [[LettingHerHairDown with her hair down]]. At the end of the chapter, she unfolds her skirt, braids up her hair, and puts her glasses back on for her normal look (though she's quite good-looking like that too).
** Played straight in the beach trip, where [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Kogori]] doesn't even recognize her when she wears a bikini and lets her hair down.
* Shiraishi of ''Manga/TanakaKunIsAlwaysListless'' was somewhat a friendless nerd with a slovenly appearance when she was in middle school. To improve her social standing in high school she striaghtens up her appearance, to the point that she's now the SchoolIdol.
* It is noted at several points in ''Manga/TomoChanIsAGirl'' that [[NoSocialSkills socially challenged]] HeiressToTheDojo [[{{Tomboy}} Aizawa Tomo]] is an application of a hairbrush and someone else picking her outfit away from being a very lovely (if [[HugeSchoolgirl not particularly petite]]) young woman.
* In ''Touko-san Can't Take Care of the House'', when Akari moves in with Touko, a friend of her mother's, Touko strikes her as a slob, with messy hair and loungewear. As a result, Akari is stunned when Touko comes to breakfast wearing a business suit and glasses, and with her hair neatly done.
* In ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Ryūnosuke, who is easily the [[{{Bifauxnen}} most manly]] character in the show, has an episode dedicated to her struggle to become feminine. She really only wished to wear a sailor suit, but ends up [[WholeCostumeReference wearing Audrey Hepburn's iconic Ascot dress]] from ''Film/MyFairLady''. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke1_4524.jpg Before]] and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke2_8055.jpg After]].
* Hitomi in ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne''. When she borrows one of Millerna's {{Pimped Out Dress}}es, Van can't help but spend the entirety of the dinner conversation just gawking dumbly at her (or {{Dope Slap}}ping [[ClingyJealousGirl Merle]] for getting in the way of his gawking dumbly at her).
** There is also when Dryden, who while never ugly usually prefers the scruffy and disheveled look, dresses up for his wedding. He proves he can look quite genteel and even more handsome.
* Continually subverted in ''Manga/TheWallflower'' -- whenever the guys trick/force Sunako-chan into some proper clothes, Kyohei knows she's still the same person, and is (frustratingly) not quite cognisant of any attraction to her no matter how good she looks.
* [[{{Determinator}} It was a lot of work]], but Utako in ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'' basically turned [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_299.png from]] a fat girl to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_325.png one of the most photogenic girls in her grade]]. It is also noted, though, without makeup she is still kind of plain.
* Masane from ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' looks rather good when she gets dolled up for a party. Unfortunately, her personality and manners are exactly the same.
* In ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'', even rival ManChild Jumbo is impressed with Miura's traditional dress and performance at the autumn matsuri.
* Anna from ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' has come close to {{yandere}} status in her relations with Yuma, and a rare female case of SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp. Her tomboyish nature is even more evident in the original Japanese, where she uses "ore" (俺) when referring to herself (this is a pronoun that is predominantly used by males and very seldom used by females). Except at her mentor's wedding, that is. The flashback shows her in a nice white dress, and she pulls off the look quite well.
* Downplayed in ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' with Yuri Katsuki. While he's far from unattractive, there's a huge contrast with how he looks when he's wearing his glasses and his bangs are down with when the glasses are off and his hair is combed back.
* Taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' with the main characters who are all, you guessed it, zombies. They may have bandaged and stitched up blue-green skin and sunken red eyes, but whenever Kotaro uses his hollywood-learned makeup skills on them, they take on the appearance of living girls. The girls frequently comment on how pretty they look.
