Possibly False Interpretation of Spy Catsuit: Painted On Pants

Painted-On Pants (laconic: "Skin-tight pants are hot) seems to be chiefly about pants, and notes that "Full skintight bodysuits are a different trope altogether." This interpretation means that Spy Catsuit is about full, skin-tight bodysuits.

However, Spy Catsuit is defined as specifically about stealth and infiltration, some sort of a stock costume design for these purposes. This more defined interpretation is consistent with the laconic and the examples.

1) Is the one at Painted-On Pants mistaken?
2) Is there any trope for skin-tight body suits in general, when not used in infiltrations?

This really should be about Spy Catsuit and not Painted-On Pants. The focus of what we're talking about is the former trope. I believe there's just the one trope for skintight suits. Spy Catsuit should probably get a supertrope.

Well, I haven't established whether my assumptions are correct, so the only problem identified is the one on Painted-On Pants (mistaken definition).

On the expansion issue, if we must make a trope for generic skin-tight bodysuits, we can also make it a supertrope of Painted-On Pants just as well as a supertrope of Spy Catsuit, like so:

• Skin Tight Body Suit
  • Painted-On Pants is when it's skin-tight pants wear for sexy reasons.
  • Spy Catsuit is when a character dons this kind of wear (usually dark) for infiltrations and stealth.

Well we have Sensual Spandex, for non-infiltration gear, I guess.

Thats for practical reasons such as biking and such.

Anyway had a thread open for this earlier. I called the skin tight suit more of a Wet Suit since that is the most common type.

edited 24th Jun '11 10:40:08 AM by Raso

Dat ass.

Returning to the topic at hand, I don't think Sexual Spandex is an umbrella trope, it's specific for sports. If anything that should be another subtrope of this supertrope we're discussing.

edited 24th Jun '11 11:04:14 AM by Catalogue

We currently have a TRS about redefining Sensual Spandex so be about tight fitting clothes in general. If it goes through, then it would be a Supertrope to this trope and others.

Ah, yes. That can work.

Does this mean skin-tights on sports will not have its own trope anymore, though?

No, part of the proposal was to create a new trope for that definition.

So, effectively, we're creating a supertrope anyway, but since Sensual Spandex was misused, we'll move the mistaken examples to this supertrope?

edited 24th Jun '11 12:33:40 PM by Catalogue

Correct.

Pretty much.

As I see what we need is a tree for "tight clothes" that goes something like this The number in parens is what level it's at: 1 is the top supertrope, 2 are supertropes themselve, 3 are tropes with a supertrope and so on:

(1)Tight clothing

-- (2) superheroes in spandex (We already have this one)

-- (2) tight clothing as fanservice: The new place for Sensual Spandex

--- (3)Spy Catsuit: form-fitting outfit worn for infiltration

--- (3)Form-Fitting Wardrobe: Clothing that shouldn't be or can't practically be made form fitting in real life, is anyway.

--- (3) Painted-On Pants: clothing that is extremely formfitting, either to indicate that a character is to be considered sexy or simply as Fanservice

--- (3) whatever we come up with for extremely tight sportswear to replace Sensual Spandex.

edited 24th Jun '11 12:51:04 PM by Madrugada

Isn't Painted-On Pants specifically for lower body wear?

But that list looks perfect.

There might be room for top only inversion of Painted-On Pants trope as well.

Probably equivalent to wearing Jeans and a tube top.

I don't think you can have actual skin tight tops used for fanservice, they tend to mash down the boobs.

Any skin tight shirt trope is really going to be a male only trope. Because of the topography of breasts it's very rare to have a top on a woman that emphasizes every curve of those. Even Emma Frost◊ doesn't wear skin tight shirts. Men on the other hand are often drawn with shirts that bend into every curve of their muscles.◊ This isn't for fanservice though so much as to make the characters look stronger and more muscular.

I thought that's how the artists saw fanservice for women?

Generally comics that have men drawn like that are the type that are aimed primarily at men and are written and treated as if no woman would ever read them. They aren't fanservice.

Fair enough. I always thought the chicks dug Gambit though.

I don't know when you look at the old image for this page it doesn't squish anything they look perfect gravity defying and the shirt looks painted on. (That kind of drawing style I would call The Most Common Super Power but that is used for something broader.) unlike the Wet Suit example above which is more realistically based.

Or stuff like this

edited 26th Jun '11 3:46:57 AM by Raso

Isn't that just Form-Fitting Wardrobe?

edited 26th Jun '11 8:09:06 AM by captainpat

Yep, that's Form-Fitting Wardrobe because shirts can't really do that to women in real life. Boobs are squishy. Muscle isn't. That's the biggest reason that the make version works and the female version really doesn't. Or why you can have Painted-On Pants, but no women's shirts.

edited 26th Jun '11 8:29:40 AM by shimaspawn

There are plenty of live examples of that on the page, look at Seven Of Nine in Star Trek Voyager.

Anyways a picture that explains that better would be a major help. (The current one doesnt actually look like that.)

edited 26th Jun '11 8:49:09 AM by Raso

Seven of Nine doesn't have a painted on top. Even her top is loose in bits around her breasts because fabric just doesn't do that. She's closer than some, but she's still not there. It's just tight and it squishes her chest down.

Can we go back to Painted-On Pants, rather than derailing into tight shirts?