[[quoteright:280:[[Creator/ShikiDouji http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/white_fox_assault_gun_1397.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:280:That submachine gun goes nicely with her [[EverythingsBetterWithSparkles glittery dress]] and [[PrettyInMink fur]] [[PimpedOutCape cape]].[[note]]From the artbook ''Colourful Wind'' by Shiki Douji[[/note]]]]

->''"Kim, deciding to be badass, tosses her hat into the air, and proceeds to unrealistically fly around with a series of kicks and punches despite, ''again'', wearing the big, flowing dress."''
-->-- '''Linkara'''. ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWall'', reviewing [[http://atopfourthwall.blogspot.com/2012/03/invincible-four-of-kung-fu-ninja-1.html "The Invincible Four of Kung Fu & Ninja #1"]]

Who says that being an ass-whupping ActionGirl means you can't wear feminine, pretty, opulent clothes? In some works, the two go hand-in-awesome-but-elegant-hand.

And no {{Action Dress Rip}}ping either. These are ImpossiblyCoolClothes, that don't [[AwesomeButImpractical get in the way]] while this lady is [[OneManArmy mowing down hordes]] of {{mooks}} or [[StuffBlowingUp blowing stuff up]]. Not that there can't be ClothingDamage, but [[SnapBack expect the clothes to be fine next episode]] (barring [[SoLastSeason getting a new outfit next season]]).

What weapons she uses can vary, from martial arts (even if a skirt would be too narrow or poofy to kick someone), to conventional weapons, to even the more domestic weapons like ParasolOfPain, RollingPinOfDoom, and FryingPanOfDoom. Although with those latter three, she has to be directly attacking with them, not just conking a guy on the head.

The clothes could range from an evening dress and {{jewelry}}, to an ultra frilly PimpedOutDress. It can even count if the dress it cut to move around, like a MiniDressOfPower, but it also has to be otherwise too fancy to fight in.

A SubTrope of {{Badass}}, RuleOfCool, RuleOfGlamorous, CostumePorn.

This trope often overlaps with LadyOfWar, BadassPrincess, ErmineCapeEffect, BattleBallgown (the frilled dress with armor variant, not the armor with a skirt variant), {{Qipao}} (if she's Chinese), SilkHidingSteel, ActionFashionista (if this character has several fancy outfits she fights in), MagicalGirlWarrior (although they tend to not be outright badass most of the time), GirlyBruiser.

Compare BadassInANiceSuit, HotChickInABadassSuit, StylishProtectionGear, BlingOfWar, AgentPeacock (the SpearCounterpart), BeautyIsNeverTarnished.

Contrast {{Stripperific}}, RealWomenDontWearDresses.

'''Examples should describe the outfit and/or provide pictures.'''
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!!Examples
%%Please keep the examples alphabetized in their sections to make it easy to locate the works.

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* [[spoiler: Elizabeth Middleford]] of ''Manga/BlackButler'' is in very nice, prim and proper underwear when she mows down zombies with [[DualWielding dual swords]].
* Shenhua from ''Anime/BlackLagoon'' is a deadly assassin [[KnifeNut who's very talented with kukris and kunai]]. The difference between her and [[WorldOfBadass every other woman in the show]] is that she kicks ass while wearing an elegant [[LadyInRed red]] {{qipao}}.
* ''DominionTankPolice'' has a scene where the Puma Twins engage the [[EliteMooks Red Commandos]] in a shoot out, in an upscale museum, while decked out in fancy dresses. Annapuma's AK-47 was [[HammerSpace hidden in her parasol]], while Unapuma had a tommygun [[TrouserSpace tucked under her skirt]]!
* Shiki from ''Literature/KaraNoKyoukai'' usually fights wearing a simple kimono and a red jacket for warmth. However, in part five, she instead goes for a borderline Pimped Out Kimono during the climatic battle (not to mention that she also brings a katana to it instead of her usual knife).
* The eponymous heroine of ''Anime/{{Madlax}}'' is shown wearing simple but elegant and ''very'' slick cocktail dresses more than once while kicking ass. (And once [[FullFrontalAssault she takes her dress off]] to [[DistractedByTheSexy distract her pursuers]]).
* The eponymous heroine of ''Manga/MurderPrincess'' wears a voluminous white gown. This is really an interesting case, as she became a princess through a FreakyFridayFlip, and wasn't this before the flip.
* Most of the dolls in ''Anime/RozenMaiden'' fit this, due to their ultra frilly dresses being still worn in intense battles.
* In ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'', when Alphonse is basically abducted by Greed and his chimera, Al's beloved alchemy master Izumi calmly strolls into the sewers and beats the crap out of anyone who gets in her way. Her chosen attire for the occasion is a slinky black cocktail dress.
* ''WeddingPeach'' for being a MagicalGirl show about girls in well ... wedding dresses has some moments where they fight in their full wedding dresses. Mostly the early episodes before Momoko learns the magic phrase that turns her [[PimpedOutDress pimped out wedding dress]] into a MinidressOfPower.
** MagicalGirl anime is based entirely on this trope.
* In the OnePiece tenth film ''[[Anime/OnePieceFilmStrongWorld Strong World]]'', both Nami and Robin dress up as part of invading/infiltrating Shiki's base, as seen [[http://static.zerochan.net/Strong.World.full.759005.jpg here]] along with the men.
* Fujiko Mine from ''LupinIII'' has spent many a gun battle fighting in an evening dress.
* In ''SailorMoon,'' very frequently unleashing her full power will require Usagi to transform into [[EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses Princess Serenity]], whose costume is an impossibly long (on a girl who doesn't even break five feet) white party dress.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* WonderWoman was created partly to embody this. As Diana Prince, she had a lot of occasions to go out to dinner parties thrown by military brass in elegant evening gowns, jewelry, etc. She'd always have elbow-length gloves to cover up her bracelets. Sometime during the night it was almost guaranteed she would have to do some kind of ass kicking while still in her flossy attire. As Wonder Woman her original outfit included knee-length pleated culottes, which looked like a skirt most of the time unless she was doing something extremely active.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Animation]]
* {{Disney/Mulan}}, at the end of the film, dresses like a courtesan (along with [[DisguisedInDrag three of her fellow soldiers]]) to infiltrate the invaded palace.
* ''{{Shrek}}'' - Princess Fiona takes out Robin Hood and a squad of merry men single-handedly while wearing her signature green princess dress. She's quite put out when a single lock of hair is out of place after the dust settles.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}'', at the climax of the film, Anastasia defeats the BigBad wearing a fine ballroom dress.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]
* Princess Vespa spends the entire ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' movie wearing a FairytaleWeddingDress. She's handed a gun to fight with, and refuses until [[TraumaticHaircut a laser blast singes the side of her hair]]. Then she mows down the bad guys.
* StarWars: Padme Amidala doesn't fight in her {{Impractically Fancy Outfit}}s, but her "battle gear" is still very fine-looking and stylish.
** And her decoy fights in a fancy royal outfit-and uses it to fool the Viceroy at a vital moment.
** Her daughter Leia continues the tradition by spending the entire [[ANewHope first movie]] in a simple but elegent white dress. Even when she was shooting stormtroopers and leading a prison escape.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]
* After a GentlemanThief escapes her because she ''couldn't'' fight while in a dress and corset (and renders her a laughingstock as a result), Karigan from the ''Literature/GreenRider'' series makes her swordmaster teach her how to fight in finery.
* Kvothe in "Wise Man's Fear" likes cloaks so much, he learns how to fight in one. (Without spilling anything from all of his little pockets)
* At one point in MercedesLackey's ''Jinx High'', Diana Tregarde takes on a much larger jock, who happens to be high on [=PCP=], while wearing a silk formal dress. As the dress was specifically designed with a full enough skirt to allow karate kicks, and she was combining the karate with her PsychicPowers, the dress survived undamaged.
* Played with in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy''. Heroine Vin's magical powers make her strong and mobile enough that she ''can'' fight in a fancy ballgown- if she's not averse to destroying it in the process, of course. In the second book, though, she visits a dressmaker who is accustomed to having female mistborn as customers and knows how to modify his wares to make them somewhat more practical to fight in without sacrificing elegence.
* Also played with in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire''. Brienne of Tarth, who's usually accustomed to fighting in full armour, is forced into a (rather ugly, all things considered) dress as a form of humiliation and dis-empowerment, and then thrown into a bear pit by the band of mercenaries who are holding her hostage. She's able to fend off the bear until rescue arrives, but had things played out differently she would definitely have died because a dress is not armour and she was fighting ''[[BearsAreBadNews a damn bear]]''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:LiveActionTV]]
* In the season 1 finale of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'', Buffy goes to fight [[BigBad The Master]] in her prom dress.
* In TheVampireDiaries, Katherine is always dressed to kill... and the body count is most impressive. In Season Two, she attends a costume ball in a ''very'' slinky evening dress, complete with high heels, elaborately coiffed hair, and a lovely jeweled mask. Over the course of the evening she faced down witches, bodily dragged a fledgling vampire around, fought two more vampires to a standstill, and ripped out some poor girl's ''spine'' right in the middle of the dance floor. All without so much as tearing her dress or smudging her makeup.
* Cleverly averted in the WheelOfTime, the Seanchan Empress has a wardrobe of magnificent, extravagant dresses to put any wedding gown to shame... and under then she wears black combat pants and a tunic.
* In ''Series/PowerRangersRPM'' Summer ends up kicking ass in her wedding dress after Tenaya 7 and an army of Grinders attack her wedding.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pro Wrestling]]
* Before she became Molly Holly in the WWF, she was Miss Madness in WCW and regularly accompanied Randy Savage to the ring wearing an evening gown, heels, tiara and sash, but never let that from getting in the way of interfering in matches.
* Any woman who ever competed in an Evening Gown Match.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:TabletopGames]]
* While many female characters in ''Exalted'' can dress up and kick ass in an undeniable manner (and style), but there are several martial arts that work extra well with finery. In fact, many of the higher-level styles do not work in armor, and one - Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style - specifically uses fans, sashes, shawls, and the like as its style weapons.[[/folder]]

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* Cecille of ''VideoGame/ArcRiseFantasia'' punched her way through enemies, while wearing a fancy blue dress. The sisters Paula and Luna use weapons, but still fancy clothes. Luna uses a [[ParasolOfPrettiness very pretty]] ParasolOfPain.
* Rachel Alucard in ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' wears a frilled up ElegantGothicLolita dress, in a FightingGame.
* Helena of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' has a few dresses made a very fancy materials, including silk and lace.
** Lei-fang's standard attire is a {{Qipao}}.
** [[{{Geisha}} Koko]][[YamatoNadeshiko ro]] as well with her default elegant kimono that she fights in.
* Princess Rozalin of ''{{Disgaea 2}}'' starts out as a PrincessClassic, and always has her frilly dress with large bows, but as she learns to fight, she becomes deadly with firearms. [[spoiler:And that's not even getting to the SuperpoweredEvilSide of her past life.]]
* Sapphire of ''{{Disgaea 3}}'' has an outfit that's basically pants and a jacket (to help make it easy to fight as a BadassPrincess), but still elegant and fancy enough to count.
* Entirely viable in much of ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series. Find or buy a PimpedOutDress, pump it full of enchantments, and go to town. In games that let you enchant an item with an increase to the wearer's armor rating, the dress can even be made to function almost exactly like armor.
* The Prince class in ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey III'' has a [[http://www.nekomagic.com/figure_news/201011/gift_plush_princess05.jpg princess option]], and they tend to be strong fighters as well as opulently dressed.
* Peach from the [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] franchise. On those occasions when she does kick ass, like the ''SuperSmashBros'' instance below, she is usually doing so in her iconic pink dress.
* The heroine of ''Princess Crown'' wears an armored, but fancy, gown.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Wong Ada Wong]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' wears an elegant cheongsam dress, that has butterflies embroidered with gold thread, while kicking butt.
* The ladies of the ''SoulCalibur'' series often have elegant outfits. Special mention goes to [[http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/File:Concept14.jpg Cassandra]] and [[http://soulcalibur.wikia.com/wiki/File:AmySC4cg2.jpg Amy]].
* Rose from ''StreetFighter''. Her standard outfit is an evening dress with [[CombatStilettos pumps]] and a ScarfOfAsskicking. It doesn't deter her in the slightest. (and in some ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' ports, you can [[DownloadableContent download]] ''even prettier dresses'' for her.)
* In the ''SuperSmashBros'' games, [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Peach]] and Princess Zelda qualify for this trope, if rarely in their series proper. They battle in their standard series royal dresses.
* Lady Jane of the ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters'' games runs around shooting at bad guys, [[http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/1007/445851-jane_concept_large.jpg while wearing an evening dress and fur-trimmed coat]].
* There are levels in some ''Franchise/TombRaider'' games where Lara wears formalwear. One particularly good example when she's at a [[BallroomBlitz party]] in ''[[VideoGame/TombRaiderLegend Legend]]'' (which also averts CombatStilettos; She removes them and goes barefoot).
* Many MMO s, especially free ones have wedding dresses and other finery for sale or craftable. Some examples are [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI Final Fantasy XI's]] Wedding Dress Set or StarWarsGalaxies Grand Ball Gown which can be worn anytime anywhere even when fighting. Some games like EdenEternal this is largely the way they make cash selling fashion items like [[NinjaMaid Maid Outfits]] and [[PimpedOutDress Fairy Dresses]] that even have stat boosts to help in combat.
* With ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'', the Consular's (especially the Sage sub-class) outfits look like they came from Queen Amidala's garage sale, and you're crossing every kind of landscape and warzone laying waste to Sith in what amounts to a ballgown.
* In ''FearEffect 2'', Hana has to infiltrate a high-class party in order to find some information for her current mission. She eventually ends up in a gunfight while wearing her evening gown. Before she goes into the party though, her partner Rain questions her [[VaporWear choice in attire]], sarcastically asking why she doesn't just walk in naked. Hana responds by saying that she'd only have room to hide one gun if she did that. Let that sink in for a moment...
* A staple of the Franchise/TalesSeries, and not just for the ladies. Games with alternate costumes will often include fancy high-class outfits that the character(s) will not only walk around in, but continue to wear while kicking ass in battle. Examples include [[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]] and [[VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia Legendia]], both of which provide this option for almost every playable character (the latter only has the outfits in battle though; they wear their normal outfits on the field for some reason).
** Special mention goes to [[VideoGame/TalesOfDestiny Philia]]; the GoodShepherd [[TheSmartGirl Smart Girl]] who wears a giant poofy dress and who [[HyperspaceArsenal can throw out hundreds of]] [[StuffBlowingUp home-made bombs]] and wields a {{BFS}} that can summon [[BoltOfDivineRetribution bolts of divine retribution]] the moment it hits a foe... and that's not even ''beginning'' to get into [[BlackMagicianGirl her arsenal of magic]].
* When in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' you get [[spoiler:Edea]] into your party, she'll be in her PimpedOutDress you know and love. Subverted in that her standard attack weapon is a some kind of weak telekinetic punch and her main weapon is magic.
* Subverted by Karma's /joke emote in ''LeagueOfLegends''. "This dress may have been impractical."
* Lili from VideoGame/{{Tekken}} who kicks ass wearing a fine white dress.
** Nina William fights in a {{Qipao}}.
* In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', the DLC Bride class is usable by all of the females in the game and lets them head to the battlefield in an elegant FairytaleWeddingDress. They can either support with a staff, or demonstrate the trope to the fullest by fighting with a lance or a bow.
* In the FightingGame ''VideoGame/Persona4Arena'', Mitsuru wears a long, white fur coat, so overlapping with PrettyInMink and BadassLongcoat.
* In VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas, you can give [[CuteBruiser Veronica]] a pretty dress. She [[{{Squee}} is overjoyed]] and teaches you a special unarmed move in return. In the ''Dead Money'' DLC, you can obtain a slinky leg-showing cocktail dress from Vera's suite.
* Aya Brea of ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' starts the game in a little black dress, platforms, and ... well, first playthrough, a police-issue sidearm. Second? She could be packing a rifle. Justified since she's on a date and intending to have a nice night at the opera, not kick ass. Afterwards, she changes into a more appropriate outfit.
* Ana and Paula in the {{Earthbound}} franchise, coupled with their pretty pink dresses.
* Solely for her appearance in ''VideoGame/PlayStationAllStarsBattleRoyale'', VideoGame/FatPrincess.
* Inevitable in ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'', due to the ImprobablyFemaleCast. Nearly all characters wear Lolita style frilly dresses. And they can all kick ass.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:VisualNovels]]
* Saber of the ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'' series likes wearing fine dresses, even if they are armored.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In ''Literature/{{Worm}}'', the supervillain Accord and his Ambassadors dress in formalwear and masks rather than [[StandardSuperheroSuits the traditional sort of superhero garb]]. The men fall under BadassInANiceSuit; the women under this.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:WesternAnimation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'':
** The [[LadyOfWar Kyoshi]] [[AmazonBrigade Warriors]] wear [[BattleBallgown long green dresses]], gold headdresses, and feminine face-paint as part of their [[http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110128042227/avatar/images/archive/4/4f/20110128050110!Kyoshi_Warriors.png typical uniform]].
** As their inspiration, Avatar Kyoshi herself fits.
** [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BKiw_VYtxes/T3W2OCiBfKI/AAAAAAAAAaM/1oaiv8CqeZM/s1600/Mai1.jpg Mai]] wears a long, elegant dress [[BadassNormal while throwing]] [[KnifeNut knives]] [[DarkActionGirl at people]].
** Inverted by Azula; while she always fights in what doubles as her formal attire (not counting while impersonating the above Kiyoshi Warriors), her "formal attire" is less PimpedOutDress and more standard Fire Nation army attire with a bit more style.
[[/folder]]

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