A grand, old style dress designed to make it clear it's to be worn for the holiday season.
The standard form is a dress with a tasteful bodice (though it can include an
Impossibly Low Neckline or
Absolute Cleavage), a full length bell-shaped skirt, and a generous amount of trimmings such as
fur (that's usually white),
jewelry, ribbons, etc. Best designed to wear
during a formal dance, lounging around the fireplace, or walking around
on a clear night after the snow fell.
Red is the most common color, followed by white (especially if worn by a
Winter Royal Lady), green, and even
gold. If blue is used, it is often paired only with white to evoke an icy appearance, especially if worn by a
Winter Royal Lady.
This is meant to equate the lady wearing it with
Mrs. Claus, but her typical outfit is of the homely 19th century grandmother type, while these dresses can be quite extravagant.
This trope may date back to Victorian times (especially
if royalty dressed up for Christmas).
Side Story Bonus Art, particularly with anime and manga, often has holiday pics with female characters wearing these dresses, as does a majority of chapters/episodes that take place in December.
A
Sub Trope of
Pimped Out Dress and
Costume Porn.
A
Sister Trope to
Sexy Santa Dress,
Fairytale Wedding Dress.
Compare
Sweater Girl,
Homemade Sweater From Hell,
Costume Porn,
Stylish Protection Gear,
An Ice Suit.
Contrast
Exposed to the Elements,
Fur Bikini.
Examples:
Anime and Manga
- In Digimon Adventure 02, one of the International Digidestined is seen wearing a fur trimmed dress that's red and, compared to most character's outfits, very fancy. Since the battle Catherine was involved in happened on Christmas Eve night, she didn't really have much say in the matter, as there was no time to go home and change.
- In the Christmas episode of Chrono Crusade, Rosette wears a Santa suit while delivering presents to a local orphanage. Chrono was forced into a reindeer outfit.
- The main heroines of Suite Pretty Cure ♪ done Santa-like outfits for their Christmas episode.
Comic Books
Film
Live-Action TV
Toys
Video Games
Webcomics
Western Animation
- The Disney Princess merchandise shows them in various holiday dresses, usually made from the base design of the canonical dresses the princesses wore in their movies, but also with a shared theme (white fur-trimmed dresses and white fur muffs, gold dresses, Gem Encrusted dresses, etc.). Often they have matching capes.
- Belle wore an original holiday dress for Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.
- The Ghost of Christmas Past (formerly a tooth fairy), wears a blue dress with snowflake decorations.
- I the video Princess Sydney Christmas: Three Gold Coins, Sydney wears a red christmas dress with a thick, white fur hem and neckline.
