History Main / ParachutePetticoat

* Alice does this in [[VideoGame/DisneyInfinity]].

* Alice does this in ''[[VideoGame/DisneyInfinity]]'' as a move.

* During the boxing match at the end of ''The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'', one of the fighters is slammed into the crowd with such force that one of the saloon girls is catapulted skyward, only to drift back down. (Then again, since she was dancing the cancan earlier, we'd already seen her petti's...)

* Alice does this with her dress in [[VideoGame/DisneyInfinity]] as a move.

* ''Comicbook/JetDream'': In one story, Marlene's dress billows out into a "Tunic Chute" to save her from falling off a cliff to her death. Technically not "improvised," but a piece of [[ShoePhone spy gear]] ''designed'' for the purpose. It's a pretty goofy design, though, and one of the less "ladylike" examples, as just about ''any'' angle other than that chosen by the artist would give Marlene [[{{Fanservice}} "full exposure."]] [[http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5218/jd194.jpg See Marlene's Tunic Chute in all its glory]].

* ''Comicbook/JetDream'': In one story, Marlene's dress billows out into a "Tunic Chute" to save her from falling off a cliff to her death. Technically not "improvised," but a piece of [[ShoePhone spy gear]] ''designed'' for the purpose. It's a pretty goofy design, though, and one of the less "ladylike" examples, as just about ''any'' angle other than that chosen by the artist would give Marlene [[PantyShot "full exposure."]] [[http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/5218/jd194.jpg See Marlene's Tunic Chute in all its glory]].

* ''Webcomic/ElectricWonderland'': Shroomy's dress acts as one after she jumps out of a window in "The Search For Parker," but it collapses after Aerynn grabs her.

* This happened to Belle in Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas during "Stories".

* Princess Zelda in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' can use this to slow and control descents after being hit up.

** The Alice in Hanna-Barbera's 1966 special ''Alice In Wonerland,'' ''[[EitherOrTitle or: What's a Nice Kid Like You Doing in a Place Like This?]]'' effects this even though she's in a dress a normal little girl in 1966 would wear. Here she's holding her skirt and slip down as she slowly descends the rabbit hole, only billowing up from the rear.

* A male variation: the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Injun Trouble" has the Sloppy Moe's suspenders serving as a parachute.

* A male variation: the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' short "Injun Trouble" has the bearded man's suspenders serving as a parachute.

* Widely believed to have saved [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Ann_Henley Sarah Ann Henley]]'s life.

* The cage crinoline of the mid-1850s and the 1860s. Prior to the crinoline, big skirts were supported by several layers of petticoats, which were heavy for the wearer and would become floppy over time. The crinoline would alleviate these problems, yet the caveat would be that the skirts would be picked up by heavy winds due to the lightweightedness, and the wide, sturdy frame of the cage would be a hassle for narrow doorways.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/Pucca'', episode "Chef-Napped!", when Pucca and Garu are falling down a trap door, Pucca's dress billows like a parachute, causing her to float safely.

* The crinoline. RealityIsUnrealistic.

* A ''Disney/LiloAndStitch'' comic from ''Magazine/DisneyAdventures''' Comic Zone has the characters playing with "jump jelly," goop that acts as a super-trampoline if charged with electricity. When [[WholesomeCrossdresser Pleakley]] tries it, he wears one of Nani's dresses as a safety precaution. Stitch turns the electricity up and Pleakley bounces extra-high, using the dress as a parachute to float back down with.

* The falling scene as Alice falls down the rabbit hole as her dress balloons out like a parachute which causes her to float in Disney's version of ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHte24GGHD4 (seen here)]]. This trope is used to explain why she falls slowly enough to look around her and ruminate on the whole situation, which in the book goes [[RealDreamsAreWeirder unexplained.]]

* This happened in Walt Disney's ''Disney/PeterPan'' to Wendy Darling as she lands on the Big Ben's hand during "You Can Fly"!.

* Baby Piggy in ''WesternAnimation/MuppetBabies'', as she told her version of the Lewis Carroll story, had this happen to her own Alice character, her dress taking a parachute-like means as she fell down a rabbit-, er, I mean tadpole-hole.

* Zia in the ''Anime/TheMysteriousCitiesofGold'' episode, "Back To Barcelona Part 2". Her dress spreads out briefly when she drops down from a tree.

* The falling scene as Alice falls down the rabbit hole as her dress balloons out like a parachute in Disney's version of ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHte24GGHD4 (seen here)]]. This trope is used to explain why she falls slowly enough to look around her and ruminate on the whole situation, which in the book goes [[RealDreamsAreWeirder unexplained.]]

* The falling scene as Alice falls down the rabbit hole in Disney's version of ''Disney/AliceInWonderland'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHte24GGHD4 (seen here)]]. This trope is used to explain why she falls slowly enough to look around her and ruminate on the whole situation, which in the book goes [[RealDreamsAreWeirder unexplained.]]

* Played with in ''Anime/MacrossDelta''. The members of Walkure routinely end up falling, particularly during the final battle. Their fancy idol outfits do a lot to break their fall long enough for rescue to arrive......because their skirts are rigged with tiny thrusters that function as an emergency parachute. It creates the illusion of this trope, since the devices are hidden underneath and flare the skirts out further.

* ''ComicBook/SuskeEnWiske'': In the story "De Kaartendans", this happens to Wiske when she dresses up in a 18th century dress, but accidently trips over it and tumbles out the window. She makes a safe landing outside, and even remarks that this must be how the parachute was originally invented.

* In ''Literature/AngelsAndDemons'', Robert Langdon has to bail out of a helicopter overy Rome, and uses his sport coat to slow himself enough to not die by landing in the nearby river.

* Princess Gwendolyn from WesternAnimation/{{Gawayn}} in "The Way We Used To Be, Part 1". After a horse pulling a cart comes to a halt, she, Sir Roderick, Elspeth, William, and Xiao Long are launched into the air. Princess Gwendolyn's dress gets an updraft, revealing her pink undies and breaking her fall, before she slowly descends safely.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheTwistedTalesofFelixTheCat'' episode, "Felix Breaks The Bank", when Candy is falling quickly, she comes to an abrupt stop for a moment, as a sudden draft up her skirt causes it to billow like a parachute. She manages to keep her skirt from rising any higher, as she looks at the camera and audience, giggles coyly and descends slowly, and safely.

* [[https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/93/46/dc/9346dcc1c70884c5bd5e1f923ef62b55.png Princess Peach]] in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros2'' uses this to hover in the air and make long jumps. It ended up being more implicitly magical in the ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' games, however (note the [[BuffySpeak sparklies]] around her dress when she does it). She also has this in ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'', though she can still do it with powerups that completely remove the dress. Other times, she just uses her {{parasol|Parachute}}.