History Main / FullyClothedNudity

Still, if you walked into UsefulNotes/{{Walmart}} wearing nothing but a thong and a bra, you'd probably get some security guard showing you to the door. So it's not an entirely unreasonable reaction. Undergarments, themselves, [[{{Unmentionables}} have been considered obscene at times]], such that seeing them exposed without outerwear (or even hanging from a clothesline!) might also be deemed "indecent", whether or not there're excessive amounts of skin on display. And people [[OurNudityIsDifferent differ in their perceptions of modesty]], not only across time (Victorian era women 16 and up [[OldTimeyAnkleTaboo couldn't even show their calves]], and the '50s saw the above porch example as pretty embarrassing) but even in modern Western civilization (where some of us still think it's crass to let a bra strap show).

* This also extends to Indecent Exposure laws. In most places, a man without a shirt on is not naked for the purposes of charging them with Indecent Exposure, while most places a woman without a top on would be. Going outside in your underwear could be considered Indecent Exposure. Some places, even beaches like Myrtle Beach, thong bikinis are considered naked and indecent, where others would not. Finally, some cities have considered sagging pants to be indecent exposure, even though the person is normally fully clothed.

* Robert Burck performs as a musician in Times Square under the name "The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Cowboy Naked Cowboy]]". However, he always does so wearing two pairs of white briefs to avoid being arrested for this trope. A single pair is legally underwear, and thus "indecent." The second pair counts as clothing. In 2016, he promoted UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in 2016 by playing guitar "in the nude" ... meaning a red, white, and blue cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and Speedo-type briefs.

* One ''WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck Family Album'' comic involves the unveiling of a statue of the founder of Duckburg. When the statue is revealed to show the founder as he was the day he founded Duckburg - in his undershirt and long trousers - everyone is as shocked as they would if the statue showed the founder's genitalia. By contrast, the later reveal that the founder was actually wearing swimming tucks is met with no disgust at all.

* Taken to extremes in the 1914 silent short ''Film/MabelsStrangePredicament'', mostly because of the ValuesDissonance. Creator/MabelNormand gets trapped outside her hotel room while wearing VERY demure (by today's standards) pajamas. But in her eyes she's practically naked; just [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrAMZt6812A#t=4m10s watch how she reacts]] when [[Creator/CharlieChaplin the Tramp]] happens upon her. Later in the short, she even hides herself behind a blanket.

* Anastasia in ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' takes this UpToEleven by getting all flustered by seeing Christian in "nothing but" a t-shirt and jeans. So...fully clothed, then?

** In one of the books, he undoes the top two buttons of his shirt (which he typically has buttoned all the way) and walks through the police station not realising they're still undone. He's mortified when he realises this and apologises to everyone in the station for his "earlier nakedness", much to their confusion.

* ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'': In the Season 7 episode "The Caddy", Elaine knows a woman named Sue Ellen who never wears a bra. After Elaine gives her a bra as gift (as a not-so-subtle message), Sue Ellen doesn't seem to realize it's intended as underwear and starts wearing only the bra without a shirt, even out in public walking down the street. Kramer and Jerry get into a car accident when Kramer is distracted by the bra-clad Sue Ellen, having been so shocked by her public nudity. However, as seen [[http://oi49.tinypic.com/2vrvnll.jpg here]], it provides quite a lot of coverage, and in the scenes where we see Sue Ellen wearing the bra she is wearing a black blazer over it, though unbuttoned. So despite that she's wearing something not more revelaing than much other modern streetwear, other characters still say that she was wearing "just a bra" and react as if she were topless.

* Oftentimes, the actual amount of skin shown is not the main thing that bothers women in real life. Someone seeing you in a Bikini you have ''chosen'' to wear in public is no big deal, but when circumstances conspire to let someone see you wearing underwear you didn't intend for public consumption it feels like a violation. In fact, sometimes the logic goes completely in the opposite direction, since many bras and panties are ''less'' revealing than women's swimwear these days (see the page image above). Thus the issue is not the amount of skin being revealed, but rather it all boils down to consent.

* Robert Burck performs as a musician in Times Square under the name "The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naked_Cowboy Naked Cowboy]]". However, he always does so wearing two pairs of white briefs to avoid being arrested for this trope. A single pair is legally underwear, and thus "indecent." The second pair counts as clothing.
** He promoted UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump in 2016 by playing guitar "in the nude" ... meaning a red, white, and blue cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and Speedo-type briefs.
* Pretty universally averted in most high school theater programs, especially the ones with four or five shows a year and a constant stream of other events -- the freshmen/rookies are always shocked at boys strolling into the girls' dressing room for help with makeup and girls -- most of whom are in underwear -- not even turning around. By their third show or so, they've gotten over it.
* News tend to report stories about people getting [[ShamefulStrip embarrassing naked strip-searches]] by the police, TSA, or some other form of authority -- only to read that naked was without their coats and jackets. Tank tops for females and topless for males (but pants on) is considered naked for the sake of news.
* People who follow a strict religion can often feel embarrassed wearing what other people would consider normal. For example, a strict Muslim woman might feel exposed not wearing a hijab, or a Mormon woman wearing a mini skirt. Not just women in the [[StealthPun latter]] case: Both sexes wear the sacred undergarments after going through the temple ceremonies, and even in Utah it can be difficult to find summer-wear that completely covers said garments.

* Image editing software can make partially transparent clothing appear more transparent. In the most [[VaporWear extreme]] cases, outfits can essentially be photoshopped off, leading to someone who is fully clothed, but also totally naked.
* Many people experience variations on the classic NotWearingPantsDream, one of which is being clad only in underwear.

* A common sight at swimming pools near apartments is the woman who was sunbathing in a swimsuit needing to cover up and walk fast to cross the distance of a few yards between the pool and her apartment. It would be terribly embarrassing to be caught wearing the swimsuit while not actually within the confines of the pool.
** Hotel guests have a similar issue, as it's totally OK and normal to be wearing just a swimsuit while in or around the hotel pool, but most people start feeling very exposed if they have to wander back to their rooms without something else to wear (or at least a towel to wrap around themselves, which also serves to keep from dripping all over the hotel carpets). Which seems sort of silly, but may be mandated by hotel policies that only allow swimwear in the pool area.

** Understandable, because (as with everything else in wrestling, or in any form of combat) the key difference is power and control. Getting stripped to one's underwear in public is tantamount to rape, especially if there's physical violence involved (and in wrestling, there ''always'' is). Wrestling/RicFlair competing in nothing but a tiny pair of shorts is no big deal; Styling and Profiling Ric Flair being stripped from his expensive wears to said shorts ''and'' [[{{Gorn}} beaten grotesquely bloody]] (when he's a face) is an atrocity.

* When reporter Anna Gilligan [[WalkingSwimsuitScene strips down to a bikini]] to try out the Tarzan rope swing at Ride/ActionPark she says "I'm going to derobe here. I don't know what's scarier: the ride or taking off my clothes." during [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oejYFxlKPTs this segment]] on ''Good Day America''.

* Sartre's ''No Exit'' brushes on this trope. Taking off your jacket, and so being only in shirt sleeves, would have been indecent a few decades earlier, but at the time of the play was only faintly risque.

* ''OneDayAtATime1975'' - In the 1977 episode "The Butterfields," Alice sees her husband, Hal, without his suit jacket and says, "You're undressed!" Hal then tries to cover up his nipples with his hands, despite that those nipples are still covered up by a fully-buttoned-up, long-sleeved suit shirt and tie.

Some examples of this trope, particularly in visual media, may be an example of censored nudity; even though the character is shown in their underwear the audience is supposed to know that they're "really" naked.

* In ''Webcomic/SWAPEnsemble'', Cassie freaks out when her boyfriend enters the storage closet while she's changing. She's wearing a padded tank top and shorts that could pass for normal clothing.

* In ''Webcomic/SWAPEnsemble'', Cassie has a NakedFreakOut when her boyfriend enters the storage closet while she's changing. Her underwear consists of a padded tank top and shorts that could pass for normal clothing.

* ''[[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Murphys-Law/327576524018415 Roger Martin's Murphy's Law]]'' employs this trope, as seen in his 2016 calendar. It shows a man at his place of employment on "Casual Friday" in a white tanktop, polkadot shorts, socks and shoes, looking like most people outside in the summer. It's played as if his penis is hanging out, according to the reactions of his co-workers. It can be seen [[http://i.imgur.com/ObbZ3f9.jpg here]].

* An ad from New Zealand for Trumpet Ice Cream cones explores the question [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW4qptCre8M&feature "How far do you have to be from the beach before your swim togs become undies?"]]. The answer seems to be "Out of sight of the water or 300 metres, whichever is shorter."

[-[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://peachartworks-blog.tumblr.com/post/127238687582 Image]] by [[http://peachartworks-blog.tumblr.com/ PeaCh Artworks]].]]-]

* This trope is played for laughs in ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'', where Agatha's frequent bouts of sleep-working leave her in nothing but (relatively modest) Victorian-style underwear, but she [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20030519 acts like she's been seen in the nude]]. Given the time period, it would be considered indecent by most European standards, so TruthInTelevision. Happens again at Sturmhalten. Tarvek ends giving Agatha a dress ''more revealing'' than her underwear!

* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive NP'''s ''VideoGame/{{Fable}}'' parody, Susan is baffled to realise that while ''she'' sees herself wearing underclothes, everyone else either doesn't see them, or considers that to be naked anyway, because video game logic.