History MagicPants / Literature

** This also sometimes applies to their TimeTravel device. When the heroes use it to travel back in time to visit an elderly [[{{Badass}} Patton Burgess]] in the 1940s, they take nothing with them, including their clothes. But oddly, when a young Patton travels from the late 1800s to the twenty-first century, he brings his clothes with him.

* Lampshaded in ''TheSisterhoodOfTheTravelingPants''.

* Averted in the ''AnitaBlake'' novels, lycanthropes transform by shedding their outer layer like, well, wet tissue paper. (If this sounds familiar, well, get used to it, it's Anita Blake.) This includes their clothes. Luckily for them, contracting lycanthropy apparently flips the brain's Body Modesty switch to "off".

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. Also, the text does refer to Alice carrying things in her pocket and these things stay with her whenever her size changes. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication make it explicit that this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 the Tim Burton one]].

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. The text does mention her knocking over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, so she clearly had some clothes on at that point even if they weren't her original clothes. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication show this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 the Tim Burton one]].

* In the TanyaHuff book ''[[Literature/BloodBooks Blood Trail]]'', the shapeshifters simply walk around naked or take off their clothes to change shape. Of course, there is also a very good reason for this -- they are physically unable to shift form if wearing clothing (something about the 'unnatural' fiber interacting with their innate abilities).

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. The text does mention her knocking over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, so she clearly had some clothes on at that point. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication show this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 the Tim Burton one]].

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. The text does mention her knocking over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, so she clearly had some clothes on at that point. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication shows this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 the Tim Burton one]].

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. For the record, the text does mention her knocking over the jury-box with the edge of her skirt, so she clearly had some clothes on at that point. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication shows this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland2010 the Tim Burton one]].

* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication show this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland the Tim Burton one]].

* Generally played straight in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's ''Literature/PlanetPirate'' series. Wefts, the shapeshifting alien of the setting, are implied to shapeshift the appropriate clothing. Fanservice is generally avoided, however - they're naturally a species of crustacean with six sexes, and fall into the UncannyValley when assuming human form.

* Generally played straight in Creator/AnneMcCaffrey's Planet Pirate series. Wefts, the shapeshifting alien of the setting, are implied to shapeshift the appropriate clothing. Fanservice is generally avoided, however - they're naturally a species of crustacean with six sexes, and fall into the UncannyValley when assuming human form.

* YoungWizards: Averted in "Deep Wizardry" when Sree, a whale, tells Nita and Kit that they must remove their bathing suits before changing into whales.

* Averted in the PiersAnthony Literature/{{Xanth}} books. When Nada, a shape-changing naga woman, becomes a snake, she slips out of her clothes and must then take the trouble of bringing them along and changing back into them when she becomes human.

* Averted in the ''MercyThompson'' series. Clothing is not kept during shifting -- and for werewolves, who become larger when they shift, it is torn. Werewolves and other shapeshifters will therefore discard their clothing prior to shifting if there is time to do so. As a side effect, shapeshifters (and those who live with them) tend to be comfortable with casual nudity. The exception is Charles, who can make clothes magically appear on his body due to his [[MagicalNativeAmerican background]].

* At one point in ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'', a villain sets off a stick of dynamite in his hand to escape a trap (he's got a HealingFactor), his shirt is predictably destroyed, but his pants survive unscathed. Presumably Creator/BrandonSanderson just didn't want to deal with the image of the guy running around naked.

* In ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' it is played straight in ''Literature/TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' while averted in the other books.

* In DavidEddings' {{Belgariad}} tetradecalogy, a sorcerer's clothes and equipment go "somewhere" when they turn into animals, and reappear when they change back.

*** This troper considers the "there" to be a sort of invisible hammerspace/other dimension type thing. Like a pocket in the material of reality.

* Similarly, in the Literature/{{Discworld}} series of books, the werewolf Angua von Uberwald has to keep clothes stashed around the city of Ankh-Morpork. In ''Discworld/{{Thud}}'', when she and the vampire Sally both end up completely naked after transforming into a wolf and a flock of bats respectively, they end up having to borrow clothes from a nearby strip club. It is explicitly stated that male vampires can reincorporate their clothes after shapeshifting, but female vampires cannot. This is probably a direct reference to FanService.
* Same thing in the ''Literature/{{Fablehaven}}'' books.
** This also sometimes applies to their TimeTravel device. When the heroes use it to travel back in time to visit an elderly [[{{Badass}} Patton Burgess]] in the 1940s, they take nothing with them, including their clothes. But oddly, when a young Patton travels from the late 1800s to the twenty-first century, he brings his clothes with him.

* In a short story by Creator/BrianAldiss, a werewolf's transformation is described as a change in his "biomorphic field." This can include clothes as long as they are natural fibres, which will be absorbed into the wolf form and returned to their previous form with the rest of him. Artificial fibres would just be shredded.
* Averted in the ''AnitaBlake'' novels, lycanthropes transform by shedding their outer layer like, well, wet tissue paper. (If this sounds familiar, well, get used to it, it's Anita Blake.) This includes their clothes. Luckily for them, contracting lycanthropy apparently flips the brain's Body Modesty switch to "off".

* Averted in the ''MercyThompson'' series. Clothing is not kept during shifting -- and for werewolves, who become larger when they shift, it is torn. Werewolves and other shapeshifters will therefore discard their clothing prior to shifting if there is time to do so. As a side effect, shapeshifters (and those who live with them) tend to be comfortable with casual nudity. The exception is Charles, who can make clothes magically appear on his body due to his [[MagicalNativeAmerican background]].
* In the novel ''LonelyWerewolfGirl'', clothes just disappear when a werewolf transforms, and come back when they shift back. When a human who witnesses the process asks Kalyx what happens to the clothes, she says no one really knows.
* The shapeshifters in the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' series destroy their clothes when they transform. To solve this problem, once they get the transformation under control, they undress somewhere where no one will see them and tie them to a leg before transforming -- apparently, [[FridgeLogic this somehow saves the clothes]]. Characters often complain about this when they first begin shifting, Jacob even once getting angry that he accidentally shredded his last pair of underwear.
** The movie doesn't really address this, but you can see scraps of destroyed clothing fly away whenever someone transforms into a werewolf.
* Lampshaded in ''TheSisterhoodOfTheTravelingPants''.
* Averted in the ''Changeling'' series by Steve Feasey. Whenever Trey transforms into a werewolf, his clothing is destroyed. However, this trope is played straight on the covers, usually showing Trey wearing a pair of rather ripped trousers.

* An interesting version in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia:'' In ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'', the Pevensies age to adulthood while in Narnia, and their original ages/clothes are magically restored upon their return to England. However, in other books, the characters change into their normal clothes before returning to England (''Prince Caspian''), or take their Narnian clothes back with them (''The Silver Chair''), while not changing ages.
* OlderThanRadio: ''Literature/AliceInWonderland''. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication show this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland the Tim Burton one]].
* At one point in ''Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw'', a villain sets off a stick of dynamite in his hand to escape a trap (he's got a HealingFactor), his shirt is predictably destroyed, but his pants survive unscathed. Presumably Creator/BrandonSanderson just didn't want to deal with the image of the guy running around naked.
* The two shapeshifting Shi'ido in ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' go from clothed to unclothed forms with impunity, but when an unclothed form is damaged, it shows on the clothed form's skin and clothing. Presumably their clothing is just parts of their bodies. Subverted with [[PlotRelevantAgeUp Eppon]], though, who outgrows his coverall and has to be given new clothes twice.
* Acknowledged near the beginning of ''[[Literature/BooksOfTheRaksura The Cloud Roads]]''. Raksura lose their clothes when transforming into their bigger, spikier, winged other forms; making sure that they have them when they turn ''back'' is "a bit of magic." It can work on items they're carrying, too.
* The ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians'' series has Percy turned into a guinea pig briefly, and he shrinks out of his clothes during the transformation. When he's restored to human form, his clothes are miraculously on him.
* Completely averted in The Immortals series by Creator/TamoraPierce, in which all transformations into animals result in loss of clothes, and all transformations back result in nakedness. Since there are a lot of transformations in the series, the pattern is noticeable.
* YoungWizards: Averted in "Deep Wizardry" when Sree, a whale, tells Nita and Kit that they must remove their bathing suits before changing into whales.

----

* Averted in ''Literature/{{Seraphina}}''. When Orma and Basind are ordered to shrink back into their saarantrai in the freezing snow, Seraphina reminds Lucian that the dragons have no clothes to protect themselves from the cold.

* This troper considers the "there" to be a sort of invisible hammerspace/other dimension type thing. Like a pocket in the material of reality.

* An interesting version in ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia:'' In ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe'', the Pevensies age to adulthood while in Narnia, and their original ages/clothes are magically restored upon their return to England. However, in other books, the characters change into their normal clothes before returning to England (''Prince Caspian''), or take their Narnian clothes back with them (''The Silver Chair'').
* ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' makes this trope OlderThanRadio. It's worth noting that the actual text of the story doesn't specify what happens to Alice's clothes when she changes sizes, but you'd think it would warrant a mention if she were either running around naked or constantly creating makeshift clothes for herself. John Tenniel's illustrations from the book's original publication show this trope is in effect, depicting Alice wearing the same [[IconicOutfit now famous]] outfit throughout the story. Pretty much every film version has followed suit, except for [[Film/AliceInWonderland the Tim Burton one]].
* At one point in Literature/TheAlloyOfLaw, a villain sets off a stick of dynamite in his hand to escape a trap (he's got a HealingFactor), his shirt is predictably destroyed, but his pants survive unscathed. Presumably Creator/BrandonSanderson just didn't want to deal with the image of the guy running around naked.