Follow TV Tropes

Following

You Can Leave Your Hat On

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/youcanleaveyourhaton_ma3.png
Yes, and he's not the only one.

A striptease. On screen, depending on the tastefulness of the scene, the point in their career and the quality of the movie, it can either make or destroy an actor or actress.

Because someone disrobing on camera has a tendency to do that. Can go all the way; use of Scenery Censor and other camera hiding techniques is optional; may be played for comedy or pure weapons-grade Fanservice.

In the days of VHS rentals, this could cause technical difficulties, as that small section of the tape would get an inordinate amount of wear.

Many scenes like this (especially those that take place in clubs) have the stripper perform to music with a costume (initially) and whatever props the situation calls for.

The trope name comes from the 1972 song "(You Can) Leave Your Hat On" by Randy Newman. Sung by Joe Cocker in the movie 9½ Weeks, as well as covered by other singers. Made popular again by Tom Jones's version in The Full Monty. Made ridiculous by Troll 2.

If an unwilling subject is forced to disrobe, it falls rather under Shameful Strip.

See also Best Known for the Fanservice, Strip Poker. Has nothing to do with Please Keep Your Hat On, despite being extremely similar in name. A Shameless Fanservice Girl will have no problem doing this any chance she can.


Examples:

    open/close all folders 

Females:

    Anime & Manga 
  • Dragon Ball: During the quarter-finals of the 21st Tenkaichi Budokai, Lanfan strips in front of her opponent Namu and the entire audience all the way down to her sexy underwear (and socks and sport shoes). This makes it impossible for Namu to look at her during the fight, but he ends up winning by knocking her out with his eyes clothes. This trope also helps Yamcha to clue in that the Dirty Old Man Jackie Chun is actually the Muten Roshi before he gets deceived again.
  • Negima! Magister Negi Magi has an interesting variation on this. The girls go with Negi to Konoka's temple complex, and they create a bunch of magical decoys to take the girls' place so no-one will notice their absence. The clones then decide to do a striptease act for some reason. Surprisingly, it doesn't cause too much trouble (at least not compared to the release of the really big demon in the meantime).
  • Dominion Tank Police: In the first OVA, the Puma sisters perform a mirror striptease out of their Naughty Nurse Outfits to distract the police troops coming to apprehend them. It works.
  • Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt uses a striptease, complete with pole-dancing, as the Transformation Sequence when it goes normally.
  • In High School D×D, Coriana Andrealphus tries to weaponize this against Issei so he can't use his signature techniques against her during a rating game. This backfires when she attempts to remove her panties before her bra, which according to Issei is Serious Business, and gets eliminated by a Dragon Shot as a result.

    Comic Books 
  • Sin City has a character who is actually a stripper. In fact, she is sometimes depicted wearing nothing but a hat, invoking this trope to the T.
  • Jack Faust has Promethea strip for him at the start of their sexual encounter/magic lesson.
  • Omaha the Cat Dancer. The story is about a stripper and, well, actually involves striptease.
  • Joker features Harley Quinn doing a reverse striptease, coming out naked and then putting on her costume.
  • Similar to the Joker example, Batman (Tom King) features Selina seductively putting on her Catwoman costume after a rooftop tryst with Bruce.
  • Both Sara and Bob's characters end up stripping in an attempt to earn cash to continue the mission in Dave's game in Knights of the Dinner Table #201.
  • In Little Ego, Ego finds herself performing a striptease when her Erotic Dream shifts from a Getting Hot in Here scenario in the desert to being onstage in front of a raucous audience. Being Ego, she just rolls with the change.

    Fan Works 
  • In Origin Story, Jennifer Kale performs for Alex and Louise while simultaneously giving them information. The reason for this was that she was working at a strip club at the time and they needed the information ASAP. The fact that she was tipped $100 helped, but one gets the feeling she would have been happy to do so anyway.
  • This parody of Steven Universe has Yellow Diamond doing it all wrong. Blue Diamond is not amused.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • Metropolis (1927). Robot Maria.
  • The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Nipple and Dimed, but leaving you wondering how the BBFC gave it a PG rating.
  • 9½ Weeks, memorably — it's the Trope Namer, after all. Even the many US and UK critics who hated the film loved the scene.
  • True Lies — Helen thinks she is a spy pretending to be a prostitute. Her "client" is really her husband and he asks her to perform a striptease for him.
  • Dogma features Salma Hayek bouncing around to "Candy Girl". The scene is mesmerizing.
  • Rita Hayworth removes her gloves in Gilda (they're those long ones) and her necklace, 1946 being the era of The Hays Code. Her character ends up becoming one of the best-known Femme Fatale characters in history. In-story, she would go further, but is stopped by her jealous husband.
  • Troll 2, which even used the trope naming song. And some corn.
  • Watchmen, and in some circles the scene has been not-so-affectionately dubbed "the porn scene".
  • Sophia Loren has a great one in Vittorio De Sica's Ieri, oggi, domani (Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow).
  • Striptease. It's not actually about a stripclub, but just about 1/4 of the movie is spend watching one of the girls in the club — usualy the main character — strip.
  • The opening scene of Barb Wire.
  • Les Chevaliers du ciel features a strip-tease atop a gorgeous Vought F4U corsair.
  • The Bottom's Up Club in The Man with the Golden Gun is indeed a strip club; making 007's remark earlier coincidentally accurate. The waitress' chest is concealed via Godiva Hair.
  • Showgirls, of course.
  • Jane Fonda taking off her spacesuit in zero gravity constitutes the entire opening credits sequence of the movie version of Barbarella. It's not supposedly intended as such in-setting, given that the character is alone, but that's the (clearly deliberate) effect.
  • Woody Allen's What's Up, Tiger Lily?? has a woman doing a striptease over the end credits, as Allen lounges on a couch eating an apple — at the end he turns to us and says "I told her I'd get her in the picture ... somewhere." The movie itself begins in a strip club, where one man remarks of the stripper "I liked her better in The Sound of Music."
  • In Coyote Ugly, Violet slowly strips for her boyfriend Kevin as part of an explanation of how she feels when she tries to perform on-stage. Kevin also performs a partial striptease during a Bachelor Auction, but only gets as far as removing his shirt and is in the process of removing his pants when the auction is called to an end.
  • Takin' It Off and Takin' It All Off with Kitten Natividad are all about this trope.
  • Party Plane is about stewardesses doubling as in-flight strippers.
  • Xuxa's character does a strip dressed as a teddy bear in Amor Estranho Amor.
  • In Hasta El Viento Tiene Miedo, Norma Lazareno's character (Kitty) does a strip for the other girls before seeing the ghost. The 2007 remake goes a bit further to topless nudity.
  • In Stripped to Kill, the scantily-clad women at Rock Bottom perform a huge array of professional striptease routines.
  • In Private Lessons, Sylvia Kristel's character strips for Philip, the young main protagonist.
  • In Sabato Italiano, Francesca Neri's character (Marina) is hired by a group of boys to perform a strip for them.
  • In Flodder 2, Kees (Tatjana Simic) performs a strip wearing a traditional dutch outfit.
  • Plucking the Daisy, one of Brigitte Bardot's first movies, has her performing in an amateur strip contest to earn money to pay for a rare book she mistakenly sold. It's mostly tease but the strip performed by the contestant just before her (in the uncensored version) goes all the way to full nudity. Another of Bardot's movies, Viva Maria!, has her and her companion inadvertently inventing striptease while performing in Mexico.
  • In The Night Porter there's the infamous flashback scene where the female lead and inmate in a Nazi camp sensually sings Marlene Dietrich's Wenn ich mir was wünschen dürfte with her bare breast, Opera Gloves and a Nazi cap.
  • In the Canadian movie Le Party, Alexandra (Charlotte Laurier) performs a full strip for the prisoners in a jail.
  • In Doctor in Trouble, Dawn (Janet Mahoney) performs a striptease for the passengers on a cruise ship.
  • In Varsity Blues, the boys go to a strip club and are surprised to find out the performing stripper is none other than their Sex-Ed teacher, Miss Davis (Tonie Perensky).
  • In How to Beat the High Co$t of Living, Elaine (Jane Curtin) performs an impromptu striptease to distract the crowd and security from the ongoing heist.
  • In Delusions of Grandeur, Alice Sapritch's character performs a strip after one of the main protagonists mistakenly declares his love for her.
  • The Nude Set has an interrupted strip by the main protagonist, Sophie (Agnes Laurent), a strip by a cancan dancer earlier in the movie, a strip dice act, and a few more.
  • In Nashville, Sueleen (Gwen Welles) is pressured into doing a strip for an all-male audience after failing to impress them with her singing.
  • In One Night Only, Chantale Perron's character performs a strip at the party.
  • In Vive les femmes!, Viviane (Catherine Leprince) does a strip on top of the table at the New Year's dinner party.
  • In Prunelle Blues, the eponymous Prunelle (Valerie Steffen) does a strip on stage at the very beginning of the movie.
  • Escape to Athena (1979). The POW's put on a variety act for their German guards, the climax of which is a strip show by an interned female USO performer. While the Germans are busy leering over her performance, the Greek Resistance sneak up and take them all prisoner.
  • Sunset Strip (1993), as the name suggests, has many strip acts throughout.
  • In The Playbirds (1978), Penny Spencer and Mary Millington's characters must perform a strip to qualify for an undercover job.
  • In Blaze (1989), the title character played by Lolita Davidovich performs a few burlesque stripteases.
  • In the House of Wax (2005) remake, Paris Hilton does this for her boyfriend...right before she's planning to tell him she's pregnant. Well played, Paris.
  • In Loose Screws, the four main character students get the French language teacher to do a strip show in the school auditorium after they rigged the Our Founder statue to emit a breathable aphrodisiac gas near the end of the film.
  • In Madhouse (1990), the character played by Kirstie Alley does one for her husband when they get some alone time.
  • Domino: Domino defuses a Mexican Standoff by offering the gangsters' boss a lapdance.
  • Nine (Musical)'s film adaptation features a Movie Bonus Song "Take It All". As Luisa realises her marriage is falling apart, she's give a number that's imagined as her performing on stage. She strips off everything as a way of showing Guido how he has taken everything from her.
  • Darling Lili:
    • Lili's romantic rival Crepe Suzette is introduced performing a striptease as part of her act in a club. For added Visual Pun, she's wearing a hat and that's one of the last things she removes.
    • The number "I'll Give You Three Guesses" is first performed as a cutesy song about Lili falling for Bill. After discovering he might be two-timing her with Suzette, it gets a reprise to become Hotter and Sexier, complete with striptease.
  • S.O.B.: In Night Wind, the Film Within a Film, Julie Andrew's character does a bizarre striptease to the tune of "Polly Wolly Doodle". The film is a satire of the production of Darling Lili mentioned above.
  • Road House (1989): Denise's dance at the Double Deuce when Wesley and his goons confront Dalton. Since they're not a strip club, Dalton drags her of the stage after she takes her top off.
    If you're gonna have a pet, keep it on a leash.
  • Shandra: The Jungle Girl: When Shandra goes hunting, she winds up at a strip club. The audience is treated to an entire striptease occurring on the stage, despite it having nothing to do with the plot.
  • Zombies! Zombies! Zombies! is set in a strip club, and several strip routines (and a lap dance) are showcased.
  • In Girl House, Kylie's first act in the house is a striptease for her webcam that manages to attract 100% of the online audience.
  • The ABCs of Death: In the "H" segment, Frau Scheisse poses as burlesque dancer and performs a striptease to lure Bertie into her trap.
  • In The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill, Meg loses a forfeit and has to perform a striptease for the three knights. She does not seem to object. Beth also does one when it is her turn to 'perform'.
  • In Lockjaw: Rise of the Kulev Serpent, a drunk Ashley does a striptease for Kurt and Clayton, that is interrupted when Sam returns and is not pleased to see Ashley stripping for her boyfriend Kurt. Later, Ashley does another for Clayton alone before they have sex.
  • In Stag, sisters Kelly and Serena perform a raunchy striptease for Victor at his stag party, to the whooping and cheers of all the men present.
  • Asian School Girls: In order to earn money to finance their Roaring Rampage of Revenge, and obtain information on their rapists, the girls take jobs at a strip club. The audience is treated to multiple strip routines.
  • Stripped to Kill: With much of the action taking place in a strip club, the audience is treated to a huge array of very professional striptease routines.
  • Nicole, the central character of Death Walks on High Heels, is a striptease artiste and the early parts of the film in Paris feature several of her burlesque routines.
  • Head in the Clouds: Mia does a striptease for Guy and Gilda (but she isn't shown taking everything off). It turns out that she does this professionally as well, working as a stripper while in Paris.
  • Love Is Not Perfect: Marco does an impromptu striptease for Elena. She's impressed by seeing his size, and laughs because her friend Roberta told her she'd need a magnifying glass to see it.
     Films—Animation 
  • The Great Mouse Detective has Basil enter a bar to look for Ratigan. After some resistance, the waitress sits Basil and Dawson down for a drink on the house. Suddenly the show begins and the curtains of the stage open to reveal a meek-looking mouse in a long skirt, shirt and shawl to cover her shoulders. She sings sweetly and implores the gentleman mice to listen to her song, telling them that she knows that life has been hard for them and made them strong. She then sings "Let me lift the mood with my attitude.." and proceeds to strip down to a blue bathing suit as the lyrics get more racy and she ultimately promises to "Take off all her blues."

    Literature 
  • In Carl Hiaasen's most famous novel, Strip Tease, Erin is a stripper and he describes her stripping fairly graphically at times. Much like bowling in The Big Lebowski, however, stripping is incidental to the plot of the book, only used as a setting and occasionally a source of the action.
  • 1001 Tales of Arabian Nights has one particularly rowdy tale where three gorgeous sisters pick up a porter, get ridiculously drunk and then each strip in succession for the porter, who then returns the favor. Can't remember any of the other 1000 nights....
  • Spellsinger features a stoat performing an elaborate exotic dance in a bar. The human hero Jon-Tom is horrified to find himself attracted to her, as he's not used to anthropomorphs.
  • Otherland features a Brain Bleach Fetish Retardant subversion in a virtual strip club catering to, shall we say, a more perverted clientele. The girl disrobing for the slavering customers isn't taking off her clothes, but her skin.
  • Terry Pratchett's Discworld series references striptease along with much else:
    • The great city of Ankh-Morpork, whose inhabitants have never been known to miss an opportunity for profit, has a Guild of Strippers ... sorry, "Ecdysiasts, Nautchers, Cancanieres, and Exponents of Exotic Dance". On one occasion, when it is desirable for some wizards to acquire the aid of the ghost of one of their deceased colleagues, his payment is to be set up to haunt a strip club.
    • It's stated that trolls (who do have some rather strange thought processes) believe that time runs backwards, from the end to the beginning. Also, trolls rarely wear much clothing. Hence, troll strippers put clothes on.
    • Nanny Ogg, in her cook book, at one point is discussing marriage, and what happens after marriage, and mentions that a woman should always keep on something, to keep the man interested. Which is why she always leaves on her hat.
  • In Andrei Belyanin's The Thief of Baghdad, the heroes encounter Ali Baba several years after his famous adventure. As they discover, he lives in perpetual fear of his wife Morgiana (in this version, she married him instead of his son), after seeing her kill so many thieves. At one point, she gets drugged and is convinced to perform the fabled Bee Sting dance, which turns out to be a Middle Eastern version of a strip tease. While his Muslim friends are standing there with their jaws on the floor, Lev quickly comes to his senses (having been to many strip clubs in modern-day Moscow) and goes to steal Ali Baba's horses.
  • In Captain French, or the Quest for Paradise, after arriving to Malacandra with Killashandra, French conducts a test fashion show with his wife as the model. At the end, he is approached by a local agent, who politely wonders when Lady Shandra plans to disrobe. At French's angry reaction, the agent explains that, for the past century, it has become a tradition for the culmination of a fashion show to have the model strip down to music (either down to her lingerie or completely nude) and hand the dress to the lucky buyer. French resolves to hire a local model for that task despite Shandra's willingness to take part in the show. Later on, a conniving matron invites Lady Shandra to take part in her fashion show, explaining that she will also hire an aspiring local model to perform the final act. As expected, the matron announces at the start of the show that the other model has fallen ill but that Lady Shandra is willing to do the show in its entirety. Shandra, anticipating the trickery, wears an undergarment of fine crystalsilk, which, while transparent when motionless, creates a glow when shifting. The matron is utterly embarrassed, while Shandra is touted as a genius for not only countering such a move but preserving her dignity at the same time.
  • In the notorious faux-Victorian porno-chic novel A Man With A Maid, Alice appears in Jack (The Narrator)'s flat wearing just shoes, stockings and "her large picture hat, a most coquettishly indecent object!"(as Jack describes it).

    Live-Action TV 
  • Baywatch has a scene with Carmen Electra. Guess what song she used for the striptease?
  • In the Bones episode “The Party In The Pants”, where the victim of the week was a stripper, Angela tells Hodgins she’d put money in his pants and he launches into a strip tease or at least as close to one as can be done at work. One of his thrown clothing items nearly hits an incoming Cam, who just turns and leaves and doesn’t want to deal with it.
  • House. To wit: in order to remember a diagnosis after a commotion-induced amnesia, House goes on a Journey to the Center of the Mind, where he meets a mental image of Cuddy. Given that this is Dr. House, she is quickly given a costume switch into a Sexy Schoolwoman outfit and strips while helping with said diagnosis. It's more of a subversion, though, since she stops after he starts to lose focus. She then lampshades the whole thing by saying that he'd rather be diagnosing than indulging in fantasy. He then takes a third option.
  • Mad Men — twice (Nipple and Dimed, both times).
  • In Battlestar Galactica, Head!Six disrobes while walking up the stairs to Baltar's head!bedroom.
  • Helga in 'Allo 'Allo! has used this tactic several times to distract people. Amusingly, she only goes down to her attractive but complicated undergarments and bustier.
  • In Britain's Got Talent, a 35-year-old lady stripped down to nipple tassels and a basque. One fell off, resulting in ITV pixellating the breasts with two Union Jacks. She did not get klaxoned by anyone and got three yes votes. She also got 39 complaints sent to Ofcom for inappropiateness (it was aired just after the Watershed, but the show had started at 7.45pm). No ruling has been made as yet.
  • Lois Lane, on Smallville, undercover while Going for the Big Scoop. Although that was not "stripping", but a Family-Friendly Stripper. (She could have at least taken her hat off...)
  • In two different episodes of Cleopatra 2525, with the emphasis on "tease" in both cases.
  • In the Friends episode "The One with the Stripper", Monica hires a stripper for Chandler (because he didn't have a bachelor party), but she turns out to be a prostitute. Eventually, Monica herself does a somewhat awkward striptease for him (but we don't see much of that).
  • Holly J, to show her appreciation for current friend with benefits Sav, gives him a little show. However, since Degrassi is still a teen drama on during primetime she didn't go too far. She still ended up in a wonderfully fitting red cocktail dress with her hair down.
  • On Grey's Anatomy, Cristina "comforts" an injured Burke with a striptease... only for his parents to walk in. Later, Mrs. Burke overhears Cristina referring to Bailey as "The Nazi" and gives her a dressing-down for it, causing Cristina to conclude "She thinks I'm a stripper. And a racist! She thinks I'm a racist stripper!"
  • Happens occasionally on MST3K movies, but notably, almost any time a woman removes clothes for any reason, Mike/Joel and the Bots treat it like a strip tease.
    Servo: (as saxophone plays) Taaaaaaking off clothes music!
  • In season one of The Wire, the Barksdale organization's main base of operations was a strip club called Orlando's, so there were a great many scenes with background shots of strippers and dancers (many of whom were actual employees of the strip club they used for the location, according to creator David Simon). Supporting character Shardene Innes was a stripper who worked at the club, who we see performing once, disrobing to the waist.
  • The late '80s/early '90s Italian game show Colpo Grosso (and its German version, Tutti Frutti) is all about this trope, with professional strippers and contestants performing stripteases in the course of the game.
  • In an episode of the first season of French-Canadian sitcom Du Tac au Tac, set in a talent agency (circa 1976), a stripper they want to hire performs her routine but is interrupted and hides when some mobsters come looking for her. Genevieve (France Castel), an employee who was against the whole thing, is then forced to do a strip to try to convince the mobsters she was the one the striptease music was playing for.
  • The Spanish TV show Cronicas Marcianas used to have Susana Reche performing a striptease at the end of the show.
  • Another Spanish TV show, Condicion Feminina, had strip shows by Daniela Blume.
  • There is also the game show Strip-Poker as the name implies.
  • The French show Wiz qui peut had striptease acts the live audience would vote on.
  • Also from France, the Narcisso Show had a female participant who would sing and strip.
  • The 80's cable game show Everything Goes had male and female contestants who would gradually strip each other. Similar to The Hollywood Squares, the MC (Kip Addotta) would ask a celebrity panelist a question. Whether a contestant lost clothing or removed an article of clothing from his/her was based on their response to the celebrity panelist's answer.
  • In one episode of German comedy Zwei Himlische Töchter, Kikki (Ingrid Steeger) does a strip to coax a bull into boarding an airplane.
  • Played with on The King of Queens. Carrie takes a pole-dancing class and when she tries to demonstrate her new skill for Doug, she is terrible. In the next scene, Doug shows her how to do it properly.
  • The Argentinian Bailando por un Sueño (a version of Dancing with the Stars) is infamous for having strip dances (two-person strip dances, involving both female and male) as part of their dance style lineup. They dropped it after season 8 after one of its performances went viral and generated international public scrutiny.
  • Once on Passions, Charity got up on one of the tables at the club at the ski lodge and performed an impromptu striptease.
  • Parodied in Fat Actress.
  • Doctor in Charge has Emma Livingstone performing this impromptu striptease.
  • In an episode of Gossip Girl when Blair is depressed at her break-up with Nate, she goes to a burlesque club with Chuck. He convinces her to go onstage, perform a striptease and dance with the girls.
  • Ashes to Ashes (2008) has Chris getting attractively postmodern to Shaz.
  • Monty Python's Flying Circus start a show with a woman in her apartment saying how hot it is as she disrobes to her underwear. The continuity announcer (John Cleese) suddenly appears on a scaffold.
  • My World… and Welcome to It: When John first sees the comely new widow Mrs. Bessinger (who has just moved in next door) in "The Middle Years," he daydreams a Fantasy Sequence where she dances seductively and then opens her long coat, the better to show off her tight and skimpy red dress. Classic strip-tease music is heard while she does so.
  • CSI: NY: During the opening of "The Real McCoy," the waitress at the titular burlesque club performs a striptease routine atop the bar while attempting to flirt with her boyfriend, the bartender/co-owner of the club, by taking his hat and using it in her act. She goes so far as to get topless, but covers herself strategically with some large feathers that were part of her costume.

    Music 
  • Randy Newman's 1972 "You Can Leave Your Hat On" (later Covered Up by Joe Cocker) is naturally the Trope Namer.
  • The whole subject of Tom Waits' "Pasties and a G-String" from Small Change.
    Strip tease, prick tease, car keys blues
    And the porno floor show, live nude girls,
    Dreamy and creamy and brunette curls
    Chesty Morgan and Watermelon Rose
    Raise my rent and take off all your clothes
    With trench coats, magazines, a bottle full of rum,
    She's so good, make a dead man come.
  • Deconstructed in A Perfect Circle's Magdalena, where a man becomes so obsessed with a stripper that he uses religious imagery, describing her as a "Magdalena" (aka Mary Magdalene) and a "moving temple".
  • The trope is Played With, to incredibly dark effect, in "She's Pulling Out The Pin", by Elvis Costello, which starts out describing a striptease ("She's pulling out the pin / That lets her hair fall down"), implies a dark relationship scenario in the character's background ("She's slipping off the hook / Unbuttoning her dress / There's just enough to make some man a mess"), drops a sinister hint ("Do you hear something ticking?"), and ultimately suggests that "she" (probably a different “she”) has done something very terrible, and the pin isn't just in her hair and the mess isn't just emotional...
    Full of shattered glass and mayhem
    Not one softly whispered amen...
    She's knocking down some doors
    And the smoke begins to fill
    Where the world without her ends
    And the next one begins
    She's pulling out the pin.
  • Chris de Burgh's "Patricia the Stripper". She gets taken into court for her antics, which were scandalous in 1924, but the judge dismisses the case, saying that "this girl was in her working clothes".

    Music Videos 
  • Liv Tyler has a striptease scene in the Aerosmith video for "Crazy". Somewhat squicky in that it's the lead singer's daughter and all.
  • Kylie Minogue's video to "Put Yourself in My Place". She starts off floating around wearing a spacesuit... It's clearly an homage to the famous opening of Barbarella.
  • Ariana Grande's video for "Break Free" has her do a rather brief version of the scene from Barbarella as well.
  • Jennifer Lopez does a unique spin on the trope in "Love Don't Cost A Thing". As the song is about her boyfriend showering her with expensive gifts (usually jewellery) instead of affection - she slowly throws away all the necklaces, bracelets, rings etc. Once she's got rid of the jewelry, she removes the clothes. The video ends with her taking her top off and throwing it at the camera.

    Myths & Religions 
  • This one even appears in the Fanon of The Bible...
    • The relevant part of the Gospels merely states that Herodias' daughter "danced" and got the head of John the Baptist. The fanon (specifically Oscar Wilde's Salome) has it as something called "The Dance of the Seven Veils", where she wears precisely seven veils over her body and removes all seven of them. A non-fiction book about the Second World War mentions in passing that dramatizations of Bible stories were popular at the time, some, this one for example, more so than others.
    • Similarly, in the Book of Esther, the Persian king summoned his queen Vashti "wearing her royal crown, in order to display her beauty to the people and nobles, for she was lovely to look at" (which she refused to do, and he banished her for it). This has been interpreted by some to mean "wearing only her crown".
  • In Herodotus' version of the story of Gyges, a king wants to show off his wife's beauty to his court/drinking cronies so everyone'll see what a lucky bastard he is. When she adamantly refuses, he arranges for a guard (Gyges) to be hidden in a wardrobe when she disrobes, and later can brag all he wants to Gyges since he's the only one in on the secret (and boy howdy is the queen pissed when she finds out). Naturally, Gyges falls in love with the queen, and after the queen gives him the choice between murdering the king or be himself executed (she would show herself naked to only one man), he chooses the former and later marries the queen.
  • In the Shinto myth Amateratsu and the Cave, the sun goddess gets upset by her brother throwing a mutilated horse at her, and goes to sulk in a cave. The other gods send her a bunch of roosters, hoping they'll call her out of there and remind her of her job. When that doesn't work, they try sending her a new mirror. Finally, they send in the goddess of parties and sunrise to do a striptease for her, which gets her out of her slump. Chicken, gifts, and a stripper are apparently the cure for depression.

    Podcasts 
  • My Dad Wrote a Porno: In the first Christmas special, the Steele's Pots and Pans office Christmas party features a strip show. The strippers are Steele's employees Belinda, Bella, and Giselle, as well as four sisters called the Hunts girls who are professional strippers.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • At ECW Hardcore Heaven 96, June 22, 1996, the ring had been damaged during the "Weapons Match" between Tommy Dreamer and Brian Lee. In order to give the crew some time to fix it for the Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam match, Paul Heyman sent Kimona Wanalaya, who Raven had found working at a strip club where he had a side gig as DJ, up to the stage to do a strip dance wearing only a teddy and a Modesty Towel. Heyman told her it wouldn't be taped - and then he taped it and released it on the Extreme Warfare Volume 2 VHS tape. She left ECW after that.
  • Jeff Jarrett lost a match and as a result, his valet Debra had to strip. She was initially embarrassed but got into the groove and started to enjoy it.
  • Randy Orton held a contest of this when he hosted Raw for one week. Featuring Maria Kanellis, Melina, Christy Hemme, Candice Michelle and Stacy Keibler. The last one became his onscreen girlfriend for a few months after this. Her mother was apparently in the crowd.
  • Rayna Von Tosh of SHIMMER played this up as her gimmick was a burlesque dancer. As it's a family friendly show, all she did was remove her High-Class Gloves...and yet still got massive pops from the crowd.
  • Stacy Carter - who portrayed a character called Miss Kitty (later The Kat) - did this more than once in WWE.
    • The 1999 Armageddon PPV featured a four corners Evening Gown in a Pool match for the Women's Championship. Miss Kitty found herself in the match and warned that she didn't wear underwear. So of course she won the match and did a striptease for the crowd afterwards. She went further and removed her bra - resulting in the first time there was actual nudity on a national WWE PPV.note 
    • In 2001 The Kat vowed that she would get naked once again, and began to strip...only to be stopped by the Right to Censor. Jerry Lawler then had a match with Steven Richards that said if he won, The Kat would be allowed to strip on the show. He didn't win.
  • The WWE Diva Search featured a few striptease segments.

    Theater 
  • "Whatever Lola Wants" in Damn Yankees. Amazingly, Joe decides to Ignore the Fanservice.
  • Gypsy shows Louise introducing her act to a burlesque joint and gradually metamorphosing into Gypsy Rose Lee.
  • "Ah, But Underneath" in Follies (used in some productions to replace "The Story of Lucy and Jessie") has Phyllis executing a striptease to increasingly Double Entendre lyrics. At the end, she appears in a towel only and says:
    Sometimes, when the wrappings fall,
    There's nothing underneath at all.
  • The dance of the seven veils in Salome. In some productions, it goes all the way to full nudity. The 1953 film version has Rita Hayworth (from the Gilda example above) doing said dance.
  • "Take Back Your Mink" in Guys and Dolls, in which the Hot Box Dolls observe no distinction between "take back" and "take off." Well, if the guy who gave it to her is supposed to take it back, she's pretty much got to take it off, right? The song also either has a double entendre, or it's a case of Slang Marches On, as they sing "I may be down, but I'm not as flat as all that." By that point in the song, the audience should have no remaining doubts as to their flatness or lack thereof.
  • Oklahoma! discusses this in the "Kansas City" number, in which Will describes a fifty-cent "bur-lee-que" show:
    One of the gals was fat and pink and pretty,
    As round above as she as round below.
    I could swear that she was padded from her shoulder to her heel,
    But later in the second act, when she began to peel,
    She proved that ev'rythin' she had was absolutely real—
    She went about as fur as she could go!

    Video Games 
  • When you visit Votowne a second time in Anachronox, a reporter wants to schedule an interview with you, complete with a photoshoot. If the active member is Stiletto, he'll point out that he wants her to wear her beret for the shoot... and only her beret. If you have the other character active, the line is changed to include some other item that person wears, such as Sly's trenchcoat or Paco's cape.
  • There is a rather entertaining scene in A Dance with Rogues, in which the character can make a show of it while stripping for a minor character who won't help her unless she pays him or screws him. If you make a show of it, he "goes off" prematurely and performs the teleport you wanted him to in a fit of rage.
  • Heavy Rain: Madison is held at gunpoint and forced to strip tease for a skeezy nightclub owner.
  • In Persona 4, Rise's shadow kind of does this. She forgoes stripping in favor of turning into a psychedelic pole-dancing monster with a satellite for a head and attacking your party, but her dungeon is even called "Marukyu Strip Tease." (It makes sense in context, we swear.)
  • In Mortal Kombat 9, when Jade wins a match without successfully performing a Fatality, she doesn't actually take her clothes off (although, by then they're usually half torn to shreds anyway) but she does suggest a striptease by using her staff to do a pole dance while smiling suggestively at the player.

    Web Comics 
  • The Web page for the Bonobo Conspiracy featured a "Site Traffic Strip-O-Meter". The more traffic the site received, the more clothes the cute girl removes, as explained in the FAQ.
  • Flipside: When Maytag has sex with one guy she does this.
  • Girl Genius: This trope is referenced in the background of the Jäger Bar in Mechanicsburg, where the Jäger impersonator girls are seen dancing on-stage without their trousers on, singing "But I've still got my hat!" This is a bit culturally significant, due to the importance of hats in Jäger culture.
  • Ménage à 3:
    • When the irate DiDi wants to discuss their current problems with her friend Sandra, she drags her into the nearest bar, because she needs a drink or three. Unfortunately, neither of them notices that it's a strip club. Because it's that sort of comic, in the ensuing sequence of (mostly NSFW) strips, they both find themselves on stage (briefly), then DiDi ends up in the club's shower with some of the dancers and her friend Zii, and then DiDi and Zii both go home wearing breakaway stripper costumes, which are accidentally demonstrated in action.
    • Sonya possesses a killer bod, a Serious Business approach to seduction, a musician's sense of rhythm, and a love of the dramatic. Hence, she's perfectly willing to use striptease as a way to achieve results, and does so at least twice — once on Gary (when seeking to out-compete Yuki) and once on Yuki (largely to score a point). Neither scene goes entirely to her plan, but that's not for want of Sonya trying.
  • Pixie Trix Comix: Nikki performs a striptease for Aaron when he fails to perform after she offers him a quickie. She is puzzled when it doesn't work (reasonably enough — she's a good-looking woman). The problem is that Aaron has neglected to tell her that he's just come away from an eight hour sexual marathon with another woman, and whether or not he wants to admit it, he's completely spent.

    Web Videos 
  • The Web newscast Naked News has stripping news anchors.

    Western Animation 
  • Stripperella. 'Nuff said.
  • Fablio le Magicien, an old animated series illustrating La Fontaine's tales (adapted from Aesop's) with anthropomorphic animals, had two episodes featuring a striptease (one by a female rat and one by a female bird).
  • Il giro del mondo degli innamorati di Peynet has a striptease performed by a girl in a series a psychedelic images accompanying a song, in the scene set in Britain.
  • Implied in a Tex Avery M-G-M adaptation of "The Elves and the Shoemaker", as the elves make a pair of women's shoes dance around on a stage that strip to a different pair of shoes amid catcalls and whistles from the audience.

Males:

    Advertising 
  • A laundry detergent commercial basically had the inverse of a striptease going on: a man putting on his clothes to the tune of burlesque music.

    Anime & Manga 
  • Mercilessly teased in Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu with Sōsuke. Due to losing a bet he made with a Camp Gay trio from the music club, he ended up having to keep his end of the promise and swim naked in a lake while they watch. He slowly unbuttons his uniform and starts slipping his jacket off his shoulders. And despite the fact that he was, in no way doing it sensually (in fact, his whole attitude is pretty much trying to get it over with), coupled with how he didn't even get that far into it, the whole scene still seemed something that would definitely whet the appetite of fangirls (or fanboys). For Sôsuke, him publicly stripping is about as erotic as you can get him. Kaname's intervention was something of a Moment Killer, unfortunately.
  • Kill la Kill turns this into a character trait for resident Mr. Exposition/Fanservice, Aikuro Mikisugi, as the man is incapable of delivering exposition without accompanying it with a striptease.

    Comic Books 
  • Both Sara and Bob's characters end up stripping in an attempt to earn cash to continue the mission in Dave's game in Knights of the Dinner Table #201.
  • Multiple issues of Birds of Prey have had the primarily female cast attending male strip clubs. Some of the members are horrified, and some are delighted. Lady Blackhawk is always a particularly enthusiastic participant.

    Fan Works 

    Film — Animated 
  • Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay: After learning that Steel Maxum is a stripper, the Squad goes searching for him in a male strip club, much to Harley's obvious delight. She immediately volunteers to search backstage.

    Films — Live-Action 
  • The Full Monty: It's also, in a way, about this trope — the plot concerns a group of poor men who decide to do what no other male strip act does and "go the full monty", i.e. full-frontal nudity. It's a comedy, BTW. In fact, the last scene of the movie is set to "(You Can) Leave Your Hat On". And the final piece of clothing they toss off, to go the "full monty" is naturally, their hats.
  • In Transporter 3, Valentina makes Frank do one of these in exchange for his car keys.
  • In Dostana, Kunal (John Abraham) strips down to his underwear. In a cab. In front of Sam (Abhishek Bachchan) who nervously steals glances at him.
  • Jay in Clerks II strips while imitating Buffalo Bill's "Goodbye Horses" dance in front of the Mooby's restaurant out of boredom, complete with suggestive chapstick use.
  • Pennies from Heaven has a Christopher Walken striptease. Must be seen to be believed.
  • 13 Going on 30 - Jenna's future boyfriend does one for her. She's more squicked out as she's only thirteen years old in her mind.
  • Magic Mike is of course about male stripping. But despite the Fanservice aspect, the film is also a cynical look into the lives of the strippers themselves.
  • Chicago:
    • Billy Flynn's first musical number - "All I Care About" - has him steadily being stripped by all the back-up dancers. He's left in his undershirt by the end.
    • He partially strips during the "A Little Tap Dance" sequence, removing his jacket and tie.
  • In the final scene of The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Clouseau tries to seductively take off his suit before a romantic rendezvous with gorgeous Russian defector Olga while a Tom Jones song plays in the background. This being Clouseau, he utterly botches it, resulting in him wearing his tie as a headband because he can't untie the knot, and his shirt ripped to shreds because the cuff buttons won't come undone. He eventually ends up in just his underwear, which can be clearly seen as a Murphy's Bed launches him through his bedroom wall and into the river.

    Literature 
  • The Anita Blake books occasionally go into detailed and often lengthy descriptions of male strip acts. Given the number of professional strippers in Anita's harem, it's surprising how well she manages to avoid more of these. (The female strippers Anita encounters are almost invariably disposable sex workers who've already been disposed of.)
  • Male stripping is invoked a couple of times in the Discworld series. A wizard's costume is his robes and his pointy hat. Various wizards (always and exclusively male, with one exception in Equal Rites who's never heard from again after that book) seem to feel that in very pressing circumstances the robes may be optional, but the hat never. In a bit of a lampshading, it's pointed out that they don't have to wear the hat on their heads, necessarily. This is usually used humorously, as the wizards are not the kind of people you'd want to see wearing only hats.

    Live-Action TV 
  • The Monty Python's Flying Circus sketches "Taking Your Clothes Off in Public" and "Secretary of State" have male stripteases, both performed by Terry Jones. In the second, he plays the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs, who twirls his nipple tassels while making a political speech, and is followed by a belly-dancing Graham Chapman (as the Minister of Pensions and Social Security).
    • An opening sketch after the titles had Prime Minister Ramsey MacDonald entering his home, saying "My, it's hot in here!", then disrobing showing he's wearing women's underwear.
  • In the season 2 premiere of Ashes to Ashes (2008), Chris enjoys watching ladies strip off in a Soho nightclub. His girlfriend Shaz is rather annoyed at this. To make it up to her, seemingly on Alex's suggestion, he puts on a police uniform of the time and does the Full Monty, to Gene and Ray's huge bemusement. Not, however, having rip-off trousers, when he moves over to kiss Shaz after dropping his Y-fronts, he trips over the trousers around his ankles.
  • On an episode of The Drew Carey Show parodying The Full Monty, Drew and the boys form a strip act in order to earn enough money to replace a dog they accidentally had neutered. (It Makes Sense in Context.) Lampshaded when the show ends and Drew gives the money to the audience, and the guys from The Full Monty are there. "Sorry you had to see me naked... sorry you had to see me naked... hey, I saw you guys naked and I didn't get anything out of it!" He then takes back the money he gave them.
  • In the Friends episode "The One Where the Stripper Cries", Monica and Rachel hire a male stripper for Phoebe's bachelorette party, but are disappointed when he shows up played by Danny DeVito. Despite her initial disgust Phoebe actually starts to enjoy his performance after getting to know him, but then he collapses with chest pains and the girls have to take him to the hospital.
    • In another episode Phoebe recognises a guy in Central Perk as the male stripper they hired for Monica's secret Bachelorette Party that Chandler wasn't supposed to know about. She then blabs to Chandler that Monica untied the stripper's g-string with her teeth.
  • Well, The Full Monty certainly makes the rounds. In The Vicar of Dibley, one of the parish talent shows features Jim (Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, no) doing the full monty dance and (apparently) ending up naked (at least from the back).
  • Mocked several times on Saturday Night Live. Once with a sketch that had Patrick Swayze and Chris Farley as the final contestants to join the Chippendale's dance troupe.
  • Castle, as a cop show, was pretty much guaranteed to have a Strip Club Episode sooner or later. None of the main cast actually stripped (although Detective Ryan was encouraged to audition), but there were a lot of professionals. Including Hans von Manschaft.
  • In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Will and Carlton take jobs as strippers after the two of them lose money in a failed investment. Carlton does the performance in a memorable scene, which is then brought to a screeching halt by his mom.
  • In the Charlie's Angels episode "Toni's Boys", Kris and Bob Sorenson watch a male stripper rehearse.
  • Similar to the movie, M*A*S*H had Hawkeye and Charles teaming up to prank B.J. after he had pranked them. He's in his bunk, stark naked but in the nurses' quarters. When announcement comes in for incoming wounded, B.J. gets up but uses a pillow to cover himself. But when he goes out the door, he finds the female personnel all ogling him.
    P.A.: Sorry, Captain Hunnicutt. Captain Pierce made me do it!

    Music 
  • Yoshiki Hayashi of X Japan does this at least four times: his NUDE photobook, the Standing Sex and Longing commercials, and a set of fliers passed out for Yoshiki Mobile at the 2008 concerts....
  • Angus Young of AC/DC always strips down to his underwear in concerts.
  • Robbie Williams goes far beyond the skin in "Rock DJ", finishing up as nothing more than a dancing skeleton. The naughty bits are blurred, but not very much.
    • The cover of the single shows the part where Robbie's already taken off his skin, and he's down to his muscles.

    Myths & Religion 
  • According to Bible fanon, King David himself is so overcome with joy at the recapture of The Ark of the Covenant and its return to Jerusalem that he is moved to do a Chippendale in the street, to strip down to his royal loincloth and dance for joy — an action that earns him the Queen's reproof and criticism. Although this may be more of a case of Fully-Clothed Nudity, as Scripture says that he was wearing an ephod.

    Pro Wrestling 
  • Something Chick Magnet Punk has long since stopped doing, but he and Colt Cabana did a lap dance two years into their careers, in 2001, for the winner of a raffle.
  • Curt Hawkins and Tyler Reks debuted this gimmick in 2012, heavily inspired by Magic Mike. The gimmick didn't amount to much because Reks asked for his release shortly afterwards, and it got dropped.
  • Cesaro as of 2016 started making his entrance while wearing a suit, which he would strip off as he walked down to the ring.

    Theater 
  • In the musical Chicago, Billy Flynn strips to his underwear in "All I Care About Is Love." It makes it convenient for him in the following scene to be fitted for a new suit.
  • The Full Monty is also a Broadway musical. Yes. Being a Broadway musical (that is to say, live theater), if, say, the lights should malfunction during even one show, then the audience might see what it's not supposed to. Worse yet, should an actor feel a little cheeky (no pun intended. Well, maybe a little) during a performance and jump ahead of the light cues, the audience gets more than they bargained for. Or less, depending on the actor in question.

    Web Comics 

    Web Videos 
  • In the Vic Mignogna's Real Fans of Genius, this is inverted in the Yaoi Fangirl tribute: the hat will come off, but nothing else.
  • In a DVD extra, The Nostalgia Critic stripteases out of a soaking wet Ghostbusters uniform while Rob (Doug's brother) films it and hums stripper music.

    Western Animation 
  • In one episode of Ed, Edd n Eddy a boomerang changes everyone's personalities to their near-polar opposites. When the uptight Edd gets hit, he suddenly becomes a nudist hippie and starts stripping his clothes off. The only thing he has on by the end of the episode is his hat.
  • Happens to Baloo in the TaleSpin episode "Vowel Play".
  • Elmer Fudd does a striptease on stage - with help from Bugs Bunny - in Stage Door Cartoon.
    • ''Cross Country Detours" shows a lizard shedding its skin—by doing a strip tease.
    • Daffy Duck does a strip tease as he prepares to be the main course in "The Wise Quacking Duck."
  • Bob's Burgers: Bob does a Valentine's striptease for Linda in "Can't Buy Me Math". Unfortunately, because Bob forgot to close the curtains Jimmy Pesto and his customers are also treated to a glimpse of Bob's swarthy body.

 
Feedback

Video Example(s):

Top

Business Suit Strip

Dancing to the song "Money Can't Buy It", Demi Moore's Erin Grant goes from a business suit to a skimpy gold thong bikini.

How well does it match the trope?

4.2 (10 votes)

Example of:

Main / YouCanLeaveYourHatOn

Media sources:

Report