Line #70 Main/BulletproofFashionPlate


1	[[quoteright:305:[[Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bullet_proof_fashion_plate.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:305:Everyone knows UsefulNotes/TheMounties are fireproof!]]
3
4	In any disaster, you can expect to get dirty. Volcano erupts? Everyone gets covered in ash. Trudging through the jungle? Yeah, you're gonna get hot and sweaty. Plane crash? Your clothing is gonna get messed up, right?
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6	Not this guy. Most potential ClothingDamage seems to actively avoid him. A tornado doesn't even muss his hair. He laughs as he gleefully skips through TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt, confident that if he dies, he will die with perfectly creased pants.
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8	Closely related to DirtForcefield as well as BeautyIsNeverTarnished, which is more about the person being damaged than the fashion. Compare ImprobableHairstyle and MagicPants. Such people are often a BadassInANiceSuit. When it is depicted as an explicit superpower, it becomes MySuitIsAlsoSuper.
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10	----
11	!!Examples:
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13	[[foldercontrol]]
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15	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
16	* Uryuu Ishida in ''Manga/{{Bleach}}''. Possibly justified in that he's a ranged fighter, but NOTHING TOUCHES THIS GUY in a series where male characters suffer ClothingDamage all the time. Justified by him keeping spare capes and cloaks on his person and likely uses his SuperSpeed to sneak in some stitching/pinning.
17	* Justified in ''Manga/TheFiveStarStories''. The fashions worn by [[ArtificialHuman Fatimas]] literally are bulletproof, being made of several layers of space-age polymers & alloy mesh over silk or cotton. When they suffer ClothingDamage you ''know'' things are getting serious.
18	* ''Manga/{{Hellsing}}'' plays with this trope with Alucard. His clothes always appear to take damage, but they regenerate when he does.
19	* ''Anime/PokemonTheOriginalSeries'': In the episode "Showdown at the Po-ké Corral", [[GoldfishPoopGang Jessie, James, and Meowth]] find [[BigBad Giovanni]] after Mewtwo destroys Team Rocket headquarters, which Giovanni was inside at the time. Giovanni was covered in rubble, but when he gets up he's totally clean. Even his Persian is fine.
20	* Noticed and is a plot point in ''Manga/HunterXHunter'': Hisoka becomes suspicious that his opponent, Kastro, never seems to suffer any damage. Hisoka correctly deduces that what he's fighting is just a projection of Kastro and not the real thing--Hisoka figuring it out ultimately leads to the end of Kastro's long winning streak of battles.
21	[[/folder]]
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23	[[folder:Comic Books]]
24	* This is actually one of Franchise/{{Superman}}'s many powers; any clothing that touches his skin is as impervious as he is (and in an episode of ''Series/LoisAndClark'', shrinks with him). Only the part that actually ''touches'', though, which is why his cape always gets shredded. In the comics, this is a result of a nearly skin-tight forcefield. During UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age\|OfComicBooks}} it was because ''everything'' from Krypton was as invulnerable as Superman. One diagram of his Fortress of Solitude had a ceiling-mounted, high-powered plasma torch he basically uses as a shower to quickly burn off any grime that gets on his suit.
25	* [[TheComicallySerious Samuel Steele]] from ''[[Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck Hearts of the Yukon]]'' by Creator/DonRosa. [[TheAce A superintendent of the North-Western Mounted Police]] does not get... [[DirtForcefield "Muddy"]]. Nor, for that matter, "blown-up". Sam Steele was a real person, incidentally, and would probably have given his right arm for this ability.
26	[[/folder]]
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28	[[folder:Fan Works]]
29	* In the MouseWorld ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' pastiche ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11463846/1/The-League-of-Extraordinary-Gentlebeasts The League of Extraordinary Gentlebeasts]]'', Mr. [[WesternAnimation/DangerMouse D'angermouse]] travels the London sewers in a white suit. At one point, he notices a single speck of dirt has fallen on it and brushes it away.
30	[[/folder]]
31
32	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
33	* JustifiedTrope in ''Franchise/TheIncredibles''. Edna Mode, the ''fabulous'' fashion designer for supers, made the costumes for each superhero bulletproof, rocket-proof, fireproof, and adapt to each user's superpower (for example, Violet's costume became invisible when she did). Plus, they're machine-washable and breathe like Egyptian cotton.
34	[[/folder]]
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36	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
37	* Most old westerns did this. Film/TheLoneRanger never got mussed, despite the fact that his shirt was light blue and his pants were tan. Neither did Gene Autrey or Creator/RoyRogers. Creator/JohnWayne never got mussed, either. In fact, it was so pervasive in westerns that it was parodied in ''Film/TheVillain'' -- Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger is dressed all in white and he still never gets dirty.
38	* Film/TheBluesBrothers have full black suits and crisp white shirts that NEVER get dirty or damaged. Until they become coated in mud. That's when you know they're in trouble.
39	* Creator/TonyCurtis' The Great Leslie in ''Film/TheGreatRace'' survives the biggest pie fight ever filmed without even a single dollop of cream to mess up his perfect white suit. [[spoiler:Until the very end.]]
40	* Creator/StevenSeagal used this rather often -- it's most noticeable in ''Film/UnderSiege 2'', where he kills dozens of armed terrorists and escapes an exploding train without ever getting a stain on his suit. Despite the fact that at one point he actually gets shot by a sniper rifle.
41	* In the olden days, Film/JamesBond also fell into this more often than not--but not so much anymore.
42	* This is parodied in the Creator/JackieChan movie ''Film/TheTuxedo''. The tuxedo not only can fight, but it's impossible to damage.
43	* Legolas in ''Film/TheLordOfTheRings'' films, especially when you compare him to Aragorn, who gets suitably filthy repeatedly. This is brought up in Martin Pearson's comedy show ''AudioPlay/TheUnfinishedSpellingErrorsOfBolkien'':
44	-->"Legolas, meanwhile, still has perfect hair -- still braided -- and appears remarkably clean, yet he has no backpack. Where does he keep his brush?"
45	* Played with in ''Film/MenInBlack''. They get dirty a couple of times but are always fresh as a daisy in the next scene.
46	* Played with and lampshaded in ''Film/LastActionHero'', in a scene where Jack Slater falls into a tar pit and emerges completely covered. The camera cuts away briefly as he begins wiping himself off, and when it cuts back a few seconds later he is completely clean. His sidekick remarks that tar actually sticks to some people.
47	* Subverted in ''Film/{{Twister}}''--clothing sometimes gets dirty, only to appear clean again in the next scene even though the characters have no time or opportunity to clean their clothing.
48	* Occurs at the end of ''Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}}''. After the explosion of the marshmallow man, three of the Ghostbusters struggle back to consciousness absolutely COVERED head to toe in marshmallow. Enter Venkman, stage left, almost pristine with a couple of small marshmallow spots.
49	* Seems to be a trait of Kingsman agents in ''Film/KingsmanTheSecretService'', the only one to look even slightly dishevelled [[spoiler:is Harry when a HatePlague causes him to get into a brawl with upwards of 70 people. Even then, the result is that his hair gets a little mussed up]]. Justified in that a Kingsman suit is ''literally'' bulletproof.
50	* In ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'', Spence spends most of the film wearing a tight t-shirt that doesn't get torn despite fighting against hordes of zombies, nor do his exposed arms ever get scratched. For comparison, Matt and Kaplan get plenty messed up.
51	[[/folder]]
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53	[[folder:Literature]]
54	* The dress of the Mother Confessor in ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'' is long and white and trails behind the wearer. And can be worn while running for your life through the woods without smudging it.
55	* The cape of a warden cannot be stained with blood in ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'', and ClothingDamage is far rarer than direct injury (particularly in the case of Harry's magically armored [[BadassLongcoat leather duster]]). Muck, bruises, cuts, and any gunge on the skin itself, on the other hand, tends to avert this with a vengeance for anyone who's not a high-level [[TheFairFolk magical being]] (especially Harry). For said high-level magical beings, the rule that "if his/her hair is mussed, we're all boned" still holds, and thus plays the entire trope straight for them. One of the less well-known properties of putting spell defense on clothes is that if they get muddy or gunked up, you can ''throw them in the fire and then scrape off the dried gunk''.
56	* Rachel from ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' appears to have superpowers along these lines. Other characters frequently comment on it in their narration.
57	* Explored in the ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy.'' SmugSnake Gerald Tarrant is always impeccably neat in beautiful clothes, no matter how much mud or char or fire they have to slog through. It soon becomes obvious that he is using magic to maintain his appearance, as he's incredibly vain. There's even one instance in the second book where he's half-dead from overextending his powers, but he still pauses in the middle of enemy territory to use some of his remaining strength to clean himself up.
58	* ''Literature/CodexAlera'' discusses this trope in relation to the cleanliness and grooming of legion officers; after suddenly finding himself TheCaptain right as all hell breaks loose, Tavi is reminded to shave. He thinks this is hardly the time for that, but gets reminded that the captain he's replacing was never seen unshaven, and it's important for troop morale that their commander at least ''looks'' like the situation is so well-in-hand he can spend time making himself look the part.
59	* Shows up in ''Literature/JasonCosmo'' when early on it's noted wizard Mercury Boltblaster looks immaculate (after a day's ride through dust and mud) - despite having very good reasons to restrict his personal spellcasting. It turns out his clothing is top-of-the-line product from the kingdom Raelna's advanced magical textile industry; it self-cleans (and gradually self-repairs) while adjusting color, weave and cut to suit its wearer's immediate preference. After passing through Raelna as guests of the ruler, the same applies to the rest of the party.
60	* ''Literature/TheWitchOfKnightcharm'': Claudette is an example. Only rookies who complete the orientation course at her evil WizardingSchool are allowed to get new outfits, and everyone's luggage was confiscated upon arrival, meaning students who can't finish the course are stuck in the increasingly-tattered outfits they were wearing when they arrived. But despite this, Claudette manages to look impeccable even after a few days of trying and failing to pass the course. It's revealed this is because she is naturally skilled at cosmetic and beauty magic.
61	* In Creator/IsaacAsimov's science fiction novel ''Literature/TheStarsLikeDust'' the protagonist wonders to himself how the Love Interest--a beautiful princess, no less--has managed to keep her white blouse smooth and unwrinkled after forty-eight hours on a rather cramped spaceship. Her hair ''is'' a little bedraggled, though.
62	[[/folder]]
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64	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
65	* ''Series/MiamiVice'' was so egregious in this respect that it was parodied by both ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Doonesbury}}''.
66	* Fraser from ''Series/DueSouth''. Vecchio once ranted to him: "Does dirt not stick to you? Were you Scotchgarded at birth?!?"
67	* This is kind of how ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' works, for both men and women. The rangers will go through hideous-looking fights, either in street clothes or in very thin spandex bodysuits. There are usually guns, swords, lasers, and every other weapon imaginable. Yet they never get scratched, bruised, or end up limping. Hell, half of the time, after a fight, they're not even sweating or breathing hard. There are aversions for dramatic effect though; the ''[[Series/PowerRangersLostGalaxy Lost Galaxy]]'' and ''[[Series/PowerRangersTimeForce Time Force]]'' Red Rangers both had their visors shattered, for instance.
68	** Bizarrely averted across the Pacific, where ''Franchise/SuperSentai'' costumes are just as damage immune as the Power Rangers but fights that result in a forced Demorph back to civvies attire, there's more visible damage, though even then it tends to be nasty cuts and bruises rather than clothing damage. These injuries tend to last for the remainder of the storyline... especially if it's a cliffhanger.
69	* ''Series/MythBusters''' Jamie Hyneman regularly works with oily, greasy, filthy machines in a white shirt and beret and ends each episode spotless.
70	-->'''Adam:''' ''[watching Jamie paint]'' Look at ''that''. White shirt, black paint.\
71	'''Jamie:''' [[NervesOfSteel That's what being fearless is all about]]!
72	* Niedermayer on ''Series/{{Backstrom}}'' examines crime scenes for a living yet his very expensive suits never get any gunk on them.
73	* In the original ''Series/RandallAndHopkirkDeceased'', Hopkirk (Deceased) had the standard in-universe ghost's outfit, a pristine white suit. Since it had to be kept clean to indicate his ghostly nature, the actor -- Kenneth Cope -- was forever having to change suits when he got marks on them; at the end of the series, he apparently amused himself by jumping, in-costume, into a pool of dirty water, changing, and then doing it again, and again, and again, until he'd messed up every last one. TrashTheSet is an established trope; but is this the only case of Trash The Costume?
74	* In ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'' Catherine Weaver always looks composed, even when a warehouse has just exploded on her. [[spoiler:This is mostly because her hair and clothing are actually made of shape-shifting liquid metal.]]
75	* The host of The Quiz Broadcast (remain indoors) in Series 4 of ''Series/ThatMitchellAndWebbLook'' is sharply-suited and impeccably groomed despite the show's post-apocalyptic setting in a world destroyed by "the Event". By the sixth and last sketch, his hair is ruined and his suit is more or less rags, showing how desperate his situation has become.
76	* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
77	** In the episode "[[Recap/SupernaturalS02E21AllHellBreaksLoosePartOne "All Hell Breaks Loose, Part One]]", Ava has been in a ghost town, presumably without a change of clothes or running water, for 5 months, but her clothes appear clean and undamaged.
78	** Those in [[spoiler:Purgatory]] don't seem to suffer any noticeable ClothingDamage, despite many having battled there for decades or centuries with only the clothes they died in. Aside from blood splatter, [[spoiler:Dean]]'s neatly-trimmed hair and clothes survived just fine for a year, and he doesn't even have the excuse of being dead.
79	* Odo and other changelings in ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' tend to look very neat and tidy when they assume a humanoid shape (Odo daily, the others rarely), as their clothing is a part of their body. However, in episodes where Odo has his shapeshifting abilities blocked so that he can't assume a liquid state to rest (as he must every sixteen hours), he starts to break down, suffering damage to his skin, hair, and clothing.
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82	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
83	* The "Never Look Mussed" talent in ''Pulp Hero'' (5th edition ''[[TabletopGame/{{Champions}} Hero System]]'') lets your character stay pristine even when you've just been pulled out of quicksand or fought an entire gang.
84	* ''TabletopGame/{{GURPS}}'' has a few ways a character can have the trait they prevent a character from looking messy but not much else.
85	** One of the examples of what the Shtick Perk can do.
86	** In higher-tech worlds, a character can also buy special fabrics that shed dirt and sweat instantly.
87	** There is also the No Visible Damage perk, which lets a character appear unharmed no matter what happens to her body. Combined with the Supersuit perk, it's possible for a person with no other powers to stand at ground zero from a nuclear blast and leave an immaculate corpse fifteen miles away.
88	* In the ''Diana Warrior Princess'' universe, one of the powers of royalty is that they never get dirty.
89	* ''TabletopGame/TalesFromTheFloatingVagabond'' has this as a trainable skill, "Look Good at All Times".
90	* ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'':
91	** Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style is a fighting style that allows you to look refined and dignified at all times, even in the midst of combat.
92	** The Collar(s) of Dawn's Cleansing Light is a minor artifact that makes it so dirt never clings to you and you stay perfectly groomed. It gives a bonus to social rolls and rolls to resist disease.
93	* Space Marines in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' almost always have immaculately clean armor (when not in battle, anyway). Justified, as they regularly have legions of chapter serfs polish it so that their heraldry is easily visible.
94	* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'' has Sigvald the Magnificent, the Chosen Champion of Slaanesh. A FightingNarcissist who's so vain his retinue carries mirror-polished shields so he can admire himself at a moment's notice, he actually floats above the ground so he won't get muddy.
95	* ''TabletopGame/{{Adventure}}'' has an implacable trait that the BadassNormal can take that makes him immune to clothing damage, mud, dirt, and stumbling or looking foolish. It gives him [[Film/JamesBond Bond's]] level of never looking foolish.
96	* One minor benefit of the Creature of Fable arc from ''TabletopGame/ChuubosMarvelousWishGrantingEngine'' is that [[RealityWarper the world will tend to bend]] so that your preferred look is dominant at all times. This means that someone whose signature style is "completely immaculate" will not only tend to emerge from crises and disasters with their suit perfect but if someone deliberately messes it up it'll tend to repair itself, and even if they are stripped naked and thrown into the middle of the Walking Fields it'll probably be only a matter of time before they find a conveniently abandoned suitcase containing a suit in their size.
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99	[[folder:Video Games]]
100	* Due to technical limitations, this trope affects most video games in general, as rendering wardrobe damage would require considerably more art assets. Therefore, characters can swim, trudge through mud and muck, get burned, shot, or blown up, and still look pristine. More modern games avert this to varying degrees through blood stains, clothing becoming wet or torn with damage, and the like, as technology advances and makes these visual features more feasible.
101	* ''VideoGame/TheSuffering'' series uses this as part of the moral barometer. Good Torque stays clean and his family photograph he was carrying perfectly intact despite the lack of any carrying case and the fighting he's involved in. Neutral Torque [[spoiler:which is still pretty bastardy but not psychopathic, given the backstory]] ends up dirty with some photograph damage. Evil Torque looks less healthy on top of that and the photograph majorly degraded.
102	* Leon S. Kennedy from ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' maintains his hair to {{pretty boy}} perfection even in the midst of a desperate struggle for survival against hordes of zombies.
103	* The Rocketeer in ''VideoGame/RedAlert3Paradox'' fights in full dress uniform and flawless hair, yet is considerably tougher than most other infantry.
104	* In ''VideoGame/TheAllianceAlive'', despite the Rain Realm being covered in puddles and mud, its inhabitants have no problem wearing capes (''not'' cloaks, which would be practical) and floor-length skirts. However, clothes in this setting can be enchanted to protect against damage from weapons, so...
105	* ''VideoGame/LetItDie'': Your gear never shows signs of wear and tear, even as its effectiveness greatly weakens as its durability crumbles. Once it finally reaches 0 durability, it completely ''shatters'', leaving no dust behind on your fighter's MMA underwear. You can get hit by a ''rocket launcher'' and your net dirt doesn't increase. Bloodstains will only appear on bare skin.
106	[[/folder]]
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108	[[folder:Visual Novels]]
109	* ''VisualNovel/YoJinBo'' has you and your team of bodyguards running through a forest and fighting ninja. Both [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished Sayori/Hatsuhime]] and the guys remain equally clean, with untattered clothes, despite the amount of bloodshed the guys cause. Even when they're said to be injured in text, it never shows up in the art.
110	[[/folder]]
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112	[[folder:Web Comics]]
113	* In ''Webcomic/TheZombieHunters,'' Charlie rocks a BadassLongcoat, the impressive DirtForcefield of which is {{lampshade\|Hanging}}d in this [[http://www.thezombiehunters.com/index.php?strip_id=92 gag strip.]] However, in a particularly tense moment, he was forced to befoul his coat when he had to [[spoiler:''punch a [[TheUndead zombie]]'s head in'']].
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116	[[folder:Western Animation ]]
117	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'': Despite living in the middle of a muddy swamp [[spoiler:and being blind, Toph]]'s clothes and hair are never seen muddy. [[spoiler:Of course, she can just bend the mud and dirt away from herself...]]
118	[[/folder]]

Context Main / BulletproofFashionPlate