History Main / FashionHurts

* Many black women will use "relaxers" to straighten their hair out, the style of which was known as a "conk". The relaxer not only alters the texture of the hair so that it's not straight, but it also burns the scalp, especially if it's an at-home kit rather than a salon treatment. Talk about adding injury to insult.

** Of course, white women have had their own miseries of stinging, smelling goos, prickly bobby pins, and ugly, bulky curlers in order to curl their hair. Seems nobody's happy with what they have.

* During ComicBook/JeanGrey and ComicBook/{{Storm}}'s first social outing in ''ComicBook/XMen'', Jean is horrified to see that Ororo is naked after she whisks away her superhero costume, since her [[NationalGeographicNudity Kenyan tribe]] had no [[InnocentFanserviceGirl nudity taboo]]. Jean hurriedly finds something for Ororo to wear, who mentions that the outfit is uncomfortable. Jean replies, "Just don't breathe or sit down and you'll be fine." After getting used to Western fashion, however, Ororo generally averts this trope, preferring loose-fitting garments (her Punk phase notwithstanding) and sensible shoes.

* In Molly's last ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' book, she's obsessed with curling her hair so she'll be more likely to get picked for the lead role in a patriotic dance for her tap class. After trying various increasingly uncomfortable methods, she resorts to one that involves sleeping with soaking-wet hair, which causes her to catch a cold and not be able to perform at all. The upside is that she's the only one home when her father comes back from the war.

* Invoked several times in ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind''.

[[folder:Puppet Shows]]
* In the Carol Channing episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', Miss Piggy buys some stylish but excruciating [[AllWomenLoveShoes shoes]] that are really too small for her. She continues to wear them after Kermit admires them.
[[/folder]]

** A male example with the episode "Girlie Boys", where Jonesy gets taken to a spa to get his unibrow waxed, and [[PainfulBodyWaxing while painful]], [[RealMenWearPink he and a few of his guy friends become regulars]] after finding it to be [[CasanovaWannabe a great place to find girls]], willing to go through similarly painful treatments to stick around. {{Subverted|Trope}} later on when it's pointed out that -- [[TheDitz much to his surprise]] -- there's stuff to at the spa that won't hurt them.

Fashion is a funny thing. You'd think that people would want to wear garments, shoes, and accessories that were comfortable and serviceable, but as many a person with blistered feet can attest, clothing and footwear aren't always designed with comfort in mind. Some people protest and opt to wear only pain-free fashions. Others suffer because we must be elegant or die. Painful hairpins, ill-fitting shoes, scratchy sweaters, choking neckties, sharply pointed Victorian collars . . . oh yes, fashion hurts. Painfully, this is TruthInTelevision: the fashion-minded have choked, mutilated and even poisoned themselves in various ways as long as the concept of fashion has existed.

See OfCorsetHurts for all corset or girdle-related pain, and HighHeelHurt for high heel-related pain. See WeightLossHorror for other examples in which attempting to maintain appearance can have unfortunate consequences. Where this is intentionally done for the sake of asceticism or plain masochism, see DeliberatelyPainfulClothing.

[[quoteright:350:[[ComicStrip/{{Zits}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fashion_hirts.gif]]]]

* In the Carol Channing episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'', Miss Piggy buys some stylish but excruciating [[AllWomenLoveShoes shoes]] that are really too small for her. She continues to wear them after Kermit admires them.

* [[InvokedTrope Invoked constantly]] on the DragQueen reality competition show ''Series/RuPaulsDragRace'', between the [[OfCorsetHurts corsets]], duct tape, genital tucking, and ridiculously high heeled shoes, [=RuPaul=] has claimed outright it takes a man with some ''really'' big balls to be tough enough to be a drag queen.

* 'Beauty has a Price' from the Creator/AndrewLloydWebber version of ''Cinderella'' has the plastic surgeon Godmother describe the pain the title character is going to be in due to her makeover, with a particular focus on the crystal slippers. In fact, she warns Cinderella to be home by midnight because that's how long she predicts her ability to tolerate the pain will last.

* In the pilot episode of the ''Manga/WanderingSon'' anime, when Shuuichi dresses for middle school for the first time, she complains about the collar of her uniform being uncomfortably tight. In this case, the pain of having to wear the uniform extends [[{{Transgender}} beyond physical pain]].

* A precolonial Visayan practice in the Philippines was that of the ''binukot,'' where a wealthy young girl (especially the daughter of a king/chief) was kept indoors to develop a fair complexion and learn extensive cultural knowledge. She would only go outside [[TooImportantToWalk when carried on a litter]] and was shaded from the sun. RealityEnsues--after spending infancy or childhood to adulthood confined, most of them ''couldn't walk.'' (This was often a draw for wealthy suitors, akin to China's foot-binding example--only wealthy men could afford to have such a frail and delicate wife.) The practice died out VERY quickly after World War II, when [[OhCrap huge numbers of binukot women were captured by the Japanese.]] The cultural subjects that the binukot were once in charge of were naturally opened to regular people, and modern Filipinos often consider the ''binukot'' practice to be child abuse.

* Plutarch used this as an analogy in the 1st century CE, making this OlderThanFeudalism: "A Roman divorced from his wife, being highly blamed by his friends, who demanded, 'Was she not chaste? Was she not fair? Was she not fruitful?' holding out his shoe, asked them whether it was not new and well made. 'Yet,' added he, 'none of you can tell where it pinches me.'"

* ''Film/{{Clueless}}'': "I know it sounds mental, but sometimes I have more fun vegging out than when I go partying. Maybe because my party clothes are so binding."

* In ''[[Literature/RamonaQuimby Ramona Forever]]'', Ramona and Beezus are forced to wear too-small shoes to a wedding. They eventually rebel by tying them to the newly-married couple's getaway car. Their mother then admits she'd forgotten how long the girls had had the shoes (and thus didn't realise the girls had outgrown said footwear) and doesn't pursue the issue.
* In ''Literature/LittleWomen'', Jo and Meg were willing to put up with too-tight shoes and painful hairpins in order to be properly dressed for a New Year's Eve party.

* Plutarch used this as an analogy in the 1st century CE, making this OlderThanFeudalism: "A Roman divorced from his wife, being highly blamed by his friends, who demanded, 'Was she not chaste? Was she not fair? Was she not fruitful?' holding out his shoe, asked them whether it was not new and well made. 'Yet,' added he, 'none of you can tell where it pinches me.'"

* In ''Literature/ThePyrates'', Black Bilbo insists on wearing a pair of red heeled boots that are too small for him (he took them off a dead man) because they are the latest fashion in Europe.
* Invoked several times in ''Literature/GoneWithTheWind''.
* One chapter of ''Literature/WaysideSchool is Falling Down'' is about PictureDay. Stephen, one of the students, is wearing a three-piece suit and tie. He explains (very matter-of-factly) to the class that "You have to wear uncomfortable shoes if you want to look important," and that "The more the tie chokes me, the better I look." Naturally, the class encourages him to pull the tie tighter and tighter until it's literally strangling him -- which also makes him ''tremendously'' handsome.

* In Molly's last ''Literature/AmericanGirl'' book, she's obsessed with curling her hair so she'll be more likely to get picked for the lead role in a patriotic dance for her tap class. After trying various increasingly uncomfortable methods, she resorts to one that involves sleeping with soaking-wet hair, which causes her to catch a cold and not be able to perform at all. The upside is that she's the only one home when her father comes back from the war.
* In ''Can You Keep A Secret?'' by Sophie Kinsella, Jemima puts on a new black suede dress for a date. It's so tight that she has trouble walking, bending down, speaking, and even ''breathing.'' Her flatmates try to talk her out of wearing the dress, but she is willing to suffer in order to show off her figure.

* In ''[[Literature/{{Sharpe}} Sharpe's Waterloo]]'', the [[ModernMajorGeneral Prince of Orange]] wears a winter uniform with lots of fur and thick layers at the Battle of Quatre Bras. It was the hottest day of the year, but his vanity would permit nothing less.

* In the first season of ''Series/TheKidsInTheHall'', Dave Foley once played a fashion designer who created women's clothes meant to horribly injure the wearer. Designs included a pair of shoes made from boxes filled with broken glass and a railroad spike meant to go through a woman's head.

* In ''Series/TheITCrowd'', Jen crams her feet into a pair of shoes she loves even though they are a couple of sizes too small. And almost cripples herself in the process.
* The "dress" Amanda receives in the ''Series/UglyBetty'' episode "Icing on the Cake". Watch [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXpu2Hpy6CQ this compilation]] starting at 5:40. "Fashion is a pain," indeed.

* Several segments of ''Series/OneThousandWaysToDie'', including a man who used a [[OfCorsetHurts corset]] to correct his bulging stomach but winds up breaking a rib and bleeding to death.
** Another focused on a former model who tried to use corn oil as an alternative to botox, she winds up causing cell death when it winds up in her organs.
** Another segment focused on a hatter who goes insane from the mercury used in the hatmaking process and eventually dies from mercury poisoning.
** Another segment focused on a girl who buys an authentic 19th-century green Irish dress only to die when the chemicals used in the dressmaking process cause madness, then poison her.
** Another segment was about a typical 50s girl who uses massive amounts of hairspray in her [[BeehiveHairdo huge beehive]] only for it to catch fire and burn her scalp and fry her brain when cigarette smoke ignites it.
** Another segment focused on a girl who wore a metal bra to fix her figure and then get zapped by lightning while trying to do a wet t-shirt contest in a rainstorm.
** Another segmented focused on a chick that wanted a big butt to help her music career (ItMakesSenseInContext). Because she didn't have the money to afford professional surgery, she instead let some shady guy inject calking compound in her butt cheeks. The quack accidentally injects some into an artery which causes a fatal embolism.
** Another segment was about a lonely outcast hunter who wears animal skins and furs. While getting some water from a stream he's mistakenly shot by another hunter who thought he was a wild animal.
* In an episode of ''Series/ILoveLucy'', Fred objects to the expense of Ethel's new shoes, if they're uncomfortable. Ethel replies, "One does not buy expensive shoes for comfort."
* In an episode of ''Series/{{CSI}}'', the team coroner has difficulty probing a dead man's body for his liver to take his temperature. They discover that the man lived his life like he was a gentleman of the Civil War South and wore a corset. Years of wear squeezed all of his lower internal organs together and up several inches.
* French comedy sketch show ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIlWwV3C3sc Vous - Les Femmes]]'' has its two stars trying on new underwear in the shop's changing room. They want stylish underwear - but are determined to test its potential for riding up, rucking up and causing inadvertent wedgies and how uncomfortable this is likely to be in wear. So the hapless changing room assistant sees two women contorting into ever-more ludicrous positions, including one who is actually assessing her new knickers' potential for pain by standing on her head...

Though it's frequently played for comedy, this trope can also be invoked by a work in order to create AnAesop about the vanity of focusing too much on physical appearance at the expense of health or comfort, and often represents the trappings of societal norms. Refusing to wear the painful fashion sometimes becomes an act of rebellion; alternatively, those not wise enough to realize the absurdity of fashion may become the subject of ridicule.https://projectrunway.com.vn/

Though it's frequently played for comedy, this trope can also be invoked by a work in order to create AnAesop about the vanity of focusing too much on physical appearance at the expense of health or comfort, and often represents the trappings of societal norms. Refusing to wear the painful fashion sometimes becomes an act of rebellion; alternatively, those not wise enough to realize the absurdity of fashion may become the subject of ridicule.

* A precolonial Visayan practice in the Philippines was that of the ''binukot,'' where a wealthy young woman (especially the daughter of a king/chief) was confined indoors to develop a fair complexion and learn extensive cultural knowledge, only going outside [[TooImportantToWalk when carried on a litter]] and shaded from the sun. RealityEnsues since after at least a decade of restriction, such women frequently ''couldn't walk.'' (This was often a draw for wealthy suitors, akin to China's foot-binding example -- only wealthy men could afford to have such a frail and delicate wife.) The practice died out VERY quickly after World War II, when [[OhCrap huge numbers of binukot women were captured by the Japanese.]] The cultural subjects that the binukot were once in charge of were naturally opened to regular people, and modern Filipinos often consider the ''binukot'' practice to be child abuse.

* In an episode of ''Series/ILoveLucy'', Edith's husband objects to the expense of her new shoes, if they're uncomfortable. Edith replies, "One does not buy expensive shoes for comfort."

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fashion_hirts.gif]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Film]]

-->'''Little Mermaid''': "But they hurt me so."
-->'''Grandmother''': "Pride must suffer pain."

[[folder: Music]]

-->Oh Mrs. Potato Head tell me, is it true that pain is beauty?
-->Does a new face come with a warranty?
-->Will a pretty face make it better?

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin, who's forced to dress up, compares a necktie to [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2009/01/23 a hangman's noose]].
* In ''ComicStrip/{{Zits}}'', Sara's [[AllWomenLoveShoes obsession with shoes]] often leads her into this territory.

[[folder:Standup Comedy]]
* Parodied in Creator/SteveMartin's ''[[http://www.aj.cz/celeb/sm3/sm3.htm Cruel Shoes]]. That page has links to audio versions of the joke.

[[folder:Theatre]]
* This is a major theme of the short play ''Theatre/TheWaitingRoom'' - both Forgiveness and Victoria suffer terrible health consequences as a result of trying to adhere to the fashions of their respective cultures - when the play opens, Forgiveness has already had a toe fall off as a result of her feet being bound, while Victoria's been suffering from hysterical episodes brought on by her corset crushing her organs.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Diane often wore an outfit which included [[http://egscomics.com/comic/2004-12-06 crisscrossed belts]] in order to attract boys. After her ImportantHaircut, she stopped wearing it and one of the reasons why was because the belts were [[http://egscomics.com/comic/tlod-019 uncomfortable to sit on]].
[[/folder]]

* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Daria}}'', Quinn bought a cute pair of high heeled sandals and wore them everywhere despite them pinching her toes and swelling her feet to the point where she could barely walk.
-->'''Sandy''': How are the shoes, Quinn?
-->'''Quinn''': They're killing me. But don't I look cute?