History Main / GlassesAndPonytailCoverUp

See also TheGlassesGottaGo (an ugly girl with glasses discovers that she looks better without them), LongHairIsFeminine (since a ponytail would be perceived as less feminine), TomboyishPonytail, and ShakingHerHairLoose / LettingHerHairDown.

* The MadeForTVMovie ''Model Behaviour'' - supermodel Janine Adams is easily able to pass as Alex Burrows by donning Alex's glasses and wearing her hair back. Even their own family members are fooled.

-->-- '''Etta Candy''', ''Film/WonderWoman''

* Discussed in ''Film/WonderWoman'' when Diana arrives in London and Steve wants to give her glasses and tie her hair up. Etta comments how basically nothing could disguise the fact that she's got to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and Diana quickly shucks the glasses and lets her hair loose, remaining disguise-less for most of the action.

The superficial features of the character's appearance have been changed enough that the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief is not broken when other characters don't recognise them, but for most viewers they are still obviously the same character. The idea became so prevalent that it also moved to non-visual media, with the glasses-and-ponytail being an indicator of [[HollywoodHomely plainness]]. Adding or removing these items to/from a girl may be [[ClarkKenting used as]] [[PaperThinDisguise a disguise]], with removing them also being used to [[SheCleansUpNicely clean up nicely]].

* In Cracked Magazine issue 137, "Beach Blanket Party" was a parody of the old beach movies (guest starring The Fonz). When the "homely" girl is transformed per this trope, she explains that she followed the usual formula -- took off her glasses, let her hair down... and then let a stand-in actress take over!

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs''. Samantha "Sam" Sparks was a bit of a geek as a child, and she had glasses and a ponytail. When people made fun of her for her demeanor, she started trying to hide her intelligence, and stopped wearing glasses and putting her hair in a ponytail. When she meets Flint and begins to reveal her true colors, he appreciates her for who she is, convincing her to regain the glasses and ponytail.

* Discussed in ''Film/WonderWoman'' when Diana arrives in London and Steve wants to give her glasses and tie her hair up. Etta comments how basically nothing could disguise the fact that she's got to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and Diana quickly shucks the glasses and lets loose her hair, remaining disguise-less for most of the action.

* ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} dons the ponytail-and-glasses disguise [[ComicBook/Supergirl2005 in]] [[ComicBook/Supergirl2011 several]] [[ComicBook/SupergirlCosmicAdventuresInThe8thGrade continuities]]. In ''ComicBook/SupergirlRebirth'', she improves the disguises with an holographic device which changes her hair color.

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* ''Series/Supergirl2015'': It is frequently mentioned by those who know Kara/ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'s dual identity that her disguise is not good, especially with Cat mentioning that when you work with someone (that you know the morals of, at least) it's really easy to distinguish their features. However, Kara's boss after Cat, Snapper, calls her only by the nickname "Ponytail", which reinforces the idea that he reduces people to a predominant defining feature and won't look beyond the hair or glasses.
* In ''Series/TheBradyBunch'' episode "My Fair Opponent", Marcia transforms ugly duckling Molly Webber into an attractive girl by doing just that.
* In ''Dark Justice,'' Judge Nicholas Marshall wore his hair this way on the bench, with the requisite glasses. When ready to engage a high-level criminal who invoked LoopholeAbuse to beat the rap, the glasses came off and the hair came down.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', Ellen [[http://egscomics.com/comic/sister3-307 wears]] sunglasses and her hair in pigtails plus a baseball cap to disguise herself. This proved to be so effective, many ''readers'' were thrown off by her appearance leading Dan to add narration and mention it in TheRant.

[[folder:ProfessionalWrestling]]
* When Wrestling/StacyKeibler was in WCW, she wore glasses and her hair in a bun when she was Miss Hancock, but would have her hair down and no glasses as Nitro Girl Skye.
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See also TheGlassesGottaGo (an ugly girl with glasses discovers that she looks better without them), LongHairIsFeminine (since a ponytail would be perceived as less feminine), TomboyishPonytail, and LettingHerHairDown.

-->--'''Etta Candy''', ''Film/WonderWoman''

There is one favourite Hollywood method to change a character's appearance massively without having to actually change the actor's appearance to unrecognisable levels. A ponytail, and a pair of glasses.

See also TheGlassesGottaGo (an ugly girl with glasses discovers that she looks better without them), LongHairIsFeminine (since a ponytail would be perceived as less feminine), TomboyishPonytail.

->''"Really, specs, and suddenly she's not the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?"''

[[caption-width-right:266:No no, [[FateWorseThanDeath not Janey Briggs]]! She's got glasses. And a ponytail!]]

Most typically used as a form of PaperThinDisguise or for SheCleansUpNicely (the glasses and ponytail look usually {{invoke|dTrope}}s HollywoodHomely). Usually AlwaysFemale, but not necessarily. In either case, glasses and ponytail is a stock 'coverup' used and enforced to make a character (recognisably) unrecognisable.

* In ''Dark Justice,'' Judge Nicholas Marshall wore his hair this way on the bench, with the requisite glasses. When ready to engage a high-level criminal who invoked LoopholeAbuse to beat the rap, he let his hair all the way down.

* ''Series/Supergirl2015'': It is frequently mentioned by those who know Kara/Supergirl's dual identity that her disguise is not good, especially with Cat mentioning that when you work with someone (that you know the morals of, at least) it's really easy to distinguish their features. However, Kara's boss after Cat, Snapper, calls her only by the nickname "Ponytail", which reinforces the idea that he reduces people to a predominant defining feature and won't look beyond the hair or glasses.

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]

[[folder/ProfessionalWrestling]]

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* Ranma Saotome from ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has this as one of his favorite disguise methods and it almost always works due to everyone around him being [[SurroundedByIdiots clueless]] and [[SuperGullible gullible]], especially [[ButtMonkey Ryoga]].

[[folder:Film -- Animation]]

[[folder:Film -- Live Action]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

Most typically used as a form of PaperThinDisguise or for SheCleansUpNicely (the glasses and ponytail look usually {{invoke|dTrope}}s HollywoodHomely). Usually AlwaysFemale, but not necessarily.

* ''Series/MacGyver'': Mac would don glasses and pull his hair back in a (rather short) ponytail when he went undercover as computer nerd Dexter.

A SubTrope of ClarkKenting.

A SupTrope of ClarkKenting.

Related to ClarkKenting, for which this can be both {{Super|Trope}}[[note]]as this is the idea of small appearance changes being treated significantly for any purpose, that is one specific use of it[[/note]] and SubTrope[[note]]as this would be one specific disguise used for that, in instances where it is being that trope[[/note]]. Therefore, examples of superheroes doing this (even when as their established alter ego) are both tropes, as one refers to the story around the disguise and the other their choice of disguise.

See also TheGlassesGottaGo, when an ugly girl with glasses discovers that she looks better without them.

* There was a time period when ''ComicBooks/{{Thor}}'' couldn't turn into his usual secret identity of Donald Blake, so he had to do the ponytail-and-glasses thing to become "Sigurd Jarlson", a construction worker from Norway.