History Main / SheCleansUpNicely

* In ''Manhua/GoddessCreationSystem'' Xiaxi is considered ugly at the start, though most readers think she was still pretty cute. However, because she ''needs'' to be beautiful or die, she begins working out, using cosmetics to improve her skin and such and becomes ridiculously gorgeous.

* This trope was parodied in a Website/TikTok video. A mom comes home from a trip to Wal-Mart wearing house clothes, a hair bonnet, and a cheap purse, saying they didn't have what she needed. Her son asks what she's going to do now and she says she has to get dressed so she can go to Target. Cut to her coming out of her bedroom in a fashionable outfit with styled hair and a designer handbag.

* SheCleansUpNicely/{{Webcomics}}

* SheCleansUpNicely/VideoGames

%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=355r1x6llqprt67a9ossmkp2

[[quoteright:330:[[Film/ThePrincessDiaries https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/she_cleans_up_nicely_551.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:330:This is [[Creator/AnneHathaway the same person]], only better looking. "Shut up" indeed!]]

If female, she may originally be dowdy, unfashionable, a {{Tomboy}} or WrenchWench, or simply not particularly attentive to her appearance. If they're a male character, he may be slovenly or sloppy. Either gender may be impoverished and therefore shabby in their normal appearance. Since attractiveness is strongly tied to heteronormativity in most societies, this trope can also be used to play around with gender and sexuality. For example, a ButchLesbian might dress up as a GirlyGirl and (much to everyone's surprise) turn out to be [[LipstickLesbian gorgeous]], or a wimpy CampGay guy could turn into a beauty [[AttractiveBentGender when he crossdresses]].

If they're female, she may originally be dowdy, unfashionable, a {{Tomboy}} or WrenchWench, or simply not particularly attentive to her appearance. If they're a male character, he may be slovenly or sloppy. Either gender may be impoverished and therefore shabby in their normal appearance. Since attractiveness is strongly tied to heteronormativity in most societies, this trope can also be used to play around with gender and sexuality. For example, a ButchLesbian might dress up as a GirlyGirl and (much to everyone's surprise) turn out to be [[LipstickLesbian gorgeous]], or a wimpy CampGay guy could turn into a beauty [[AttractiveBentGender when he crossdresses]].

* [[SheCleansUpNicely/LiveActionFilms Films -- Live-Action]]

* SheCleansUpNicely/WebComics

* Subverted in, of all things, the musical ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' where Elphaba appears at the top of the stairs at a party and everyone turns to stare, before bursting out into raucous laughter at the hideous hat she's been tricked into wearing.
* Sarah at the ball in ''Theatre/TanzDerVampire''.
* At the climax of the ballet ''Rodeo'', the dancing grinds to a halt and Music/AaronCopland's hoedown music [[LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand loses pitch like a record winding down]] as the tomboy reappears in a nice dress.
* In ''Theatre/LegallyBlonde'' TheMusical, this doesn't happen at a party, but in fact in a courthouse; Elle gives Emmett a makeover during "Take It Like a Man" so that he'll have this effect on his boss before the big murder trial, after said boss refers to him as "Tattered Corduroy." (Both Elle and Emmett have very JawDrop reactions to seeing his transformation - as does an entire department store staff who all call him hot.)

* ''Theatre/AVeryPotterMusical'' has the song [[http://teamstarkid.bandcamp.com/track/granger-danger ''Granger Danger'']], which consists of Ron and Draco singing about how beautiful Hermione is now that [[TheMakeover looking good has become important to her]]:
-->''Strange how a dress,''\\
''Can take a mess,''\\
''And make her nothing less than...''\\
''Beautiful to me....''

* The ''Theatre/MrsHawking'' play series: In part VI: ''Fallen Women'', [[spoiler: Mary when she comes out in her wedding dress in the final scene.]]
* ''Theatre/CinderellaLloydWebber'': Unlike in most versions, Cinderella isn't considered beautiful by the characters at the beginning, since she doesn't fit in with their primped, flawless beauty standards. Instead, the Fairy Godmother gives her an extreme makeover, at the end of which she sees herself as "ravishing". Sebastian does not recognize her at the ball.

* This trope was parodied in a Website/TikTok video. A mom comes home from a trip to Wal-Mart wearing house clothes, a hair bonnet, and a cheap purse, saying they didn't have what she needed. Her son asks what she's going to do now and she says, "I have to get dressed so I can go to Target." Cut to her coming out of her bedroom in a fashionable outfit with styled hair and a designer handbag.

* This trope was parodied in a Website/TikTok video. A mom comes home from a trip to Wal-Mart wearing house clothes, a hair bonnet, and a cheap purse, saying they didn't have what she needed. Her son asks what she's going to do now and she says, "I have to get dressed so I can go to Target." Cut to her coming out of her bedroom in a fashionable outfit with brushed hair and a designer handbag.

* This trope was parodied in a Website/TikTok video. A mom comes home from a trip to Wal-Mart wearing house clothes, a hair bonnet, and a cheap purse, saying they didn't have what she needed. Her son asks what she's going to do now and she says, "I have to get dressed so I can go to Target." Cut to her coming out of her bedroom in a fashionable outfit with brushed hair and a designer handbag, and she says she'll be back in a bit.

** "Literature/{{Catskin}}", where the heroine must flee her home (usually because of her father) and take a job as a servant. She has brought along her dresses, or a magical way to get them, and can put them on for the ball or other event. Others of this type include "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/katie.html Katie Woodencloak]]", Creator/JosephJacobs's "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/rashin.html Rashin-Coatie]]", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/bear.html The Bear]]", Creator/TheBrothersGrimm's "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/allfur.html All-Kinds-Of-Fur]]", "[[http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/donkeyskin/stories/kingdaughter.html The King Who Wished Marry To His Daughter]]", and "Literature/CapORushes".

-->-- ''Literature/ColdComfortFarm''.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Luann}}'': Toni has long had a reputation of being tough (pretty much a prerequisite for a firefighter) [[http://www.gocomics.com/luann/2016/12/04 but for her wedding, however...]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* Implied but not fully stated in ''[[Fanfic/TwiceUponAnAge All This Sh*t is Twice as Weird]]''. Mahanon is extremely amused to watch his [[VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition co-Inquisitor]] Victoria being fitted for a dress while also discussing tactics for an upcoming invasion. He makes no observations about her cleaning up nicely, but he does notice that her {{love interest}} - with whom she's discussing the invasion - is quite distracted.
* In ''Fanfic/TheAwakeningOfAMagus'', Snape draws his share of female gazes once he manages to get the grease out of his hair.
* ''Fanfic/TheChildOfLove'': In chapter 5 Asuka wears a kimono to go to the Obon festival. Shinji notices several times that she seems real cute in that dress.
* In ''Fanfic/ChildOfTheStorm'', this happens with Hermione (as in canon), Carol, and Diana at the Yule Ball, all of whom clean up nicely to various degrees - Diana is already noted to be very pretty, bordering on truly beautiful, while Carol was already an UnkemptBeauty (though while Harry's already smitten, the effect of dress, make-up, and up-do is such that he has to make a conscious effort to actually use words). Hermione, by contrast, is vaguely noted as having become more classically pretty over time, but not much, since Harry (the usual POV character when she's involved) rarely registers that she's even female. As such, his astonishment isn't so much related to her attractiveness, as her [[spoiler: startling resemblance to her mother, Wanda Maximoff. While he already knew that they were related, having worked it out, aside from the eyes she's described as being more or less Wanda in miniature]].
* In ''Fanfic/ChildrenOfTime'', Literature/SherlockHolmes stares speechlessly at Beth Lestrade (whom he's only ever seen in modern or [[SweetPollyOliver street boy clothing]]) when she shows up in a dress. Cue further awe at two more elegant dresses later...
* Gender-flipped in ''Fanfic/{{Cinderjuice}}'', although some potent magic is involved. Of course, it ''is'' a Cinderella spoof.
* ''Fanfic/ACrownOfStars'': Female and male example. Hikari usually wears plain, ordinary clothes and her hair is braided in GirlishPigtails; her boyfriend Touji also dresses very plainly. In chapter 40 both dress for a party and Toji looks good, whereas Hikari looks stunning.
-->''The Eva Pilots’ former classmates joined the group. Asuka blinked in surprise. Suzuhara was wearing a dark green Imperial Army cadet’s uniform just like Shinji, but had just a single row of three ribbons on his. ‘A Purple Heart, 2015 Angel War Campaign ribbon, and the Eva Pilot’s Badge. Well, I guess he gets all three from his one technical mission,’ Asuka noted. But it was her friend Hikari who was the stunner. Her habitual pig-tails and student uniform look was gone, replaced with an elegant black cheongsam with a dragon coiled around her body picked out in silver embroidery, and her hair was now styled into a slightly longer than shoulder length cut with a fringe above her eyes, set off by thin lighter brown highlights throughout. “Wow, Hikari. You look good. And Suzuhara almost looks like a civilized person worthy of hanging out with you, instead of an overgrown monkey in a track suit.”''
* ''Fanfic/DoingItRightThisTime'':
** The trio of time-travelers found Hikari right when she was about to go out with Touji. She had gotten ready on their date, and the kids were shocked at how pretty she looked.
--->''It took Shinji a moment to realise who he was looking at. She was wearing her hair loose in ringlets instead of her usual pigtails, along with artfully applied makeup that made her look a few years older. It was also the first time he'd seen Hikari out of her school uniform, and the rather adventurously-cut sundress and court heels were not the kind of thing he'd imagined the famously strait-laced Class Representative wearing at weekends.''
** And shortly later Rei got a makeover. The results were stunning:
--->''Asuka couldn't quite hold back a gasp. The dress was a deep blue that set off Rei's eyes and complexion wonderfully, and while it was technically quite modest -it only showed about as much actual skin as her school uniform- it followed and flattered the curves of her body almost as closely as a swimsuit. A pair of strappy sandals with four-inch heels completed the ensemble, doing wonderful things to the shape of her calves and...''
* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': [[EmotionlessGirl Rei]] is considered [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/2096240/009/ plainly cute]]. Then she starts experimenting [[http://grummancat.deviantart.com/art/Rei-s-Vegas-Hair-502203839 and she seems stunning]].
* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': Asuka looks downright striking in her wedding gown:
-->''Asuka, despite the eyepatch and arm harness, looked stunning in form-fitting beaded bodice with a chain belt across her waist.''
* Played straight in the ''WesternAnimation/GrojBand'' fanfic ''[[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/9599565/1/Cinderella-Rock-Girl Cinderella Rock Girl]]'', a ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}''-esque parody. [[TomboyWithAGirlyStreak Laney]] fills in the role of the titular character, so Trina, acting as the FairyGodmother, turns [[ItMakesSenseInContext a white bedsheet]] into a beautiful diamond gown, completing the outfit with diamond eyeshadow, a white hair bow, and glass slippers. Nonetheless, she looks absolutely stunning. [[http://askkira-td.tumblr.com/post/58973498521/buttcheks-laney-based-on-her-fic-so One person's fanart]] takes the described beauty further.
* ''Fanfic/GlitchedMikoAU'': Miko is forced to get ready for her date by her sister, and while her outfit and the makeup she was made to wear where all that extreme, the effect still causes Hector to be momentarily stunned.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', Gadget is seen wearing coveralls most of the time, her idea of dressing up seems to be replacing her goggles with a flower in her hair, and she only ever wears dresses as disguises. The more spectacular it is when she wears a dress sincerely. This happens twice in ''Fanfic/TheMidnightverse'': In [[AllJustADream the dream]] that is ''Too Huge To Be True'', [[WesternAnimation/TaleSpin Rebecca Cunningham]] gets Gadget a ballgown that's basically identical to hers to wear at the Trader's Ball. At the end of the story, Gadget commissions this very dress to be made, and in ''Last Date'', she wears it for the first time in real life, much to Chip's amazement.
* Another ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' fic which has Gadget both notably and sincerely wear a dress is the GraphicNovel ''Webcomic/OfMiceAndMayhem''. In this story, Gadget wears an all-new hairstyle, a dress and her late father's aviator jacket when she comes to pick Chip up from the White House. Last time we saw her, she was bald-headed and not wearing more than a black turtleneck.
* ''Fanfic/OnceMoreWithFeeling'': In episode 15 Asuka, Rei and Hikari got ready to attend she school dance. When they arrived at the place the dance was held, everyone -including their dates- stared at them open-mouthed. Hikari especially drew many stares of people could not believe how beautiful the usually plain-looking class representative looked.
* Jackie Jakobs in ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, provides an InUniverse example of this trope. She was pulled off [[ParentalAbandonment the]] [[StreetUrchin streets]] by Mad Moxxi, earning room and board by slinging drinks in one of Moxxi's many bars. Naturally, this required cleaning Jackie up from her previous appearance.
* [[Manga/{{Hellsing}} Rip Van Winkle]] in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9547582/1/Zero-s-Bullet Zero's Bullet]]'' is often described as plain if not outright mannish. Then she's forced to wear a dress while her suit is being repaired and Guiche falls head over heels for her, describing Rip as "the most beautiful woman he's ever seen". This stays in effect later as her suit becomes too damaged to salvage and Louise buys her some more flattering clothing (though Rip draws the line at dresses).
* ''Fanfic/ServiceWithASmile'': Russel Thrush is a downplayed example. In his street clothes, he looks like a delinquent, but in his work uniform of slacks and dress shirt, even his mohawk merely makes him look "adorably wild" rather than thuggish.
* In ''Fanfic/YouCallThatACostume'', as a result of a HumiliatingWager, Applejack is forced to dress as an aristocratic girl for Halloween. Sunset is surprised at how pretty Applejack looks as a result.
* ''Fanfic/WhiteSheepRWBY'': Jaune normally wears baggy hoodies and ripped jeans which hide a rather impressive physique. Yang is surprised the first time she sees him in a suit, and absolutely gobsmacked when she sees him in his "prince of the Grimm" costume, which includes lots of black silks, embossed leather, and a maroon cape, all perfectly tailored for him.
-->'''Yin:''' Dad!\\
'''Yang:''' Shit, I'd call him daddy.\\
'''Yin:''' Huh? I don't understand.\\
'''Yang:''' I-I'll explain when you're older.
* In ''Fanfic/FlagFlyingHigh'', Lan Sizhui first meets Harry when the outlander is a shabbily-dressed servant with short hair (an indicator of criminality in Ancient China). Then he's brought to Cloud Recesses, gets to bath and use a RapidHairGrowth potion along clean garments, and the result is a stunningly delicate youth who's promptly admired by more than a few people, Lan Sizhui foremost.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'':
** Faris from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' appears in a dress either once or twice in the entirety.
** Battle-hardened former soldier Celes Chere from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'' reluctantly dresses as opera singer Maria for plot furthering purposes, causing Locke to blush red and ask "have you always been this pretty?"
** [[WildChild Gau]] from ''VI'' provides a rare male example, when he's given a makeover courtesy of the rest of the party. He ends up coming out looking like someone straight out of the Opera House (where the above example takes place, mind), and a CloudCuckoolander stops being crazy enough to compliment his appearance (literally the only time in the game the man manages to say something that isn't completely insane). This was roughly the plan, since said nutjob happens to be [[spoiler:Gau's father, who went crazy after his wife died giving birth to Gau]].
** Inverted in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII'' as when we first see Rinoa she is all dolled up in her white dress at the party. Squall does take a fancy to her but they don't hit it off until she's wearing her normal clothes. [[http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xg2t0i_final-fantasy-the-garden-festival_shortfilms This]] Machinima adaptation plays it straight with all the girls getting dressed up for the Garden Festival.
** Said by the stage master to Lightning in ''VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII'' practically verbatim when she appears in the PimpedOutDress she has to wear to proceed Yusnaan's story at that point. And Lightning was already freaking ''[[EvenTheGirlsWantHer hot]]'' [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer to begin with.]]
** Downplayed by Aerith in the ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake''. She is clearly a very beautiful girl to the players, but many characters in-game doubt her potential to be picked for Don Corneo's bride because of her dowdy clothes and lack of upfront sex appeal. What she wears depends on how many sidequests you complete in Sector 5: completing some quests nets her [[ShoutOut a look like her]] Franchise/KingdomHearts incarnation and she clearly looks great; doing them all gives her a beautiful red gown, she is greeted in town by a crowd of admiring onlookers, and even the hardass mercenary protagonist is left staring in stunned awe at just how gorgeous she looks in it.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemTheBlazingBlade'' where Lyn tells Eliwood in their B support that she's very uncomfortable whenever she tries to clean up nicely in the Caelin court. Understandable, since Lyn has been raised in the plains of Sacae and only arrived in Caelin during the last year.
* [[spoiler:Midna]] uses this at the end of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' on the HeroicMime, much to the amusement of the player. [[spoiler: "Am I so beautiful, that you have no words left?"]] We have been asking that ourselves for ages, dear princess. For ages.
* In ''VideoGame/LuminousArc2'', this happens to either Althea or [[spoiler:Fatima]], depending on who [[TheHero Roland]] was paired up with, with the dresses designed by [[{{Otaku}} Kaph]] and ends the scene with a special anime scene.
** Rasche actually says this word-to-word to Karen at the ending, though we never actually get to see her in the dress.
* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' does this with Commander Shepard during Kasumi's DLC quest, particularly if female: she gets a LittleBlackDress and heels, the only even ''remotely'' feminine attire female Shepard ever wears. However, Kasumi is the only person to comment on it, and that's just because she's the one who picked it out.
*** After Kasumi's loyalty mission, it's possible to select the dress as the outfit Shepard wears on the ''Normandy''. No one comments on it.
*** It's also something of a subversion: although the dress itself is quite feminine and appealing, her walk and run animations are the same as when she's wearing the in-universe equivalent of fatigues and combat boots, causing a fair bit of visual dissonance and ruining the effect somewhat. [[WatsonianVersusDoylist A Watsonian would say she's not used to moving elegantly in a dress and heels. A Doylist would say that EA wouldn't spare the budget for Bioware to create new animations for one short scene in an optional piece of DLC.]]
** In the ''Citadel'' DLC of ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' when required to attend another event a new dress is introduced and if Commander Shepard's love interest is on the squad he/she will comment on it.
** Ashley Williams' return in ''Mass Effect 3'' came with [[FanservicePack a very stunning makeover]]. Of course, she was already attractive to begin with, but in the third game, many people were pleased.
* Kumatora from ''VideoGame/MOTHER3'' had to dress up as a beautiful waitress at one point, and while we don't directly see Lucas's reaction to it (due to his HeroicMime status), we do see Kumatora having to remind Lucas three times to "not change his expression".
* [[spoiler:Naoto Shirogane]] from ''VideoGame/Persona4'', if you get the version of her Christmas Eve event where she decides to wear her school's female uniform.
* Reivier masquerading as Duke Heath in ''VideoGame/{{Quintessence}}: The Blighted Venom'' had his jaw drop when Lunair enters the room in her wedding gown.
* There's an ongoing line of [[GameMod texture hacks]] for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros. Brawl'' at [[http://stacksmash.cultnet.net Stack Smash]] based on this concept. So far, [[http://stacksmash.cultnet.net/?p=2406 Yoshi]], [[http://stacksmash.cultnet.net/?p=3480 Pikachu]], and even [[http://stacksmash.cultnet.net/?p=3300 Wario]] had this done to them.
* In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', depending on who the character chooses, someone will have this effect on Lloyd during a subquest. Sheena's is notably the most like this trope, though.
** This also applies to Lloyd himself in a formal outfit. Sheena tells him he's handsome during the above sidequest, and Lloyd gets embarrassed.
* ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert2'': In the cinematic sequence after an Allied victory, agent Tanya is seen in a fancy dress (as opposed to the combat fatigues she wears in various cutscenes). Somewhat subverted in the "Yuri's Revenge" add-on, where Lieutenant Eva is the one invited to the fancy party, and Tanya wants to borrow Einstein's time machine to "fix things up".
* Undyne in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' is a humanoid fish monster with one eye and sharp yellow teeth. She is a powerful warrior who wears intimidating full plate armor, and when off duty, wears a simple black tank top and jeans and keeps her hair in a ponytail. When she goes on a date to meet her crush, Alphys, she changes to a stylish leather jacket, sweater, and lets her hair down, making her look significantly more attractive.
* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioOdyssey'', both Mario and Bowser are said to look pretty good in their white wedding tuxedos.
* In ''VideoGame/StreetFighterAlpha'', Cody was a prisoner due to becoming a fight-happy nihilist after the events of ''VideoGame/FinalFight''. By ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'', however, Cody turned his life around and improved himself, eventually succeeding Mike Haggar as mayor of Metro City and trading in his striped uniform and handcuffs for a slick suit and a haircut.
* ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'''s Mephistopheles spends most of his time as a garish and zany VillainousHarlequin in conflicting [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fgo_caster_mephistopheles_2.jpg patterns and cuts of skintight apparel, wild hair, fur cape, teardrop makeup, and a hat with fake devil horns]]. For the game's second anniversary, a set of equip cards depicting several characters in formal attire was released, including Mephistopheles [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/formal_outfit_mephistopheles.PNG with short, groomed hair and an elegant suit]]. Whoa.
* In ''VideoGame/DetectivesUnited III'', the three heroes are on a cruise ship and dress up in anticipation of a formal dinner. Anna usually dresses elegantly, so the change isn't dramatic, but James and Agent Brown trade their usual cardigan and leather jacket (respectively) for a pair of sharp suits. Anna makes a point of affectionately showing appreciation for the change, asking, "What handsome men do we have here?"
* In the ending of ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsIII'', [[spoiler:Xion ''finally'' gets to wear normal clothes, which visibly impresses Roxas. Lea and Isa also get to wear normal clothes again for the first time since they were kids, although this time they wear black, perhaps out of habit from their time in the Organization]].
* Played for laughs in ''[[VideoGame/Yakuza2 Yakuza 2 Kiwami]]''; [[VideoGame/Yakuza0 Yuki]] returns as the retired number one hostess who became the manager for Club Four Shine, and tends to be poked fun at for her age (for reference, Kiryu is one year ''younger''). Normally, she wears glasses, a braid, a sweater, and undershirt that make her seem nerdy, but when takes up her hostess attire for the final round of the Cabaret Club GP, even Kiyu takes pause at her beauty to the point that the three responses you can choose [[ButThouMust are all "Stunning..."]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* ''Webcomic/CursedPrincessClub'': When the Pastel Princesses go to Plaid Prince Lance's birthday party, they're all given plaid-themed makeovers for the occasion. The Plaid Kingdom maids initially give poor [[FaceOfAThug Gwendolyn]] a CosmeticCatastrophe, but her older sisters decide to step in give her a makeover so good that even Gwen with her intense AppearanceAngst has to admit that she looks beautiful. In fact, when her [[ArrangedMarriage reluctant fiance]] Frederick sees her with the new look, he [[{{Tsundere}} hesitantly]] admits that he likes it, in contrast to how he ended up frightened by her in their previous encounters.
* The scene in the HiddenElfVillage in ''Webcomic/RPGWorld'' is like this. Cherry all dressed up gives the Hero pause. The others think he is awed by her, but he's just impressed by the higher [[UsefulNotes/PolygonalGraphics polygon count]] her character model now has.
* Subverted in ''Webcomic/CwensQuest'' when the main character and resident "ActionGirl" Cwen attempts to dress up to make her sister jealous only to look sublimely average. (The "Fancy Hat" didn't help any either.)
* Deliberately played by Agatha in a non-canon ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' short story; they didn't have stairs in the right location so she brought her own.
** Then there's the crossdressing Jägermonster, Maxim.
---> [[LampshadeHanging You're supposed to be an]] ''[[LampshadeHanging ugly]]'' [[LampshadeHanging stepsister!]]
*** Justified when Maxim reveals that [[BreakingTheFourthWall he schmoozed the costumers]].
** As revealed [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20151211 here]] (spoilers, of course), Dimo can pull off a pretty good aristocratic look when he cleans up, though he isn't fond of it.
* Helen complains that she has been cheated out of this effect in [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/shaenongarrity/narbonic_plus/series.php?view=archive&chapter=37592&name=narbonic_plus#strip3 this]] ''{{Webcomic/Narbonic}}'' strip.
* Hi-Ho Casino part 2 in ''Webcomic/{{Zap}}'' has a moment like this when Reona first appears in her evening gown.
* Jean Poule in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'' gets a [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/422 moment]] like this when they attend Voluptua's royal ball.
* Policeguy in ''Webcomic/{{Girly}}'', as lampshaded [[http://girlyyy.com/go/407 by Mystery Girl.]] [[spoiler: So does she- [[http://girlyyy.com/go/408 she's his date, Officer Hipbone.]] [[http://girlyyy.com/go/408&comments=on#comments Even the readers were shocked]]!]]
* One girl comments that Eiji Hayashihara has cleaned up well between school years in [[http://www.redstring.strawberrycomics.com/?p=706 this]] ''Webcomic/RedString'' strip; even though all he seems to have done is lose the ponytail.
* Rocky from ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'' looks rather dashing in a tux, as it turns out. But whatever you do, don't compliment him if you don't want him to [[http://www.lackadaisycats.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=392 accidentally vaporize half a city block.]]
* In ''Webcomic/{{Rhapsodies}}'', Kate, who usually favors thrift store and army surplus clothes, prefers that nobody [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/?p=205 finds]] [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/?p=1495 this]] [[http://rhapsodies.wpmorse.com/?p=1650 out.]]
* "Max Overacts" has the "you scrub up nice" phrasing in [[http://occasionalcomics.com/751/latest-comic-155/ this comic]].
* ''Webcomic/SkinHorse'''s Marcy was the physical embodiment of dowdy -- until she (briefly) started dating Tip. Once that happened she took a [[http://skin-horse.com/2009/todays-comic-61/ sudden turn for the attractive]], and has kept up this look even after they broke up.
* ''Webcomic/{{Strays}}'': [[http://www.straysonline.com/comic/169.htm Meela has to be cleaned up for the party -- even though she's going as a servant.]]
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', inverted. [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/01-20.html November met Princess Colette at a ball, but Colette doesn't recognize her in her travel-stained clothing.]]
* In ''Webcomic/TalesOfTheQuestor'', Kestral is a cute enough WrenchWench in [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/00719.html her usual work gear]], but she wants to dress up for a night out, [[http://www.rhjunior.com/totq/ she's a knockout, complete with floating Lux sparkles]].
* One plot arc of ''Webcomic/DeerMe'' has Rasha and Velvet attempt to make Viana attractive by their standards, which involves removing her mask, putting her in more feminine clothing, and giving her an overall new look. She definitely becomes more attractive to Thomas, with whom she shares UnresolvedSexualTension, but returns to her old look. Viana later confides to Woola that she doesn't like the idea of Thomas finding her appealing just when she dolls up.
* ''Webcomic/BittersweetCandyBowl'' has this happen with both Tess and Daisy in the same arc, though Daisy is a more pronounced example as boys - who ordinarily ignore her - start making eyes at her. Unfortunately, the boy she actually dressed up for doesn't care.
* Marigold of ''Webcomic/QuestionableContent'' openly [[DiscussedTrope denounces the prevalence of this trope in the media]]. But when she's prompted to attend a party, she washes up and wears something that actually fits... and even though her acne's still there, she's the talk of the other guests all night long (albeit for reasons [[BuxomIsBetter lower than the acne]]).
* ''Webcomic/MenageA3'':
** The trope appears in a very variant form when [[http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/terrified_of_me_again Gary finally notices that the ladette Zii is attractively feminine]] when she's walking around in a cosplay outfit (based on [[Manga/UruseiYatsura one of his favorite characters]]) that's essentially a [[FurBikini fur-trimmed bikini]].
-->'''Gary:''' ''Jung!'' Z-Z-Zii's a '''''GIRL!!!'''''
** Returning the compliment, it's later explicitly invoked by Zii [[http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/sure_does_clean_up_nice here,]] when Gary puts a suit and tie on. However, it seems almost odd for Zii to mention the fact at that point, given that she and several other characters have been acknowledging that Gary isn't bad-looking almost since the comic began.
* ''Webcomic/AngelMoxie'': Tristan, to everyone's surprise.
* ''Webcomic/EnnuiGo'': Played for horror; Izzy's attempt at exposing her mother for the monster that she is falls apart when she brings the social worker to her apartment and finds her mother perfectly dressed and baking a cake, an almost nightmarishly far cry from her [[AbusiveParents usual]] [[AddledAddict behavior]].
* ''Webcomic/{{Erstwhile}}'': It happens when [[Literature/{{Donkeyskin}} All-Fur]] changes from her scruffy appearance to nice clothing for the ball. See it [[https://erstwhiletales.com/comic/all-fur-pg01/ here]].
[[/folder]]

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* Pai in the first chapter of ''Manga/SazanEyes''. When she first appears, she has just got to Shinjuku, Japan, from an unknown place ''in the Himalaya'' and it shows, as Yakumo even notices how dirty she is. Then the crossdresser of Yakumo's gay bar give her a much-needed offscreen makeover, causing Yakumo to stare at her jaw-dropped.
* Daimakaicho Hagall from ''Manga/AhMyGoddess''. When she first meets Hild, she's dressed in rags and looks like she's destitute. Hild takes her as her apprentice, gaining a tremendous boost in beauty and status.
* ''VisualNovel/AkaneIroNiSomaruSaka'' uses this. All of the girls dress up and appear, getting a vague response from the main character. Then his sister shows up (late to the entrance) and he's dumbfounded. She's squicked by this, and he's berated by his fiancée (part of the first group).
* Deunan of ''Manga/{{Appleseed}}'' stunned everyone when she turned up for Hitomi's birthday party in a stylish dress, specially designed by [[http://chloeings.blogspot.com/2007/08/prada-designs-costumes-for-cartoon.html Muiccia Prada]]
** It was even lampshaded by one of the people present. Not surprising, considering the vast difference from Deunan's usual [[ActionGirl tomboy-ish]] looks.
* Kakeru from ''Manga/AreaNoKishi'' notices this when he reunites with childhood friend Seven. She appears far more feminine than [[OneOfTheBoys he remembered]] from their days in elementary school.
* Nadja Applefield from ''Anime/AshitaNoNadja'' embodies the trope whether dolled up via Leonardo and Thierry or wearing her GorgeousPeriodDress inherited from her MissingMom. [[spoiler: When said gown is destroyed by Rosemary, with help of Grandma Anna Nadja sews the intact top part into a new dress.]]
* In ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'', Casca, who usually goes around in men's clothing, short hair and non-{{Stripperiffic}} armour, is seen for the first time in a very nice, feminine dress upon [[spoiler: Griffith's brief triumph after defeating Midland's king's rivals]]. Guts' priceless blank stare upon seeing her dressed this way is one of the series' very rare SugarWiki/FunnyMoments.
* ''Manga/BlueRamun'': Randy serves as the priest/healer of the Lezak district and Jessie's mentor, but his normal look more closely resembles [[NunTooHoly a bum than a man of the cloth]] -- unkempt PermaStubble, wrinkled priest robes, bad posture, and a tendency to be drunk before noon. While he slacks off when it comes to daily prayers and personal appearance, he takes his duties to the community seriously. When Randy is called upon to officiate ceremonies like weddings or funerals he puts in the effort to shave, slick back his hair, and wear a clean uniform.
* Used in a somewhat weird way in the seventh ''Manga/CaseClosed'' movie. [[spoiler: When Kazuha and Heiji were little, they visited Kazuha's family in Kyoto. Little Heiji ran off to a temple, and while waiting for him little Kazuha was dolled up in a kimono and got her hair done by her relatives. Little Heiji then saw her playing under the CherryBlossoms, but didn't recognize her... and "that girl from Kyoto" remained in his memory as "his FirstLove". Since the movie had a subplot in which Heiji was searching for the anonymous girl he once liked, it means Kazuha was jealous of... her dolled up little girl self. [[FirstGirlAfterAll And Heiji didn't find out until the end of the movie]], [[ChekhovsGun when he heard Kazuha sing a song that the "girl from Kyoto" was singing when he saw her]].]]
** Played straight when Conan sees Ran in a [[UsefulNotes/LolitaFashion sweet lolita]] [[PinkisFeminine pink]] dress. He was getting ready to snark at her and Sonoko for [[SkewedPriorities putting on such clothes while in a case]], but when he ''actually'' sees Ran he's completely starstruck, complete with LuminescentBlush.
* ''Manga/CityHunter'': Kaori has sometimes put on a long wig and fooled her partner Ryo Saeba. In episode 137, an old friend of her buys Kaori fashionable clothes, and, with her wig, starts successfully dating Ryo at night. "Cinderella" was even the French title.
* Subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where Nina Einstein is all dressed up in the pre-wedding celebration but is still much more confident at work as a scientist, which is demonstrated by comparison to matter. However, played straight with Milly Ashford on the same occasion and Cecile Croomy earlier, who both wear [[SexyBacklessOutfit backless dresses]] with a NavelDeepNeckline.
* Faye from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' is not a slouch in the looks department to start with, being MsFanservice for the show. But when circumstances in "Ballad Of Fallen Angels" call for her to drop her usual trashy outfit and do up not only her hair but also makeup and wardrobe to pass for a high-class opera patron, the effect on her is impressive. Too bad the BigBad was waiting for her with a bunch of goons anyway.
* Miranda Lotto in ''Manga/DGrayMan''. It was a shock for most readers when they saw her for the first time. Only for Miranda to become like this after she gained her Innocence and self-confidence for the first time in her life.
* ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' have Nago--not that she had ''done'' that, but a convex mirror shows that she ''will'' look quite cute if she loses some weight.
* ''Manga/EmmaAVictorianRomance'': Emma is convinced to attend a ball, and is shown to clean up nicely when she wears a ball gown and no glasses in comparison with her usual maid outfit and glasses.
* Louise in ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero''. [[SummonEverymanHero Saito]] always thinks Louise is cute (''physically'', anyway), but her attitude is [[{{Tsundere}} less tsun-tsun and more dere-dere]] at parties.
* Kaname of ''Lightnovel/FullMetalPanic'' does this to Sōsuke while posing as an older, married, and sexually frustrated woman. It works amazingly. She also pulls it with a kimono, shocking everyone.
* [[{{Tomboy}} Cagalli]] had this trope deliberately invoked on her in the ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundamSEED Gundam SEED]]'' first season. ''Twice''. She [[WellExcuseMePrincess wasn't really amused]] in any occasion.
* ''[[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Gundam 00]]'':
** Louise Halevy puts on a nice pink kimono while visiting Japan. In the second season, she makes a ''really'' beautiful ElegantGothicLolita during a ball.
** [[spoiler:Tieria Erde]] not only dresses up ''really'' nicely for the same second season party, but mixes this with [[spoiler:WholesomeCrossdresser.]]
** Setsuna also cleaned up nicely in that same ball. Seeing him in a black suit was a very, ''very'' nice surprise.
* Happens during a FancyDinner scene in ''Anime/GunXSword'', with Wendy borrowing a fancy dress, taking her hair out of pigtails, and using makeup. Her dinner companion doesn't even recognize her at first. In context, his surprise may have a lot to do with the fact that she looks older--like a young woman rather than a child--than she does in her usual clothing.
* Not that Chizuru in ''VisualNovel/{{Hakuouki}}'' wasn't already cute, even when disguised as a boy, but her [[http://images6.fanpop.com/image/photos/34300000/Kawaii-kawaii-anime-34343007-1280-720.jpg dolled up as a meiko]] in the OVA caused several of the captains, including [[TheStoic Saitou]] ''and'' [[SergeantRock Hijikata]], to stop and stare.
* Kurumi in ''Manga/HaouAiren'' fits very well in a UsefulNotes/{{Qipao}} and in a bridal gown.
* During the Greece Arc of ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', Hayate winds up trying to pay back Hinagiku to show his appreciation for all her help. To do so he takes her out to a ''very'' fancy restaurant and tries very hard to put aside his troubling plot-related thoughts to ensure that she has a wonderful evening. He needn't have bothered as Hinagiku showed up a moment later wearing an elegant dress and looking literally stunning. As in Hayate's thoughts just stopped and he wound up [[EatingTheEyeCandy staring at her]] [[DistractedByTheSexy for a few minutes]] until she brought him back to reality.
* In ''Anime/HeartcatchPrettyCure'' episode 23, everyone's got their eyes on [[{{Bifauxnen}} Itsuki]] after she first transforms into Cure Sunshine and later, when she first debuts in female clothing during the fashion club's trip in episode 25.
* Liechtenstein, Ukraine and Hungary from ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers''. The first looks very cute [[http://himaruya.blog61.fc2.com/blog-entry-837.html in a blue ballgown]], the second is quite a babe [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11219211.html in her national dress]], and Finland got a picture of [[http://www.hetarchive.net/scanlations/hetastreeeem/xmas20113.php the third]] wearing a very elegant PimpedOutDress during the ''Manga/HetaliaBloodbath2010''.
** Taiwan also [[http://hetalia.livejournal.com/11597580.html looks very pretty in traditional clothing]].
** Not to mention the usual {{Shorttank}} Wy looks adorable [[http://www.geocities.jp/himaruya/mcr_1920.jpg all dressed up.]] In that same picture, ''all'' the male micronations (save for Nikko-Nikko) clean up alongside her, and they all look quite handsome.
* Isao from ''Manga/InsideMari'' is a scraggly looking {{hikkikomori}} with MessyHair and a permastubble. When he [[spoiler:decided to get a part-time job]] he cut his hair and shaved his beard. It ended up making him look considerably younger.
* In ''Manga/KamisamaKiss'' Tomoe has this reaction to Nanami after she gets some fashion help from Himemiko.
* ''Manga/KimiNiTodoke'': normally Sawako's look wavers between scary or rather plain (except when she smiles from the heart). After a surprise makeover and a butterfly hairclip from Yano and Chizu, though, she broke the pretty barrier.
* No one recognizes her, but Sanae Dekomori in ''LightNovel/LoveChunibyoAndOtherDelusions'' actually turns out to be pretty good-looking when she has her hair down and acts like a normal person.
* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'':
** Aizawa is normally a scruffy, bleary-eyed layabout who looks like he's been sleeping under a bridge. When he absolutely has to appear before the media, he shaves and puts on a suit, to the point that his students barely recognize him.
** ''Manga/MyHeroAcademiaVigilantes'': Inverted. Koichi has an encounter with "vigilante idol" Pop Step where they foil a villain together. Later, a scruffy and plain-faced girl barges into his apartment, and it's not until she puts her makeup on that he recognizes her as Pop.
* ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'':
** Asuna, once she lets her hair down and stops being overly violent for a bit.
** In the ball-related manga episodes, ''all'' of the girls dress up very nicely (including Kaede and Setsuna, who wear [[{{Bifauxnen}} tuxes]] instead). [[GenderFlip And so do Negi and Koutarou.]]
* ''Manga/NewGame'':
** In Chapter 23, Kou is forced to wear dressier clothes and do her hair for an interview. Aoba and Rin remark that she looks really cute that way.
** In Chapter 44, Rin, who wears nice but relatively casual clothing, wears a suit to a meeting with a client, and Aoba's impressed at how nice she looks.
** In the fourth volume Yun reveals she was pretty dorky when she was in school, complete with OpaqueNerdGlasses. The present-day version of her is quite a cutie in ElegantGothicLolita fashion (and no glasses).
* ''Manga/NotLoveButDeliciousFoodsMakeMeSoHappy'': It may just be the way she's drawn, but when Y-naga dresses up to go to a restaurant, she changes from her usual {{gonk}} to a beautiful woman.
* Koala in ''Manga/OnePiece'' was found by Fisher Tiger's crew, starting out like [[http://static4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120401095145/onepiece/images/2/22/Koala.png this]], understandable since she was previously a slave. After spending some time with them, she looked like [[http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/onepiece/images/6/6d/Koala_After_Living_with_Sun_Pirates.png this]]. Hatchan even lampshaded how she has changed.
* ''Manga/OuranHighSchoolHostClub'''s Haruhi cleans up nicely in the first chapter/episode going from frumpy and disheveled to a {{Bifauxnen}}. She's also dolled up during the Christmas ball to help get two fiancés back together, complete with a wig, dress, and makeup. She complains about it and states that her face feels heavy with all the makeup, and that it's hard to walk in the heels the boys gave her.
* In another male example, [[spoiler:Brief]] from ''Anime/PantyAndStockingWithGarterbelt'' cleans up [[{{Bishonen}} very]] nicely after he pulls up his hair. Despite the angels hating on him at first and didn't mind him dying from the villains, when he changes into his {{Bishonen}} form he ends up having sex with [[LovableSexManiac Panty]].
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** Misty has done this from time to time. The infamous example of her wearing a kimono at the [[FestivalEpisode Summer Festival]] and actually rendering Ash speechless comes to mind. She also looked particularly stunning in some later episodes as a LovelyAssistant and as a mermaid.
** Also, in one episode, Ash and Company met a girl who dresses and acts tough. At the end of the episode, when she invoked the trope, Brock reacted the way he usually does around beautiful girls, which prompted her into resuming her boyishness.
** In ''Sun and Moon'', [[spoiler:Professor Kukui is completely stunned when his fiancee Professor Burnet shows up [[https://www.serebii.net/anime/pictures/sunmoon/998/DP237.jpg in her wedding dress.]] The kids have a similar reaction to seeing [[WalkingShirtlessScene Kukui]] in his tuxedo alongside her a few minutes later]].
* In ''Anime/PowerpuffGirlsZ'', Kaoru/Buttercup gets her hair done and is dressed up nicely in the episode where she gets a crush on a guy with big muscles. She looks so different that the Professor and his son Ken didn't even recognize her. Momoko/Blossom and Miyako/Bubbles even managed to teach Kaoru manners.
* Subverted in ''Manga/PrivatePrince'', where female lead Miyako looks extremely good but is ''terribly'' uncomfortable and trips over her high heels and long dress... [[MeetCute in front of Will, the lead male.]]
* Madoka, of ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', is considered to be fairly plain ([[GenericCuteness by the show's standard, anyway]]). Upon her [[spoiler: AbstractApotheosis]], she looks properly majestic (though the [[PowerMakesYourHairGrow hair]] and [[PowerGivesYouWings wings]] certainly help).
* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'':
** Akane gets Ranma ''but good'' twice, at the start and conclusion of the final story arc, when he sees her [[spoiler:in a wedding kimono (first instance) and then in a Western-style wedding dress]]. Of course, she dresses up in fancy dresses whenever she can and usually does look pretty good, it's just that those two are the most prominent.
** Also Ukyō in the Episode "Ukyō's Skirt, The Great Girly-Girl Gambit". Ukyō looks so stunning in a Fūrinkan girl's uniform that Kunō promptly decides to start courting her as well as Akane and "the pigtailed girl". Even Ranma only recognizes her because she's still carrying her giant spatula. Unfortunately for her, while all of the other guys at school wanted to date her, Ranma still didn't seem to get that what she wanted was to try and give their relationship a boost. Between that, and the fact it ended up in a contest where Ranma got beaten up by all of the other guys, she stopped wearing it out of remorse. She does occasionally dress up in more feminine garb, though the series has something of a LimitedWardrobe for her. She only wears the girl's uniform one other time, in her final appearance, and lampshades it in the original Japanese.
** A male example occurs with Ranma, in a brief storyline in which Kodachi brings him as her date, to be compared to her rival's date. When said rival sees Ranma for the first time, he'd just been run over by a herd of cows and hardly looked his best. When he shows up at the actual date, cleaned up and looking awesome in a suit, the rival actually is impressed.
*** In the same arc, [[HypocriticalHeartwarming Akane becomes very offended]] when the rival insults Ranma. So, she helps make him look handsome for the date and mentally lampshades this trope while doing it.
---> '''Akane:''' I'll show her! When you dress Ranma up, he can be plenty cool!
* In ''Roleplay/RecordOfLodossWar'' Deedlit, wearing an extravagant white gown, walks down the stairs with Parn, who is having a LOT of trouble looking her in the eye. Subverted slightly as [[ObliviousToLove he spends most of the ball]] ignoring her advances and [[HoYay swooning]] [[TheKnightsWhoSaySquee over a famous]] [[HeroWorshipper hero.]]
** And Deedlit herself is so uncomfortable with the PimpedOutDress that she whines quite a bit at first, too.
--> '''Deedlit:''' Ah, this dress is so tight! Seriously, I don't know how you court ladies can wear these things ever day...
* Oscar in ''Manga/TheRoseOfVersailles''. She dresses like a man every day of her life, except one, at a ball, where she decides to go as a woman, in order to impress Fersen. It works in a kind of way, but before it worked even more on her manservant [[spoiler:and future lover]] André. The idea of Oscar in dress makes him furious in manga, burst into laughter in anime... but in both, he stops and looks amazed when Oscar showed up [[GrandStaircaseEntrance at the top of stairs]] in her white odalisque dress. And so were the guests at the ball later.
* In the first chapter of ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'', Kenshin remarked how different Kaoru looked in her formal, feminine kimono compared to when they first met and she was wearing her scruffy dojo uniform.
** At the end of the anime-only Shimabara arc, the tomboyish Misao puts on a cute and frilly dress and uses a ParasolOfPrettiness. Sanosuke doesn't recognize her.
* The girls in ''Anime/SailorMoon'' started to invoke this in season 1 before formalwear became common. Usagi generally wears her school uniform, but she decks out in a princess gown to infiltrate Princess Dia's ball; both dub Lunas admit she looks great, and her dad photographs her while thinking she's someone else. R has it played to a horrifying effect when Prince Dimande captures Usagi, depowers her, and dresses her in the Neo-Queen Serenity gown swhile she's unconscious. Usagi is understandably creeped out as Dimande watches her rouse with a SlasherSmile.
* Inverted in ''Manga/SeiyusLife''. When Creator/YuiHorie first shows up in Episode 5, she looks like she just got out of bed. The dissonance between that look and how she looks in public appearances is enough for Ichigo to have to call her Hoi Yurie just to process it.
* Played straight in the ''Manga/SekainohateDeAimashou'' chapter "Prom Boy" except the "girl" in question is actually a reluctant involuntary GenderBender.
* PlayedForLaughs in episode 85 of ''Manga/ShugoChara Doki''. The Guardians go to a fashion event, so the girls wake up early to pick stylish outfits for the occasion. However, [[UnsettlingGenderReveal Nagihiko]] shows up a little late, and once he arrives, the others are in shock when they see him [[http://images4.fanpop.com/image/forum/72000/72015_1283260323979_full.jpg in clothes that manage to be even more stylish than the girls']], complete with BishieSparkle. His justification makes the scene even funnier.
-->'''Nagihiko:''' I couldn't decide what to wear, so I ended up running behind.
-->'''Amu:''' And it looks like we have a winner...
* ''Manga/SkipBeat'' leads to this reaction pretty much ''every time'' Kyoko dresses up. This has to do with the fact that she rarely wears even a minimum of makeup, and that her attitude changes, especially when she's dressed for her acting roles. When [[ChildhoodFriend Sho]] saw her dressed up as an angel for his music video, he could do nothing but gawk at her in stunned silence.
* Even Amy Rose has done this on ''Anime/SonicX'', complete with the reaction from Sonic himself.
* When Maka of ''Manga/SoulEater'' shows up in Soul's soul, wearing heels and a black ballgown. he's rather shocked. Also in chapter 111 during the battle.
* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate - The Sagacious Wisdom of Cognitive Computing #3'' reveals that Okabe is capable of turning Kurisu into a red-faced, panting wreck of hormones with the right clothes.
* Inverted in ''Manga/StoryOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength''. StudentCouncilPresident [[IronicName Yamato Nadeshiko]] is introduced dressed in a skirt, [[BareYourMidriff baring her midriff]], and [[LettingHerHairDown with her hair down]]. At the end of the chapter, she unfolds her skirt, braids up her hair, and puts her glasses back on for her normal look (though she's quite good-looking like that too).
** Played straight in the beach trip, where [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Kogori]] doesn't even recognize her when she wears a bikini and lets her hair down.
* Shiraishi of ''Manga/TanakaKunIsAlwaysListless'' was somewhat a friendless nerd with a slovenly appearance when she was in middle school. To improve her social standing in high school she striaghtens up her appearance, to the point that she's now the SchoolIdol.
* It is noted at several points in ''Manga/TomoChanIsAGirl'' that [[NoSocialSkills socially challenged]] HeiressToTheDojo [[{{Tomboy}} Aizawa Tomo]] is an application of a hairbrush and someone else picking her outfit away from being a very lovely (if [[HugeSchoolgirl not particularly petite]]) young woman.
* In ''Touko-san Can't Take Care of the House'', when Akari moves in with Touko, a friend of her mother's, Touko strikes her as a slob, with messy hair and loungewear. As a result, Akari is stunned when Touko comes to breakfast wearing a business suit and glasses, and with her hair neatly done.
* In ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'': Ryūnosuke, who is easily the [[{{Bifauxnen}} most manly]] character in the show, has an episode dedicated to her struggle to become feminine. She really only wished to wear a sailor suit, but ends up [[WholeCostumeReference wearing Audrey Hepburn's iconic Ascot dress]] from ''Film/MyFairLady''. [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke1_4524.jpg Before]] and [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ryuunosuke2_8055.jpg After]].
* Hitomi in ''Anime/VisionOfEscaflowne''. When she borrows one of Millerna's {{Pimped Out Dress}}es, Van can't help but spend the entirety of the dinner conversation just gawking dumbly at her (or {{Dope Slap}}ping [[ClingyJealousGirl Merle]] for getting in the way of his gawking dumbly at her).
** There is also when Dryden, who while never ugly usually prefers the scruffy and disheveled look, dresses up for his wedding. He proves he can look quite genteel and even more handsome.
* Continually subverted in ''Manga/TheWallflower'' -- whenever the guys trick/force Sunako-chan into some proper clothes, Kyohei knows she's still the same person, and is (frustratingly) not quite cognisant of any attraction to her no matter how good she looks.
* [[{{Determinator}} It was a lot of work]], but Utako in ''Manga/WastefulDaysOfHighSchoolGirls'' basically turned [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_299.png from]] a fat girl to [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/untitled_325.png one of the most photogenic girls in her grade]]. It is also noted, though, without makeup she is still kind of plain.
* Masane from ''Anime/{{Witchblade}}'' looks rather good when she gets dolled up for a party. Unfortunately, her personality and manners are exactly the same.
* In ''Manga/{{Yotsuba}}'', even rival ManChild Jumbo is impressed with Miura's traditional dress and performance at the autumn matsuri.
* Anna from ''Anime/YuGiOhZEXAL'' has come close to {{yandere}} status in her relations with Yuma, and a rare female case of SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp. Her tomboyish nature is even more evident in the original Japanese, where she uses "ore" (俺) when referring to herself (this is a pronoun that is predominantly used by males and very seldom used by females). Except at her mentor's wedding, that is. The flashback shows her in a nice white dress, and she pulls off the look quite well.
* Downplayed in ''Anime/YuriOnIce'' with Yuri Katsuki. While he's far from unattractive, there's a huge contrast with how he looks when he's wearing his glasses and his bangs are down with when the glasses are off and his hair is combed back.
* Taken to ludicrous extremes in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' with the main characters who are all, you guessed it, zombies. They may have bandaged and stitched up blue-green skin and sunken red eyes, but whenever Kotaro uses his hollywood-learned makeup skills on them, they take on the appearance of living girls. The girls frequently comment on how pretty they look.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
* ''Film/{{Nikita}}'': Nikita is assigned a trainer whose job is to make Nikita more feminine, which will make her a better deep cover agent.
-->'''Amande:''' There are two things that are infinite: femininity and means to take advantage of it.
* Allison Reynolds in ''Film/TheBreakfastClub'' gets a makeover from Claire, with her hair combed away from her face, and wearing a light colored shirt. This draws the attention of both Andy and Brian when she appears in the doorway, looking very polished.
* The non-canonical ''Series/TheDukesOfHazzard: The Beginning'', where Daisy is a mousy, nerdy, timid little girl... until the day she puts on a pair of tight cutoff jeans, wearing a shirt tied to show her midriff and lets her hair down –- and there you have a stunningly, ravishing, eye-candy hot-hot-hottie!
* In the 2008 Japanese film ''[[Franchise/{{Zatoichi}} Ichi]]'', hapless samurai Toma meets the title character -- a blind swordswoman -- when she is in a ''goze'''s customary rags. When she's called to play for the local ''yakuza'' boss to celebrate Toma's hiring as a bodyguard, though, he is visibly stunned by how she looks in a ''kimono''.
* ''Film/Parasite2019'': Applies to some extent to the entire Kim family, who wear casual, slightly shabby, poorly fitting clothes at home, but dress much more nicely to look presentable when they're out of the house, especially when they're working at the Park household. It makes the biggest difference with Chung-sook, who looks extremely plain and homely throughout the first half of the movie, and then looks like a ''completely'' different person when she's hired as a housekeeper at the Park household, where she appears in nice clothes, a cleaner haircut, and probably a bit of makeup.
* ''Franchise/{{Rocky}}''
** [[{{Meganekko}} Adrian]] from the original ''Film/{{Rocky}}'' is the TropeCodifier.
** In ''Film/RockyIII'', it's Rocky who cleans up and starts wearing suits.
* In ''Film/{{Enchanted}}'', the example is recursive. Giselle shows up at the ball (with Edward in tow) in this fashion. Funnily enough, the ball is an "old fashioned fancy dress" kind, involving clothing of the sort Giselle's been wearing for the whole movie -- except now she shows up in a fairly simple modern dress. Robert still gets distracted away from his date Nancy, who is also dressed up fancily. The reason for Giselle's very striking effect is that she suddenly looks like a grown woman instead of a little girl playing dress-up with the Disney Princess dresses she'd worn until then.
* Used retroactively in the book and TheFilmOfTheBook ''Film/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire''. In the book, Harry wonders who that pretty girl in a blue dress on Victor Krum's arm is, and nearly falls over when he realizes it's ''Hermione''; Ron has an even worse reaction. Used straight, however, in the movie (because nobody in the audience could ever fail to recognize Creator/EmmaWatson). According to the extras in the DVD release, that was one of the hardest scenes for Creator/DanielRadcliffe and Creator/RupertGrint to get right, because although ''Ron and Harry'' had never seen ''Hermione'' all dolled up before, ''they'' had seen Emma done up to the nines on many occasions.
* In ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}'' Rose [=DeWitt=] Bukater descends the grand staircase of the RMS ''Titanic,'' drawing the obligatory wide-eyed expression from Jack Dawson. However, most of their fellow passengers' comments are focused on the fact it's ''Jack'' who cleans up nicely. Molly even says "You shine up like a new penny!" This is partly due to the fact that Rose was wearing a rather pretty dress to dinner the night before, and seeing her dressed up would be a frequent event.
* The title character from ''Film/{{Carrie|1976}}''. The 70s film alludes to it early, when Miss Collins suggests things she could do to her appearance for the prom. In the [[Film/Carrie2002 2002 TV movie]], one of the girls immediately compliments Carrie on her ass.
* ''Film/BatmanReturns'' has Selina Kyle's transformation from mousy secretary into ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}''. She then also looks very attractive when dressed up in civilian evening dress as well.
* ''Film/TheStolenCaravaggio' has quick-thinking Valeria going in *seconds* from mousy secretary to a vampier persona and attire in order to get out of a situation. Apparently, she finds she likes it and sticks with it for the rest of the movie. Might be an attempt at HeavyMeta given that the movie is chock full of it.
%%* ''Film/TheresSomethingAboutMary'' has one of these, too... although they ''never'' left for the party due to a zipper problem.
* ''Film/MyFairLady'' has this moment for Eliza just ''before'' the ball, when she comes downstairs from her room and Higgins sees her in her gown for the first time.
* The entire point of the movie ''Film/MissCongeniality''. The scene where Gracie originally walks out of the hangar, in a tight short knit dress with her hair up and makeup on, has all of her fellow FBI agents standing there with their [[JawDrop jaws dropping]]. Then she stumbles on her heels and [[MomentKiller falls on her face immediately afterwards]].
--> '''Eric:''' (''after Gracie trips'') Oh, yeah. That's her.
* Patrick and Kat have this effect on each other in ''Film/TenThingsIHateAboutYou''.
* In an inversion of the trope, ''Film/{{Australia}}'' has the male lead follow the trope nearly to the letter at a charity ball.
* ''Film/TheMummy1999'':
** Gender-inverted after Rick O'Connell is rescued from the gallows. His shiny reappearance is [[RightBehindMe nicely timed]] to Evelyn's rant about what a filthy, rude, complete scoundrel he is.
** Evie herself gets a moment like this; before they go on their expedition, we are used to seeing her in dowdy and plain librarian's clothes; but after they escape from the ship, Evie appears wearing an [[http://www.raqs.co.nz/me/clothing_bedouin.html Bedouin-inspired]] black dress and veil. It certainly made Rick's eyes widen.
* In the pee-wee football themed movie ''Film/LittleGiants'', Becky "Icebox" O'Shea (a girl who plays halfback) falls in love with the team's quarterback and decides to go be a cheerleader instead, cleaning up nicely in the process. Of course, since the quarterback liked the girl who played halfback as opposed to a cheerleader, she un-cleans and wins the big game instead.
* Happens in ''Film/BendItLikeBeckham'', when the girls are in Germany and Jessminder has nothing to wear for the party.
* Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/{{Always}}''. Holly Hunter's character is a pilot and dispatcher who always dresses in dirty overalls. Her boyfriend Richard Dreyfuss buys her a white dress for her birthday. She puts it on and all the other male pilots are stunned and they quickly wash their hands and line up to take turns to dance with her to "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
* In ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'', Laurie Jupiter walks down the stairs to the Owl Cave in her Silk Spectre outfit, in slow motion with music and Nite Owl open-mouthed.
* It happens to Cathy in ''Film/VacationFromMarriage''. She's played by Creator/DeborahKerr, no less, so her transformation isn't so shocking.
* Male example in the first ''Film/GeorgeOfTheJungle'' movie:
-->'''Narrator:''' Later, in the Men's Department, after discovering [[HallOfMirrors his long lost brothers]], the jungle king was pleased to find he looked pretty good in Armani.\\
'''George:''' Pretty darn good!
* Parodied in ''Film/NotAnotherTeenMovie''. Jenny goes downstairs in her new dress and without glasses, with her family and Jake just unable to believe their eyes... then suddenly a tread breaks and she falls to the bottom of the stairs.
* Downplayed in ''Film/ThePrincessDiaries'', despite it being the Trope Image. Mia gets ''two'' moments where she has to put on a fancy gown. The first has her descending the staircase - but the focus is more on her behaviour than her looks. The second is where she arrives late to the grand ball all wet from the rain outside. After she's made her speech, she changes into her PimpedOutDress. The sequel plays it for laughs when Lily has to dress up for Mia's wedding.
--> '''Lily:''' "I'm a girl who likes black and I'm wearing ''pink''!"
* Creator/JenniferLoveHewitt's character in ''Film/TrojanWar.''
* ''Film/{{Dragonslayer}}'': [[spoiler:After Valerian is revealed as a female to the hero Galen, she appears at a social event in feminine garb, causing jaws to impact the floor, including Galen's.]]
* Averted with Mui in ''Film/ShaolinSoccer''; she starts off as rather plain with acne and when she tries to doll herself up she looks even worse. She's at her most attractive when she shaves her head to pass herself off as a boy, and it's her martial arts/goalie skills that ultimately win over the male lead.
* Played straight in ''Film/MyBigFatGreekWedding''. Toula starts off frumpy, and then later on she [[TheGlassesGottaGo ditches the glasses]] in favor of contacts, and starts wearing makeup, proving she was BeautifulAllAlong.
* Jane's reaction to [[spoiler: a fully restored Thor]] in ''Film/{{Thor}}''. Please note that she was already attracted to him before, when he was just an exceptionally well-built guy.
--> '''Jane''' : (grinning) This is how you normally look?
--> '''Thor''': More or less.
--> '''Jane''': It's a good look.
* Played subtly near the end of ''Film/TheJourneyOfNattyGann'', when Natty and Harry reach Seattle after days of hopping trains and hiking cross-country and Natty gets the chance to actually wash her face and comb her hair. Harry is visibly startled the first time he gets a good look at her after she's cleaned up.
* Played with in ''Film/SomeKindOfWonderful''. {{Tomboy}} Watts has spent the entire movie dressed in raggedy old hand-me-down men's clothes. In the last act, when she agrees to chauffeur her best friend (and crush) Keith and his crush, Amanda, around on their date, she decides to get dressed up. The effect is striking, and she's much more attractive--but she's not wearing a dress. Instead, she's dolled up in [[{{Bifauxnen}} a male chauffeur's uniform]]. [[VictoriousChildhoodFriend Keith doesn't seem to mind]].
* In the Film/JamesBond film ''Film/LicenceToKill'', CIA agent Pam Bouvier is insulted by the idea that she should play Bond's secretary, but when she shows up at the Bank in the dress she bought with the money Bond gave her, he's so stunned by how beautiful she looks that he does a DoubleTake.
* ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' does this with Vesper. She was previously only dressed in business suits, but has to wear an evening gown for the poker game - one which James personally selects. She gets a head-turning reaction from the rest of the players, but gets this from James, having entered from the wrong door deliberately to [[DistractedByTheSexy mess with him]].
--> '''Methis:''' I don't think I need to tell you how beautiful you look. Half the men at that table are still staring at you.
* ''Film/IronMan'': Pepper Potts starts off the film wearing drab business suits with her hair pulled back. But for the Stark charity gala halfway through the film, she styles her hair and wears a sexy backless dress, stunning her playboy employer, who finally starts looking at her as a romantic interest rather than just his long-suffering secretary.
* Laney Boggs from ''Film/ShesAllThat''. In this case, it happens just before she's about to go to a party - overlapping with BeautifulAllAlong. When she goes to the prom later in the movie, it doesn't happen a second time (though she does still look nice).
* A variation where it happens in ''Film/SnowWhiteATaleOfTerror'' near the start of the film. Our first image of the older Lilli is her in a nightgown, so she arrives at the ball wearing her mother's dress to the surprise of many guests.
* In ''Film/CalamityJane'', the title character is constantly wearing unfeminine apparel and even gets mistaken for a man once or twice due to her clothing choices. It makes the moment later on when she attends a ball and takes off her big, thick coat, revealing a dress and lovely figure, a shock to everyone present. And when Bill - her ''date'' - sees her with her coat off, he thinks she's someone else before it mentally clicks two seconds later and he turns around, stunned and mouth agape. The rest of the men at the ball are pleasantly surprised along with him.
--> '''Calamity:''' How come all these galoots wanna dance with me? At that shindig down at Hogan's stable, none of them came around.\\
'''Bill:''' [[JustFriends I didn't know]].\\
'''Calamity:''' Spent most of the night chattin' with the mules.\\
'''Bill:''' Well, it's what I've been a tellin' ya all this time... You look better in a dress.
** Earlier in the film, Bill accurately predicted that she'd fulfill this trope if she ever took the time to dress up.
---> '''Bill:''' Hey, Calam, do me a favor!\\
'''Calamity:''' What?\\
'''Bill:''' When you get to Chicage, notice the women, how they act and what they wear. Get yourself some female clothes and fixins'. You know, dresses, ribbons, perfume, things like that.\\
'''Calamity:''' Look, if you don't like the way I smell-\\
'''Bill:''' Oh, it ain't nothin' personal... Only if you ever crawled out of that deer hide and dolled up a bit, I got a hunch you'd be a passable pretty gal.\\
'''Calamity:''' ...Well. You can save your hunches for females that get their pictures took in long underwear. ''I'' ain't one of them!\\
'''Bill:''' ''(laughs loudly)''
* ''Film/TheProfessional'': [[FilleFatale 12-year-old Mathilda]] usually dresses in BareYourMidriff outfits, but she changes into a beautiful pink dress after Leon rescues her from the middle of DEA Headquarters. Then she starts talking about the importance of [[RescueSex losing your virginity]] with [[RescueRomance someone you love]], giving Leon a serious OhCrap moment.
* A gender-inverted example in ''[[Film/{{Underworld 1927}} Underworld (1927)]]'', where Rolls Royce, once he combs his hair, shaves, and puts on a nice suit, is barely even recognizable as the hobo from before.
* ''Film/USMarshals'': Sam, who [[SouthernFriedGenius lives his entire life in denim]], shows up for drinks with his team of marshals in a ''suit''. Said team has a collective moment of appreciation before they start teasing him about it.
* Film/{{Sabrina|1954}} develops a more sophisticated fashion sense and self-confident persona after spending a few years in Paris, consequently becoming part of a SiblingTriangle with the sons of her father's boss.
* Jonas and Kelly in ''Film/{{Squatters}}'' are dirty and bedraggled at the beginning of the movie, as they're homeless. After they bathe and dress up, they look pretty sharp.
* In ''Film/AGirlNamedSooner'', the unschooled little mountain child who grew up in a dirty shack is made pretty with the application of one bath and a new dress.
* ''Film/{{Always}}'': Dorinda Durston is shown on a fire aviation airstrip, surrounded by pilots, and mechanics and sooty firemen. For her birthday, her boyfriend gets her some "girl clothes", an off-the-shoulder form-fitting white dress, that has the entire house lining up to dance with her.
* An understated version occurs in ''Film/AGunfight''. Abe Cross arrives in town after months prospecting in the desert. Following a bath, shave, haircut and a new set of clothes, Jenny watches him walk along the street from an upstairs window and remarks that he looks "almost handsome".
* In ''Film/SevenBridesForSevenBrothers'' Milly is pleased to note how handsome her six new brothers-in-law are after she forces them to wash and shave in exchange for breakfast.
* ''Film/TheWhiteOrchid'': Claire initially has very plain, modest attire with her hair in a simple bun. She slowly dolls herself up with makeup, a wig and fancy clothing, stepping into The White Orchid's shoes to make herself really shine. Even before she'd gone to this point, people complimented Claire simply on doing things such as letting down her hair and wearing a nicer outfit (she was pretty already, just not flattering herself much).
* ''Film/AKnightsTale'': William starts the movie with long, knotted hair and a beard that covers most of his face. To complete his disguise as "Sir Ulrich" he cuts his hair and shaves making him look a lot more presentable. Meanwhile, Geoffrey Chaucer is introduced [[NakedFirstImpression naked]] but covered in dirt and blood after getting beaten up for failing to pay his gambling debts. He too looks a lot better once he's bathed and given some clothes by the main characters.
* Katherine from ''Film/BlueIguana2018'' was already cute, but when she puts on nicer clothes and lets her hair down, Eddie is so struck by the difference that opera music starts playing in the background.
* ''Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm'' features the title character's daughter Tutar, who opens with [[https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP._FGpFk0FG8hroiws-AVEVwHaEK?pid=ImgDet&rs=1 severe]] BeautyInversion to actress Maria Bakalova. Then she undergoes a makeover to serve as a "prize bride", and [[https://d2iltjk184xms5.cloudfront.net/uploads/photo/file/380663/large_bc0c451eca8de725c2cb42acc1604821-maxresdefault_20_2_.jpg the improvement is massive]].
* ''Film/SweetHostage'': When Leonard first abducts Doris Mae, she's wearing a men's shirt and jeans due to spending most of her time helping out on the farm. After StockholmSyndrome sets in, Doris Mae persuades him to buy her a blue dress on one of his trips into town to buy supplies. He's amazed by how beautiful she looks in it, and she's delighted to look like a lady for once.
* Harley Quinn has this reaction to ''herself'' in ''Film/TheSuicideSquad2021'', after her makeover at the behest of Silvio Luna. Her assessment when she sees herself in a mirror: "...I'm a princess!"

[[folder:Literature]]
* ''Literature/HarryPotter''
** There's the Yule Ball example mentioned under Film, above, but Hermione also gets a much straighter example in the seventh book. Ron's jaw drops and he says "wow" when he sees her dressed up in a [[GracefulLadiesLikePurple lilac dress]] for Bill's wedding. Hermione then jokes that his crabby Aunt Muriel said she had "bad posture and skinny ankles".
** Madam Maxime is also described in very flattering terms when it comes to her choice of dress at the Yule Ball.
** Hogwarts' resident {{Cloudcuckoolander}} Luna Lovegood, who is not particularly regarded for her looks, is described as pretty when she dresses up for formal occasions.
* Gaia Moore in one of the ''Literature/{{Fearless}}'' books, although Gaia does not recognize this about herself.
* Male example with [[Literature/TheDresdenFiles Harry Dresden]] in ''Literature/DeathMasks''. Harry seems to enjoy the effect he has in his tuxedo when he goes to an art sales event with Susan to investigate Johnnie Marcone.
** In ''Literature/{{Changes}}'' it's Murphy who cleans up nicely. Although it's a cute pants outfit rather than a serious dress, and Harry never gets to see it [[spoiler: because the book ends with him getting shot dead before Murph can show]].
* Subverted in Neal Stephenson's ''Literature/{{Cryptonomicon}}''; the modern-day female lead specifically ''doesn't'' undergo a dramatic Hollywoodesque transformation. She's as awkward in a formal dress as a tomboyish salvage diver might be expected to be, despite being quite attractive. This just serves to illustrate why he's attracted to her, though, so there's something of a similar effect.
* [[spoiler:Kit]] has a scene like this in the book ''Cue for Treason'' by Geoffrey Tease.
* Another male example, courtesy of Louisa May Alcott. In ''[[Literature/EightCousins Rose in Bloom]]'', Rose Campbell must go to a social event and is told one of her seven cousins will go with her. She sees the guy waiting downstairs very elegantly dressed and thinks it's Charlie... but when he turns to stare at her, she's shocked when she realizes it's local {{bookworm}} Mackenzie aka Mac, [[UnkemptBeauty the]] ''[[UnkemptBeauty least]]'' [[UnkemptBeauty fashion-versed of the guys]], who wears clothes borrowed from his much more fashion-oriented younger brother Steve, aka TheDandy. In fact, poor Mac is ''so'' "lost" at what to do [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments that Rose has to help him fix his cape.]]
* Lessa in ''Literature/{{Dragon|ridersOfPern}}flight'', who begins the book as a filth-encrusted drudge, gets this after a vigorous bath and acquires something of a bathing fetish thereafter. This trope is actually quoted by F'lar.
* Though she doesn't actually do so, Herrena the Henna-Haired Harridan, in ''[[Literature/{{Discworld}} The Color Of Magic]]'', is implied to be the sort who would clean up well. Unlike most women depicted on fantasy cover art, though, she is described as wearing sensible mail and no leather (except the boots. However, the boots are not black leather).
* ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' did this in ''Mariel of Redwall''. Dandin is described as being surprised that the previously scruffy Mariel (then the amnesiac Storm Gullwhacker), after having been forced to take a bath and get a new green dress, could actually be pretty.
* ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'': Dagny Taggart, several times.
* ''Literature/HeroSeries'': Lee Mallorough, at least once in every book.
* In the ''Literature/{{Belgariad}}'' and its sequels, it's revealed that the regal, strikingly beautiful Polgara spent her life up to age sixteen being a filthy wreck with tangled hair, peeling skin (she doesn't tan well) and scabby knees. When her twin sister was getting married, Polgara decided to clean herself up and discovered that she was quite a looker once she'd had a bath and combed her hair straight. After the wedding, Polgara went back to live with her father Belgarath, who complained that after being aggressively indifferent to her appearance, she went off the the other end of the scale, bathing every day, and brushed her hair to the point that on a cold day she'd build up a sizable static charge, which would go off when she touched anything even ''remotely'' metallic.
* Occurs in an ''Literature/AnitaBlake'' novel to what is described as Linda Hamilton from ''Terminator 2'' on steroids in order to distract a group of men. Anita points out that said character has the most Common Superpower so all said character has to do is do up her hair.
* In the ''Literature/XWingSeries'', one of Corran Horn's friends tells another of his friends, and his love interest, about what he did one year at the Annual [[=CorSec=]] Awards Ball to make his date's night special. One part of this was ordering a new formal dress uniform, and it turned out that [[FairCop he cleaned up nicely]].
* Gender-flipped and inverted in ''Chessmen of Mars'', one of the ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars'' books. Gahan, the Jed (Prince) of Gathol, first shows up to court Tara in a gloriously bejeweled outfit worthy of his wealth and status. She is unimpressed. When next they meet, he is in the garb of an ordinary warrior. She doesn't recognize him and falls head over heels.
* Inverted in ''Literature/RatsBatsAndVats''; the hero, Chip, has no interest in the heroine Virginia... until she gets nice and dirty.
* ''Literature/ThePrincessBride'', where it's played straight and then again not quite so straight. Buttercup starts out as incredibly pretty anyway but moves up to Number One in the "Most Beautiful in the World" Chart when she decides to clean herself up, "unearth the territory behind her ears," and comb her hair. She does it all for Westley, though, so it's also ThePowerOfLove making her even more beautiful.
* Dairine in ''[[Literature/YoungWizards Wizards at War]]'' goes from jeans and a t-shirt to a gown and tiara using magic, also doubles as an involuntary flashing moment.
* Aragorn from ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings''. When Frodo and company first encounter him in Bree, he is described as a gaunt-looking man, due to the long and hard years he has endured as a hunter and warrior in the wilds of Middle-Earth. When they reach Rivendell, he is noted to look much more noble and regal after cleaning himself up and wearing finer clothing. There are many points in the story (especially after receiving his family regalia in Lothlórien) where he is described as suddenly seeming taller and fairer and more obviously the heir of Númenórean royalty in the eyes of his companions.
** This occurs with Aragorn earlier in his life as well, as described in the [[AllThereInTheManual appendices]]: when he enters Lothlórien for the first time, [[TheMatchmaker Galadriel]] dresses him up in rich, princely clothing like an Elven-lord, so that he might catch [[LoveInterest Arwen]]'s eye.
** Inverted after the siege of Isengard. Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli are reunited with Merry and Pippin and can finally relax after weeks of chase and battle. They all sit down around a fire and Aragorn takes out a pipe for a relaxing smoke. To the surprise of the hobbits, he's no longer a lordly captain of war, but "merely" the man with whom they have travelled many miles to and from Rivendell. "Look! Strider the Ranger is back!"
* ''Literature/AdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'': Huckleberry Finn, despite the widow's noble efforts, does not clean up nicely. In his own words: 'The widder's good to me, and friendly; but I can't stand them ways. She makes me get up just at the same time every morning; she makes me wash, they comb me all to thunder; she won't let me sleep in the woodshed; I got to wear them blamed clothes that just smothers me, Tom; they don't seem to any air git through 'em, somehow; and they're so rotten nice that I can't set down, nor lay down, nor roll around anywher's.'
* Alanna in ''Literature/SongOfTheLioness'' gets tired of constantly looking male during her SweetPollyOliver routine. She gets Mistress Cooper's help in fitting a gown and "disguising" herself as a pretty noblewoman using a black wig. The first time she wore a dress, with George's mother helping her, both Jonathan and George walked in on them and both were promptly stunned by the pretty girl before them.
* In ''Bound'' by Donna Jo Napoli, a Chinese Literature/{{Cinderella}} story, main character Xing Xing spends most of the story as a lowly servant. It wasn't until she properly bathed, combed her tangled hair and dressed in her mother's old clothes that she becomes the beautiful and unrecognizable "Cinderella".
* In ''Literature/TheHungerGames'', a not-so-small part of the preparation for the Hunger Games is all about cleaning up nicely. It appears to be more important than actually training combat skills. And while it can be assumed that the children from the first districts didn't need much "cleaning up" to be done, the people assigned to take care of Katniss nearly fainted when they saw her with her unplucked eyebrows, hairy legs, etc. Like Harry Potter above, this was lost in the film, given that "Katnip" was clearly quite attractive even before the Games.
* In Creator/LMMontgomery's ''Literature/AnneOfGreenGables'', Anne is introduced as wearing plain, unflattering outfits, having ungracefully long legs, and having orangish-red hair which most people in the book find unappealing. After Anne grows up and is given prettier outfits to wear, there are several points where her friends and various people in the town comment on how attractive she is. In particular, when Anne is giving a monologue for an event, it's mentioned that Gilbert Blythe is admiring how nice she looks in the white dress she's wearing.
* Happens to both Bertie and [[Theatre/AMidsummerNightsDream Peaseblossom]] in ''[[Literature/TheatreIlluminataTrilogy Eyes Like Stars]]''.
* Echo Mockery in ''Literature/ReadyOkay'' before her date with Fringie. Even her little sister and twin brother think she's incredibly hot, and Echo's date remarks that he's pleasantly surprised; he had no idea what she'd look like when she wasn't wearing a baggy sweatshirt.
* Beautifully subverted in ''Literature/AStormOfSwords'': When Gendry sees TomboyPrincess Arya in a dress for the first time, he laughs so hard that wine comes out of his nose. (He does admit that she looks nice later, though.)
** Same with Brienne. She looks like a man in men's clothes. In women's clothes, she still looks like a man -- she just looks like a man in a dress. Not helped by the fact that it's very hard to find a dress that fits her. And even when they ''do'' find a dress that fits and is flattering in cut and colour, Brienne is still not better-looking than plain.
* In ''The Rivers of Zadaa,'' the sixth book of D. J. [=MacHale=]'s ''Pendragon'' series, Bobby is rendered drooling and speechless at the sight of Loor in a red dress, the first time she's not wearing her fur-and-leather warrior garb.
* In Creator/GeneStrattonPorter's ''Literature/{{Freckles}}'', Freckles does not recognize the bird woman at a party, because she has dressed for the occasion.
-->''The curtains parted and a woman came toward them. Her silks and laces trailed across the polished floors. The lights gleamed on her neck and arms, and flashed from rare jewels. She was smiling brightly; and until she spoke, Freckles had not realized fully that it was his loved Bird Woman.\\
Noticing his bewilderment, she cried: "Why, Freckles! Don't you know me in my war clothes?" ''
* In ''Literature/TheFangsOfKaath'', Sandhri manages to finagle herself into the palace to find her love, Prince Raschid, and finds herself washed up and beset by tailors who manage to create a dress that best flatters her underweight figure. When Sandhri sees herself in the mirror, she is stunned and delighted to see herself transformed into the stuff of ''Literature/ArabianNights'' sexual fantasies.
* In Creator/DevonMonk's ''Literature/MagicInTheShadows'', Allie is struck by how Zayvion looks when he arrives for their date, and says, "Don't you clean up nice."
* Gender flipped in ''Literature/ABrothersPrice'', where Jerin was never ugly, but his Eldest sister is stunned to see him in his specially tailored court clothes.
-->'''Eldest''': I don't know if I should let you out of the room dressed like that.\\
'''Jerin:''' I look silly.\\
'''Eldest:''' You look sensual, beautiful, and erotic. We'll be [[EatingTheEyeCandy beating women off of you]].
* Subverted horrifically in ''Literature/{{Rebecca}}'', wherein the protagonist dreams of this exact scene happening at the costume ball; she even orders a PimpedOutDress with fitting wig, has her servant check if all the guests have arrived and has the band play a sting so she can have her big SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. This plan fails, of course, when [[spoiler: it turns out her husband's former wife wore this exact costume the year before; that husband then yells at her to get changed and our heroine's perfect moment is ruined.]]
* Deconstructed by Creator/StephenKing in the memoir ''Literature/OnWriting''. One of the girls who inspired ''Literature/{{Carrie}}'' was mocked for wearing the same clothes every day for several years, even as they started to wear out beyond repair because for some reason her parents weren't into buying shirts and dresses. Then after Christmas break, she came back with a new outfit, shaved legs, and a permanent. King says she looked "resplendent," but the girls responded by bullying her further. In the end, it didn't matter since she also had to wear them for the rest of the year and no one wanted to be nice to her.
* Inverted in the Literature/ConanTheBarbarian story ''Literature/ThePeopleOfTheBlackCircle''. Conan kidnaps the queen of Vendhya so that he can ransom her for the lives of his men. During their escape he convinces her to change into the clothes of a common woman so that she won't stand out. After she ditches her royal robes for peasant clothing, Conan remarks with approval how much more attractive she is without her fancy garments.
-->'''Conan:''' In those smoky, mystic robes you were aloof and cold and far off as a star! Now you are a woman of warm flesh and blood! You went behind that rock as the Devi of Vendhya; you come out as a hill-girl--though a thousand times more beautiful than any wench of the Zhaibar! You were a goddess--now you are real!
** Done with Conan himself in ''Literature/BlackColossus''. When Princess Yasmela introduces their new army commander to her courtiers, they're unimpressed at the sight of this barbarian sellsword sprawled in a chair and tearing into a meat-bone with his teeth. So she hustles him behind a curtain and Conan emerges shortly afterwards in [[BlingOfWar gleaming armor]], which they admit he wears better than most kings would.
* In Creator/JulieKagawa's ''Literature/TheIronDaughter'', both Puck and Ash clean up nicely for the Winter Formal -- Ash more so.
* ''Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt'' has done this with all her female protagonists so far. All three of them! They're usually considered plain-looking, but once they put on a fancy dress, they will of course look really good.
* Creator/ElizabethGaskell's ''Literature/WivesAndDaughters'' has a very straightforward example in Roger and Molly. She is [[JustFriends only a very dear friend to him]], until he spies her in new clothes and done-up hair during a house party at a grand estate. The TV adaptation even throws in the GrandStaircaseEntrance bit for good measure.
* Averted by Literature/TheLunarChronicles in the first book of the ''Literature/TheLunarChronicles''. She dons her stepsister's beautiful old gown to attend the ball but due to rain and her car crashing, she ends up completely soaked and oil-stained when she arrived. Not that she cares because the main reason she was going to the ball was to warn Prince Kai about Queen Levana's plan.
* At the end of the first book of ''Literature/TheGrimnoirChronicles'', Francis is rendered speechless by Faye showing up for their date in a fancy dress and makeup. She lampshades it:
--> "Yeah. I do clean up pretty good, huh?"
* A subversion in both the book and film versions of ''Literature/ToKillAMockingbird''. When Mayella arrives at the trial, her poverty does not allow her to dress up nicely, but it's clear she's taken care to wash and groom herself the best she can. This is in contrast to her father, who looks like someone took a scrub brush to him. In the film version, she wears a shabby dress and bow in her hair, and the effect is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44TG_H_oY2E quite sad]]. During an interview on the DVD extras, the actress states that wardrobe wanted her wear high heels. She said she would, if she could wear socks. When wardrobe told her no one wears socks with high heels, she told them "They do where I come from."
* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''Literature/MistbornTheOriginalTrilogy'' with Vin, who spent the first sixteen years of her life living with thieving gangs and deliberately trying ''not'' to look attractive, for obvious reasons. Then she gets rescued by the heroes and gets dresses and a beauty treatment to allow her to infiltrate the nobility. She's quite a beauty in her noble guise.
* In ''Literature/{{Angelfall}}'', [[spoiler:to disguise herself as Raffe's consort to get into the aerie]], Penryn dons a little red dress, strappy shoes, and makeup. Raffe is stunned for a moment when he first sees her like this.
* ''Literature/JourneyToChaos'': When Tiza bothers to look after her appearance, she makes a pretty girl. The first instance was in ''[[Literature/AMagesPower A Mage's Power]]'' where she had to wear special clothes for a formal duel and the second was when she found a dress in [[Literature/LoomingShadow Dengel's Cehian Lair]]. Nolien would remark on her beauty on these occasions but knows she doesn't appreciate such compliments.
* Happens in both directions in ''Literature/HeartOfSteel'' when Alistair finally has a chance to treat Julia to dinner like he promised. His reaction to her all dressed up and styled to perfection (as opposed to haggard, disheveled, and unhappy) is a comical JawDrop, while she thinks he looks very dapper in his pseudo-Victorian tux rather than the lab coats that he'd been exclusively wearing up to this point.
* Gender inversion in the ''Literature/ElsabethSoesten'' series: Husson in ''Bait And Switch'' is a slovenly, filthy, unkempt, slimy, and disgusting bastard. Elsabeth is stunned to realize that under all of that he's ''actually'' quite a handsome man when she forces him to clean up as part of a plot. Unfortunately a shave, a bath, and a clean change of clothing doesn't change the fact that even cleaned up he's ''still'' a slimy and disgusting bastard.
* Touched on in ''Literature/TheThreeMusketeers,'' where the author reflects that even "cleaning up" still needs something to work with:
--> Fine white stockings, a silk dress, a lace chemisette, dainty shoes, a fresh hair ribbon - these things do not make an ugly woman pretty, but they do make a pretty one beautiful.
* ''Literature/DrGretaHelsing'': Ruthven gives Greta a professional-grade makeover before attending [[AtTheOperaTonight an opera]] at the Palais Garnier. Although she's impressed with his work -- especially the things he can do with contouring -- she's ill at ease in the makeup and "Madame X dress" and is relieved to have her regular face back afterwards.
* ''Literature/TheStoryOfValentineAndHisBrother'': When the vagabond Myra does her hair and puts on a nice dress, she starts looking more like an exiled princess than a tramp.
* ''Literature/TheHanSoloTrilogy'': Bria looks much better when no longer in her bulky Pilgrim robes, as Han enthusiastically compliments her on.
* Gender-flipped in ''Literature/TheHorseAndHisBoy'' with Shasta. He cleans up so nicely after discovering that he is really [[spoiler:the long-lost Prince Cor]], that Aravis and the horses don't even recognize him at first, since they'd only ever seen him as the grubby servant of a fisherman.
* PlayedWith in ''Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians,'' when [[TheHero Percy]] sees [[BadassBookworm Annabeth]] after her treatment at [[CompellingVoice Circe]]'s spa:
-->''I mean, she looked good. Really good. I probably would've been tongue-tied if I could've made anything but'' reet, reet, reet.[[note]]For reference, [[BalefulPolymorph Percy got turned into a guinea pig]].[[/note]] ''But there was also something totally wrong about her. It just wasn't Annabeth.''
* ''Literature/SaintGeorgeAndTheDragon'': Una looks lovely after she's changed from her dark, unattractive cloak into a fine dress after she returns home, and in the illustration the knight can be seen practically swooning on seeing her.
* ''Literature/WhatToSayNext'' has a male version. To help David get Kit to date him, Miney takes him to the mall for a new haircut and some cooler clothes. David doesn't like the way the clothes feel, but everyone in school is amazed by the transformation. Kit's friend Annie asks, "Is that why you've been sitting with him? You knew there was, like, this freakin' hot guy under all that hair?"
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/AceLightning'': Jessica Fisgus, during the dance at the end of the first season.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'': In "[[Recap/AngelS03E13WaitingInTheWings Waiting in the Wings]]", the titular character scores tickets for the opera. Everyone cleans up well, but Fred and Gunn, both of whom are probably the least upscale fashionable, seem to attract the most attention -- especially from each other.
* ''Series/AreYouAfraidOfTheDark'':
** In the episode, "The Tale of the Closet Keepers", the resident tomboy, Kiki gets one of these. When she is revealed to the Midnight society by Betty Ann, she even gets a whistle from Gary and Tucker incredulously says, "I don't believe it! You look like... Like a girl!"
** Happened again in "The Tale of the Mystical Mirror" which featured a girl starting work in a beauty shop. After a bit of primping by the owner, the girl walks out in a stylish black dress with full hair and make-up to the glee of her two co-workers. She's back to her normal clothes when she finishes work however.
* ''{{Series/Arrow}}''
** The first few times Felicity Smoak removes her glasses and lets her hair down, it's presented this way. [[ShesGotLegs Especially the first time]] when she goes from office work clothes with a ponytail to an evening dress with curls, and her crime-fighting partners Oliver Queen and John Diggle take a good few seconds to recognise her. Not that she wasn't attractive before, so "cleaning up" becomes a common occurrence from the [[AscendedExtra second season onward]].
** Also shows up briefly with Sin, normally an androgynous {{Tomboy}} in gender-neutral leather clothes. To pose as a hooker to catch the VillainOfTheWeek, she dons a figure-hugging short skirt and heels (borrowed from Thea Queen, no less) that [[ShesGotLegs show off her legs]].
* ''Series/BabylonFive'':
** Delenn is always lovely, as per her LadyOfWar status, but her usual clothing is Minbari and, while quite beautiful, isn't all that revealing. So when Delenn [[Recap/BabylonFiveS02E08ARaceThroughDarkPlaces has dinner with John Sheridan]] and puts on a human-style [[LittleBlackDress black evening gown]], Sheridan is lost for words.
** She does it again two seasons later in "Atonement." This time the gown is even more revealing, and Sheridan -- who is deeply and openly in love with her by that point -- has an even more pronounced reaction.
* ''Series/BattlestarGalactica2003'': The sight of Starbuck in a long slinky blue dress instead of her usual military-issue tanks or flight suit renders Apollo quite literally speechless. Lampshaded by a previous exchange between them where he teases her about her (lack of) hygiene, and she tells him she cleans up nicely sometimes. Though it should be noted, Starbuck is an UnkemptBeauty anyway, and Apollo was attracted to her long before the clean-up.
* ''Series/Batwoman2019''. Kate Kane prefers a ButchLesbian biker look for her everyday appearance, but on formal occasions is quite the {{Bifauxnen}}.
* ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'':
** Male example: Sheldon is known for his collection of Superhero shirts and when he has to be formal wears awful, multicolored suits. When Penny forces him to get a better a suit he looks absolutely stunning, earning a JawDrop from Penny and whistles from the audience.
** And PlayedForLaughs because he refused to buy the suit because he [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qirEe8pGTJk thinks Penny made him try it on as a joke so he'd look like a clown]]. The full shopping trip is a SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} as Sheldon tries on progressively worse suits.
** A straighter example: Amy typically wears rather dowdy clothing with a long skirt and shapeless sweaters (along with Mayim Bialik's self-described "ethnic" looks), but in part due to Penny's influence she sometimes manages to dress up for special occasions and catch others off-guard with how well she turns out. Fans also noticed how attractive she became in the [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries Nurse Chapel]] costume while [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNsqHtzxY1o "Playing Doctor" with Sheldon]] ''Franchise/StarTrek''-style. She also wasn't bad looking as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDdrnacKumg Snow White either when the girls hit Disneyland]]. In the GrandFinale episodes, she undergoes one more makeover with help from Raj, who takes her shopping for new wardrobe, after she complains about how frumpy she looked in the photographs after seeing pictures of herself in magazines, resulting in a stunning transformation (though Sheldon disapproves due to his aversion to changes in general).
* ''Series/TheBiggestLoser'': Most of the contestants for NBC's show are quite good looking once they achieve a healthy weight.
* ''Series/BlackBooks'': In one episode Bernard enters the room wearing a pure white suit, looking incredibly dashing. He then furiously begins to yell at Manny, revealing that this is the ''real'' colour of his normal black suit, which Manny's mother had the nerve to ''wash!''
* ''Series/BlakesSeven''. In "City At The Edge Of The World", a leather-clad ActionGirl who hasn't bathed in a while gets annoyed over Vila's [[YouNeedABreathMint comments on the subject]], has a shower and changes into a native dress. The device Vila is working on makes an appreciative electronic sound reminiscent of a WolfWhistle. [[{{Chickification}} Bizarrely however this action also changes her]] into a classic DamselInDistress who [[ScreamingWoman shrieks at skeletons]] and {{Security Cling}}s to Vila instead of using her (already demonstrated) QuickDraw to blast the VillainOfTheWeek.
* ''Series/{{Blindspotting}}'': Though Ashley usually looks nice anyway, everyone is awed when she's dressed up in a wedding gown.
* ''Series/{{Bones}}'': Happens (sort of) when the title character descends the stairs in an awful bridesmaid's dress. Her main love interest says she looks "nice", until Cam helps her fix the dress to be prettier. He then tells her that she looks "gorgeous" to which she simply complains "I thought you said I looked nice before!" Then in the Halloween-themed episode "The Mummy In The Maze", Booth has a similar reaction to seeing Bones in a Franchise/WonderWoman costume.
* ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'': Played With in one episode. Topanga suddenly becomes self-conscious about her looks, and decides to get a makeover. However, Cory and Shawn recognize that she was already beautiful before getting "cleaned up" and now with the makeover she will be "mega-beautiful", and sure enough she stuns them when she walks out of the beauty parlor. At the end of the episode she decides not to keep up the new appearance because it's not who she is.
* ''Series/TheBoys2019''. In "You Found Me", Kimiko locks herself in the bathroom and puts on clean clothes, brushes her hair and does her nails. Frenchie is noticeably charmed when she comes out. That is until [[MoodWhiplash someone throws a grenade through the window...]]
* ''Series/TheBradyBunch'': One episode had this as a plot point for Jan, the middle sister. She's wondering why boys -- and one boy in particular -- don't show any interest in her, so she has one of her brothers ask the particular boy what he thinks of her. He casually answers, "She's a good [[TomBoy guy]]." Jan gets the picture, dolls herself up, and ends the episode with a GrandStaircaseEntrance before the boy in her girly clothes.
* ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'':
** {{Subverted|Trope}}, when Buffy dresses in a beautiful period gown for Halloween in an attempt to impress Angel, [[BecomingTheCostume it turns her into a dithering, helpless creature (because everyone's being possessed by their costumes).]] He later says that he was never interested in ProperLady types when he was human, because they seemed superficial.
** In the same episode, Buffy attempts to get Willow to do the whole "coming down the staircase" thing to impress Xander, albeit dressed as a hot goth rather than a fairytale princess. However, Willow backs out and chooses a traditional BedsheetGhost costume. At the end of the episode when Willow finally works up the courage to wear the outfit, the dressed-up look has the desired knock-out effect - not on Xander, but on imminent love interest, Oz who spots her from his truck (in fact Oz catching sight of Willow in unusual outfits and being intrigued by her is something of a running joke in the run-up to their actual meeting)
** Played straight with Willow and Xander in the Homecoming episode. Later spoofed in a callback to that same scene when Xander is about to get married, Willow in her bridesmaid's dress looks at him in his tuxedo and comments "Good thing I realized I was gay, otherwise, you, me, formal wear... bad combination."
** Subverted again in "Inca Mummy Girl" in which the gang are having a world cultures themed costume party and Willow turns up wearing an Eskimo costume and Xander of course only has eyes for the MonsterOfTheWeek Ampata dressed to the nines. Willow remarks that maybe she should have worn something sexy instead but Oz is playing on stage and this following exchange happens:
--->'''Oz''': Hey, that girl. Who is she?\\
'''Devon''': (talking about Ampata) She's an exchange student. I think she's from South America.\\
'''Oz:''' No, not her. The Eskimo.
** Giles is clearly impressed when Faith shows off her look for going undercover at a formal party, a PimpedOutDress with AbsoluteCleavage.
* ''Series/{{Castle}}'':
** FairCop Kate Beckett is told this explicitly using the trope name on at least two occasions: the high society fundraiser in "Home Is Where The Heart Stops" where she and Castle go undercover and the book launch of ''Heat Wave'' in "When The Bough Breaks". They're not wrong, either. The first time is a 'nervous and shy' example because she's wearing an amazingly expensive and beautiful dress that Castle has bought for her; the second time, everyone assumes she's a character actor hired to play 'Nikki', [[WriteWhoYouKnow the character based on her]].
** Also, in "A Death in the Family", Alexis in her prom dress combines this with a SheIsAllGrownUp moment for her father.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}'': Frasier starts salivating with desire when Lilith, who normally sports a criminally tight bun, lets her hair down.
* ''Series/ControlZ'': Sofia is beautiful, but mostly doesn't comb her hair or dress in flattering clothes. When she dolls it up for a party, she really shines.
* ''Dårfinkar & dönickar'': Simone, having been masquerading as a boy at her new school, turns up to class in a dress and lipstick. Subverted in that Isak, her crush, decides he likes her back after finding out she's a girl, but before he's ever seen her in girls' clothes.
* ''Series/DarkAngel'': Word for word. While there's the obligatory slow-mo pan up Max's dress, she's the one who says "You clean up nice" to Logan and he just says "So do you."
* ''Series/TheDarkCrystalAgeOfResistance'': Technically it's a disguise, but Deet dresses in some elegant finery to get an audience with the All-Maudra and looks rather nice. Unfortunately, Seladon sees right through the disguise instantly.
* ''Series/DeadMansGun'': In "The Highwayman", Robert Cosgrove uses some of the money he stole to buy his wife Brenda a fancy dress and insists she wear it at dinner that night. Brenda is astounded by the looks and compliments she receives from the boarders.
* ''Series/{{Degrassi}}'': Given the age most characters are introduced at, and how long they remain in the series, most will have this moment if they aren't introduced as stylish (which is most of the cast). Usually it goes hand in hand with ShesAllGrownUp, male and female. Both of the Van Zandt siblings pulled this, just compare Liberty and Danny's intro looks to their last appearances, and Clare got this as a plotline.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
** Played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E4TheRomans "The Romans"]]: Ian changes into Roman clothing and a slightly drunk Barbara says he looks "splendid", even helping him style his hair correctly to fit the costume. It goes to his head a bit and he gets quite into pretending to be a Roman.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E7TheMacraTerror "The Macra Terror"]], the usually very scruffy Second Doctor is put in a futuristic beauty-therapy machine that styles his hair into a neat parted style, pampers his skin and cleans and presses his clothes so that he looks immaculate. Polly is bowled over and calls him "gorgeous", but he expresses some reservations about the new look ("who wants to see their own face in their shoes?") and immediately dives into a "rough and tumble machine" to [[HairReboot put himself back to normal again]], to Polly's extreme disappointment.
** Inverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E3TheDeadlyAssassin "The Deadly Assassin"]], where when the Fourth Doctor is forced to don the elegant academic robes used by his native culture as formal dress and looks an absolute disaster, with his underwear showing and his frizzy hair poking out from under the lopsided headdress. But when the Time Lords put him in prison clothes — a crumpled poet shirt, red corduroy trousers and scratched-up knee-high boots — he looks about as dashing and romantic as he ever gets to. And even gets a [[SexySoakedShirt bit where he gets wet]].
** Played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS14E6TheTalonsOfWengChiang "The Talons of Weng-Chiang"]], when Leela gives away her clothes and is given a dress by Jago to replace it — and when the Doctor sees her in it, he's actually left speechless in mid-word. Then he suggestively offers to buy her an orange.
** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS20E5Enlightenment "Enlightenment"]]. Tegan changes into GorgeousPeriodDress to the amazement of everyone. Except the 5th Doctor, who doesn't seem to notice. Much to Tegan's annoyance.
** Played with in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS26E2GhostLight "Ghost Light"]], when Ace is sent to get more period-appropriate clothes, and returns in a tuxedo. [[{{Bifauxnen}} Although she doesn't]] [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ace_in_a_tux_5563.jpg look too bad in it.]]
** Played straight in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E3TheUnquietDead "The Unquiet Dead"]]. Rose is ordered to change from her 21st century clothes into something a bit more appropriate for the Victorian period. The Doctor is impressed.
** Martha compliments the Tenth Doctor a lot when he puts on a tuxedo in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E6TheLazarusExperiment "The Lazarus Experiment"]], and they both compare his look to James Bond. Not that the fangirls mind his usual natty pinstripe-suit-and-[[WardrobeFlawOfCharacterization canvas-sneakers]] get up either.
** In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E7TheUnicornAndTheWasp "The Unicorn and the Wasp"]], Donna puts on a flapper dress for a party with Creator/AgathaChristie, and the Doctor is impressed.
** Subverted in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E3RobotOfSherwood "Robot of Sherwood"]], where Clara puts on a stunning red velvet dress, [[ComplimentFishing commenting that it might be a bit much]]. Her last Doctor would have been speechless, but her [[GrumpyOldMan current Doctor]] couldn't care less.
* Series/TheDukesOfHazzard: While the non-canon 2006 TV film had a backstory of how a nerdy Daisy Duke became Hazzard County’s hottest hottie, the Season 7 premiere of the original series, “Happy Birthday, General Lee” had a different backstory of how Daisy went from homely to become the prettiest girl in Hazzard. In this WholeEpisodeFlashback about the General Lee’s origins eight years earlier, Daisy simply wears pigtails, button-down checkered shirts and overalls ... until she gets a job at the Boar’s Nest, lets down her hair and puts on her iconic pair of cutoff shorts to wow all the men of Hazzard.
** A Coy-and-Vance era episode, “Coy Meets Girl,” had an episode where Daisy turns the tomboyish Bobby Lee into a ravishing young woman. (This, while the “fake Dukes” try to hide Bobby Lee from two armed robbers after she witnesses one of their criminal acts.)
* ''Series/{{Firefly}}'', Kaylee, the ship's mechanic. In episode "Shindig", some high class women at the party snark at Kaylee for wearing a store-bought dress, but she is happily vindicated when one male partygoer comes to her defense (and later the men [[GeekyTurnOn are delighted]] to discover [[WrenchWench how tech-savvy she is]]). It is also inverted many times with Kaylee, with Simon saying that she ''dirties'' up nicely. He says she's especially cute when she's covered with engine grease or fuel.
* ''Series/{{Friends}}'':
** Rachel's season five LoveInterest Danny is introduced with a massive beard and bushy hair as a result of a lengthy mountaineering trek that makes him look, in Rachel's words, like a yeti. When he cuts his hair and shaves the beard Rachel doesn't initially recognise him because he looks so different.
** When Rachel (who is very beautiful all the time) heads out for her first night out with the girls since having her baby Emma, she is even more careful about her appearance. As Ross puts it: "You clean up good!" "You clean up good" is how the trope is usually phrased in Westerns.
* ''Series/FrontierCircus'': In "Stopover in Paradise", Ben romances a tomboyish ranch owner. She eventually decides to start wearing feminine clothing, evoking this trope (although she does a FemininityFailure when it comes to walking in high heels).
* ''Series/GameOfThrones'':
** Talisa Maegyr is shown to clean up nicely, without all the blood and gore that is.
** While the gaudy pink gown doesn't suit Brienne well, she still looks somewhat pretty in it, which is more than we can say for her book counterpart. In the novels, the pink dress makes Brienne seem more unattractive. Suffice it to say the leather tunic and blue riding skirt she wears during her time in King's Landing suit her ''far'' better.
* ''Series/{{Glee}}'': Plays this straight with Quinn and Finn in the episode "Prom Queen", and Quinn does look amazing, though it's hardly a revelation since Quinn is generally said by many/most to be the prettiest girl various characters have ever seen/met (former said by [[{{RomanticFalseLead}} Finn]] during said walk down the stairs, latter said by [[{{LesYay}} Rachel]] in the same episode).
* ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'': {{Tomboy}} Jo, in "Duncan vs. Duncan", turns up on the doorstep in a dress for the cotillion, prompting a jaw drop and "wow" from Gabe.
* ''Series/{{Gotham}}'': The first time that Bruce invites Selina to a Wayne Foundation ball, Alfred sends some "proper" clothes to her to wear. When Bruce sees her for the first time, he is stunned by her appearance; she reacts the same to him, being the first time seeing him in a tux.
* ''Series/H2OJustAddWater'': In one episode Zane buys tomboy Rikki a dress for her to wear at a dinner party at his house. Emma is at the dinner and her jaw drops when she sees Rikki walking down the stairs in the dress with her hair down. She's seen wearing dresses more frequently afterwards.
* ''Series/HanaYoriDango'': In this live-action drama, Tsukushi originally comes to Shizuka's party, she's the only one ''not'' in a stylish dress. After getting pushed into a swimming pool, Shizuka dolls her up with much make-up, hair pampering and a beautiful dress. Needless to say, she finally gets everyone's attention.
* ''Series/HannahMontana'': Inverted in the episode, "You Are So Sue-able To Me". When Lilly's crush Matt asks her to the school dance, Miley convinces Lilly to get a GirlinessUpgrade to impress him. When she later shows up at school with her new look, she has quite a few guys drooling over her, but then she gets stood up by Matt. It turns out he preferred her tomboy look.
* ''Series/{{Haven}}'': Audrey Parker is so inept at picking out pretty clothes she has to have elderly bachelor brothers do it for her but she wears them so, so well.
* ''Series/{{Healer}}'': [[InSeriesNickname Ahjumma]] usually loafs around her computer lair around in pajama pants and unkempt hair. When she dresses up to go out in public, however...
* ''Series/HotelHell'': Karan of the Town's Inn, after receiving a makeover, looks decades younger. Not only that, but she also becomes much more confident and assertive.
* ''Series/HowDoILook?'': This is the entire premise of this show. Take a woman whose friends don't like her fashion sense, buy her a new wardrobe, change her hair and makeup, and show her new look to a crowd of her friends and family as She Cleans Up Nicely. Often, the show gives a useful gift to the woman (besides the clothes, hair and makeup) such as paying 1/2 the past-due mortgage debt so a woman and her kids can stay in their house.
* ''Series/ICarly'': The focus of the episode "iMake Sam Girlier", both played straight and subverted. Sam is feeling down about her {{tomboy}}/[[TheLadette ladette]] image and decides to get a GirlinessUpgrade to impress a boy she likes named Pete. She looks quite good in her more feminine outfit, prompting an audience reaction, and even though Pete is quite smitten with her new look, he reveals that he actually liked her tough girl image better. However, there have been other times in the series, before and after this episode, that Sam has put a dress on, and she looks quite good in them.
* ''Series/JandaKembang'': The tomboy Wulan decides to wear feminime clothes and goes to Salmah for a make-up for once in her life because she plans to confess her feelings to Malik. Every guy she meets, including Malik, is awed.
* ''Series/JohnAdams'': Abigail Adams spends most of the first few episodes in rather plain dresses. When she does the makeup hair and nice dress thing at Versailles, her husband is lost for words. TruthInTelevision, adorably enough! When Gilbert Stuart mentioned that he "wished to God he could have painted Mrs. Adams when she was young; she would have made a perfect Venus," Mr. Adams expressed emphatic agreement.
* ''Series/KamenRiderZeroOne'': Jin's rebuilt form gives him a sleek suit, and on top of that, he has lost his PsychopathicManchild personality.
* ''Series/LostGirl'': Kenzie in one episode when she pretends to be Hale's date for a Fae gathering.
* ''Series/TheLWord'': Shane actually looks very nice wearing a dress and with her hair down, though it was only for going to Carmen's cousin's quinceañera as this is ''really'' different from [[{{Bifauxnen}} her normal style]] (she puts it on reluctantly to attend).
* ''Series/TheMagnificentSeven'': Recurring character and tomboy Casey Wells is persuaded to put on a dress and fix her hair in order to impress JD. It works... for all of ten seconds, at which point she steps on her hem, tears her skirt off, and is left standing in her bloomers.
* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'' has a heavily implied male example. Kelly's description of Eric, whom she played a mean prank on him that resulted in him having a toe amputated during their high school years, early in the episode "Blond And Blonder", is that "even his glasses had acne". Come the night of the class reunion, he looks absolutely handsome, fancy, and without glasses, much to the shock of Kelly once he reveals himself.
-->'''Kelly''': Eric Waters? Y-You look different.
-->'''Eric''': It's amazing how your looks can improve with nice clothes, contact lenses, and ''10 million dollars''. *walks away*
-->'''[[GoldDigger Kelly]]''': *goes back to her group of girls* ''Ten million dollars''? Oh my God, he's the ex-husband of my dreams.
* Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:
** ''Series/IronFist2017'': In the fourth episode, Danny Rand finally gets some good clothing of his own, and is dressed in a suit and tie for the press conference announcing his return to the public. Joy Meachum can't help but comment:
--->'''Joy Meachum:''' You clean up pretty good.\\
'''Ward Meachum:''' ...The tie might be a touch effeminate.
** ''Series/Daredevil2015'': When Frank Castle takes the stand at his trial, he's been fitted out in a suit. Foggy can't help but comment, "He looks better than I ever have and he's not wearing a tie."
* ''Series/{{MASH}}'': {{Subverted|Trope}} to the point of parody in the episode "Stars & Stripes". Margaret likes Sgt. (busted to Pvt.) Scully, whose attitude toward women is, shall we say, less than enlightened. To prove to him she's a woman along with being a Major and a Head Nurse, she gets all dolled up in an outlandish pink prom gown with Stepford pearls, high heels and lipstick. He appreciates it so much he flops down on her bed and asks her to (literally) [[FeminineWomenCanCook cook him an omelet]].
* ''Series/{{Merlin|2008}}'':
** Princess Elena, once the [[TheFairFolk Sidhe]] is removed from her body.
** Gwen, any time she gets dressed up during the first four seasons. Special mention goes to "Queen of Hearts" where Merlin is momentarily stunned into silence when he goes to pick her up for her date with Arthur. The fandom had a reaction like this too when the first on set photos of [[spoiler: Queen Guinevere]] appeared online before Season 5.
* ''Series/TheMentalist'':
** While Van Pelt already looks pretty sharp in her work attire, when she really dresses up to pretend to be co-worker Rigsby's girlfriend for a sting, she drives the poor man to distraction.
** And Lisbon, who is often overshadowed by Van Pelt, has one of these moments at a society fundraiser that she's been ordered to go to because the CBI is broke. Jane, {{UST}}-ee/[[AllLoveIsUnrequited unrequited love]]/co-worker seems not to notice, but then he ''is'' [[TheChessmaster Patrick Jane]], and probably thought he could screw with her in some way by not mentioning it. Made better by the fact that when she gets called away to a crime scene, she just sticks her regular leather jacket over the top and looks eccentric and beautiful.
** Some fans have drawn a connection between this and his BunnyEarsLawyer stunt of the week — an unexpected UndercoverAsLovers, which leaves poor Lisbon stunned and furious. [[ActionGirl She goes with furious]].
* In ''Series/TheMightyBoosh'', Howard has a subtle moment of this in the series three episode The Chokes. Normally he wears ugly, unfashionable and clashing clothes in various shades of brown, but after finding confidence as an actor thanks to a TrainingMontage, he walks into the Nabootique with his hair neatly combed while wearing flattering black clothing and a dapper hat. His bisexual best friend Vince, who is hinted to be in love with him, doesn't say anything, but the way he looks him up and down from head to toe with a mixture of surprise and lust on his face certainly implies he was thinking this trope.
* In ''Series/MyMadFatDiary'', [[HollywoodHomely Rae]] is this for Archie’s date in 'Touched', after Chloe and Izzy's makeover for her.
** [[spoiler:Her appearance at her mum's reception in 'It’s a Wonderful Rae:Part 2'.]]
* ''Series/TheNanny'':
** Happens with Fran at one point though the shock may have been due to her dress being quite garish as well as sexy. Many episodes got use out of Chateau Sheffield's sweeping staircase.
** It happens for the first time in the pilot episode, with Fran coming down the staircase [[LadyInRed in a bright red, sparkly floor-length number with a slit up the side to mid-thigh]].
--->'''[[RichBitch C.C. Babcock]]:''' What's ''that''?\\
'''Maxwell Sheffield:''' (''in amazement'') That's... the nanny.
*** Maggie gets a moment in the same scene, with her father going slack-jawed and commenting that he never realized how much she looks like her mother.
** Happens in "The Playwright" with Brighton's nerdy classmate Brooke, with whom Brighton (initially) didn't want to go to a dance.
--->'''Fran:''' (''to Brighton'') You see? You did a good thing and God smiled on you.
* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': Just get a load of Abby's Creator/MarilynMonroe get up for a Halloween event. For starters.
* ''Series/NeverHaveIEver'':
** The very first episode shows that Devi can easily make herself look as glamorous as "an Indian Kardashian" when she chooses to and when she volunteers at the last minute for Paxton's sister Rebecca's fashion shoot, he comments on how good Devi looks in the designer clothing she wears..
** While she's pretty regardless, Fab looks very nice indeed in a dress once Eleanor gets her to reluctantly put this on. She soon reverts to her original style though, disliking this.
* ''Series/NewGirl'': This is Schmidt and Coach's reaction when they see Jess in the LittleBlackDress her friend Cece helps her pick out... a reaction which is killed soon after, when Jess breaks into a celebratory dance.
* ''Series/TheOutpost'': In the finale, Talon marries Garret wearing a dress and with her hair in a wavy style. Though she's hardly unnatractive, they make her look especially lovely.
* ''Series/PeeWeesPlayhouse'': Reba the Mail Lady is rarely seen out of her postal uniform. There have been at least two exceptions, however. First, she dresses up nicely in "Party" (Pee-wee [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] that he has hardly ever seen her out of uniform). But that's nothing compared to the second time she dressed up: in "Rebarella", in preparation for her date with Derek, Miss Yvonne gives Reba a beauty makeover so that she looks a lot more like Yvonne herself! [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-awUSK83e5Y When Pee-wee first sees Reba's new look, he is appropriately agape with amazement.]][[note]]It's also the final episode to feature Reba (not counting flashbacks).[[/note]]
* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. Sameen Shaw usually runs around in a hoodie but has no problem wearing a LittleBlackDress when required.
-->'''Reese:''' [[ShowSomeLeg I see you've upgraded your arsenal]], Shaw.\\
'''Shaw:''' Oh, [[IHaveBoobsYouMustObey I can work it]].
* ''Series/{{Revolution}}'':
** Charlie in the episode "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E6SexAndDrugs Sex and Drugs]]", when she is given a nice dress to wear instead of her usual shirt and jeans, as part of a {{honey trap}}.
** At the end of the episode "[[Recap/RevolutionS1E15Home Home]]", Tom Neville appears in a suit. He is a male example of this trope.
* ''Series/RobinHood'': In the BBC's show, tomboy Djaq glams up in order to infiltrate Nottingham castle. The scene features both the possible outcomes mentioned in the trope description: Will is reduced to a staring, stuttering mess and receives a somewhat sharp MomentKiller response, while Allan manages to be a little more smooth, pays her a compliment and gets the gratified smirk.
* ''Series/TheSarahJaneAdventures'': "[[Recap/TheSarahJaneAdventuresS3E5E6TheWeddingOfSarahJaneSmith The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith]]" gives one of these to Luke Smith, who is rather stunned to notice that [[TrueCompanions Rani]] ''does'' clean up nicely. Actually, he has one right after the other - first for his mum Sarah Jane, and then for Rani. (This version, obviously, is purely platonic on both counts.)
* ''Series/SchittsCreek'':
** On the rare occasions when Stevie puts on a dress, she turns everyone's head, especially David.
** In Season 6, ButchLesbian Ronnie shows up to the premiere of Moira's film in a stunning cocktail dress and rocks the red carpet.
* ''Series/{{Sherlock}}'': Molly Hooper puts on a gorgeous dress for the Christmas party in "A Scandal in Belgravia". John is visibly impressed, and Lestrade's [[JawDrop jaw hits the floor]].
* ''Series/SirArthurConanDoylesTheLostWorld'': Veronica wears a dress a few times. Everyone is in awe when she does.
* ''Series/{{Smallville}}'':
** Season 1, ''Tempest'', Chloe dressing up to go to the Spring Formal with Clark.
** Season 4, ''Spirit'', a possessed Lois descends the stairs at the Kent Farm in one of the most [[PimpedOutDress hideous dresses]] ever seen -- Clark catches sight of her and gulps. There was also perhaps a better example from season eight's ''Bride'', where Lois comes down the same staircase in her formal wear as maid of honour at Chloe's wedding; Clark comes to meet her at the bottom in ''his'' formal wear and they both seem silently impressed.
* ''Series/{{Spaced}}'': Parodied mercilessly in the finale. Daisy tries to make this an InvokedTrope (including a memorable sequence where she extends a lipstick accompanied by the ''Franchise/StarWars'' lightsaber sound effect) and at first appears it's working, but then it turns out that the men were actually ooh-ing and aah-ing over a spectacular flaming birthday cake behind her.
* ''Series/StargateSG1'':
** In a way, they got to this by the 3rd episode by forcing Carter into a Mongol concubine dress. No staircase, but she starts the scene with her back to the camera; after the dramatic turnaround, her teammates have few words to say.
** Vala Mal Doran also does one of these in "Bounty". Of course, the only person who pays any attention to her is Cam's friend Darell.
* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The first two episodes of the fourth season ("Scorpion, Part II" and "The Gift") presented us with the gradual transformation of the character Seven of Nine, from a zombie-like Borg drone to the show's ultimate MsFanservice.
* In ''Series/StrangerThings'', the boys have to dress Eleven up as an ordinary girl (i.e. a non-psychic who hasn't been imprisoned in a GovernmentConspiracy lab all her life and consequently has learned basic social cues) in order to sneak her into school. Everyone -- especially Mike -- is impressed with the results.
* ''Series/TheSuiteLifeOfZackAndCody'': Zack is persuaded to take tomboy Max out on a date. She appears at the restaurant in a nice dress with her hair done up and Zack's jaw drops.
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'':
** While the brothers Winchester are hardly chopped liver [[UnkemptBeauty even at their slobbiest]], in the episode "Red Sky at Morning" the costume designers very wisely put Dean in a tux and had him swagger down a staircase to the sounds of Bond music. Dean expects his date, with whom he has BelligerentSexualTension, to mock him. Instead, she stares open-mouthed and suggests that they have "angry sex" later.
** And then they go dropping Dean into the 1940s for an episode, with him being specifically dragged into a suitmaker because his usual jeans, flannel shirt, and jacket combo won't work in that time. Dean would look good in a paper bag, but when he steps out in a perfectly fitted suit and fedora, it's even better than the tux.
** Also done with Castiel after returning from purgatory and shaving. Dean even [[SomethingElseAlsoRises shifts awkwardly in his seat at the sight.]] The actual costuming is just a return to his normal UnkemptBeauty baseline, but the scene itself is presented exactly like a SheCleansUpNicely reveal from a teen romcom, complete with a sexy pan up his body and much to the [[HoYay amusement]] of the fanbase.
* ''Series/SWAT2017'': In "[[Recap/SWATS02E06NeverAgain Never Again]]" Chris show this. She's good-looking, though she normally wears utilitarian work clothes or fairly ordinary ones when off duty. Here, she's shown in a highly flattering black spaghetti strap top that's quite revealing, and really shines.
* ''Series/{{Taxi}}'': InvertedTrope: Elaine asks Jim to go to a fancy party with her (out of concern for his feelings and with major reservations). He shows up at her door groomed and shaved, in a neato tux. Elaine gasps "You're gorgeous!" He replies in his quavering burnout voice "Yeah, I never get tired of hearing that."
* ''Series/TheTwilightZone1959'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS3E66Two Two]]", after washing her face and putting on the dress from the department store window, the woman looks beautiful. The man is clearly smitten.
* ''Series/UglyBetty'': Mark's boyfriend Cliff has one of these at Bradford and Wilhemina's wedding, causing Amanda to quip "Who knew there were hardwood floors under that shag rug?"
* One of the few things the otherwise disappointing ''Series/That80sShow'' managed to do well by making Chyler Leigh nearly unrecognizable in goth makeup as June Tuesday so that on the one occasion where she wasn't done up that way her natural beauty actually showed up very well.
* ''Series/TheWestWing'': Leo says this to Congressman Matt Santos...no, it's not HoYay, it's just meant to be taken literally.
* ''Series/{{Wings}}'': In one early episode, Helen decides to wear a sexy dress to a cello audition. When she doesn't get the job, she isn't sure whether it was because her cello playing wasn't good enough, or she wasn't sexy in the dress. She shows Joe what she looks like in the dress, and after noting his reaction, she promptly hurries off to practice her cello some more.
* ''Series/WizardsOfWaverlyPlace'': Meet Harper Finkle, a girl who makes her own outfits out of various objects. Fast forward to an episode parodying ''Literature/{{Cinderella}}'' in which she plays the titular character. Like in the original story, [[http://youtu.be/1U8404SEPjE her oddball outfit is transformed into a beautiful purple gown.]] Even the StudioAudience is pleased with the results.
* In the episode "Karl's Wedding" of ''Series/{{Workaholics}}'', Adam is accosted by a homeless woman named Rachel trying to steal his beer. The two have a screaming match that quickly turns into a strange meet cute, and Adam takes her to the wedding, dressed up and actually looking fairly attractive-despite still having an overall druggy look and demeanor. The fact that Rachel was played by Katee Sackhoff helped.
* ''Series/Working1997'': Parodied. Chris is one of many applicants for a newly opened position under the male chauvinist boss at the office. Chris prays on the boss's good-old-boy tendencies and general machismo to land the job. The show's main character (along with the audience) soon discovers that Chris is really a woman in disguise: Chris''tine''. When Christine outs herself, in the ''sauna'', accompanied by '''all the company's execs''', she returns to the office looking quite sexy in a skirt-suit. Cue one of the male characters saying "That's Chris?! He sure cleans up nice!"
* ''Series/YoSoyBettyLaFea'':
** This is one of the premises of this Colombian telenovela. Although she doesn't get "princess pretty" at the end, her appearance definitely improves during the series.
** This happens in the many spinoffs too (such as ''Series/UglyBetty'').
* ''Series/YoungRiders'': Louise "Lou" Macloud has to keep her gender a secret from most folks, but on one occasion she gets a chance to dress like a girl and wow her teammates.

[[folder:Music]]
* Craig Morgan, in his 2005 No. 1 country hit "That's What I Love About Sunday" -- a song reflecting on a young man's childhood, when Sundays were revered as a day of worship and rest -- the first words are trope-fitting (and is a male example): Raymond, an auto mechanic at a garage in his hometown, is usually seen hard at work, automotive oil and grease on his hands, and although not slovenly or sloppy by any means, "he's usually up to his chest" implies that he works hard, has many customers and is always seen in this state; yet, on Sunday, Raymond is cleaned up and is seen in church, wearing a suit and tie in reverence to God.

[[folder:Music Videos]]
* Music/KatyPerry in her [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlyXNRrsk4A "Last Friday Night"]] video.
* Music/TaylorSwift in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuNIsY6JdUw "You Belong with Me"]], too.
* A male example occurs in Adam Ant's video for [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ1zcLM1Iqw "Prince Charming"]].
* Music/{{Kesha}}: No glitter? No prob.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Mythology & Religion]]
* ''Literature/TheAchilleid'' alludes to this trope when it compares Deidamia's beauty to what Athena's beauty could be. That is, if Athena got rid of the war-helmet, gorgon-shield, and [[PerpetualFrowner ferocious gaze]] that strikes terror into the hearts of men.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': When Jimmy shows up in a tux for Jet Fusion's wedding to Beautiful Gorgeous in "My Big Fat Spy Wedding", Cindy is, to put it simply, stunned by his beauty.
-->'''Cindy:''' So Neutron's the best man? Yeah, more like the best NERD! I bet he'll look like a--''(She looks over and gasps. Jimmy shows up outside the church in a tux. Cue fade to pink background, [[WingdingEyes heart-eyes]] from her, and hair patting to himself)'' ...HUNKMUFFIN.
** She also says this to him when she arrives at his lab for a date and sees Jimmy dressed up nicely for the occasion.
* Parodied in ''WesternAnimation/TheAmazingWorldOfGumball'' episode "The Uploads", where Sussie's [[CosmeticCatastrophe sloppy makeup application]] in her beauty vlog somehow turns her into a beautiful live-action woman.
* Hayley from ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'' has been shown to be pretty attractive when she wears a more flattering outfit and hairstyle, even developing a much curvier figure than her thin top and loose jeans would indicate. On few episodes, Roger even tells her that if she cleaned herself up and abandoned her hippy look, men would find her more attractive.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Amphibia}}'': Anne Boonchuy usually goes around in her dirty school uniform and only one shoe, with leaves and twigs perpetually stuck in in her hair, but whenever she gets a new outfits and grooms herself for a special occasion, be it a girls' night out, a dance, or helping revitalize a restaurant, she looks positively stunning.
* ''WesternAnimation/AsToldByGinger'':
** One episode has Ginger being forced to impersonate Courtney Grippling and so gets a makeover. When she walks into the kitchen with her hair done like Courtney and wearing stylish clothes, her mother says "wow, look at you". Although it's presented as a negative thing since Ginger starts acting more like Courtney and forgetting who she is.
** An episode with a HighSchoolDance averted this for most of the girls, though Macie did make Dodie and Chett's mouths widen when she showed up in her dress. Ginger and Dodie also have this reaction to Macie when she arrives for their graduation.
* ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' did it in the episode "City of Walls and Secrets", with both Katara and Toph all dolled up and Aang stunned into blushing silence and a stumbling compliment before they had even left for the party.
** A more subtle example would be Zuko at the start of season three. After spending the first season being kinda ugly and the second being dirty and scruffy, the viewers finally got to see him [[http://piandao.org/screencaps/ep41/ep41-331.png all dressed up and prince-like.]]
** * This also applies to [[WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra Avatar Korra]]. While a tomboy normally, when she puts on make-up and a gown for a date or formal ball, she ranges from elegant to ''stunning''.
* In the WesternAnimation/BettyBoop cartoon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVgh4efy7GM "Sally Swing",]] Betty transforms a rather plain looking cleaning woman into the stunning Sally Swing.
* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'': A both-genders instance happens for Gwen and Kevin at the end of one episode.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'', when Gadget Hackwrench, WrenchWench GadgeteerGenius extraordinaire, has to look glamorous such as being in disguise, she can more than deliver in that regard. However, the series makes clear, and the fandom heartily concurs, Gadget [[UnkemptBeauty never needs any gussying up]] to be gorgeous as herself.
* ZigZagged in ''WesternAnimation/CloneHigh'' when first Abe, then Toots, then finally Cleo give Joan a makeover. The former two have horrible taste (Abe makes her over as a sexy nurse with a cyborg eye cribbed from a ''Fangoria'' cover) and are blind respectively, and make her look terrible. Cleo, who has excellent fashion sense, nevertheless makes her over to look like a cheap hooker, but Abe reacts as though she looked elegant and refined. Kennedy ''claims'' to like her better in her usual tomboy / PerkyGoth attire, but [[UnreliableExpositor he may have been lying to get in her pants]]. In the same episode, JFK makes over Gandhi in his own preppy style, which is a hit with the ladies in-universe, although to the audience he is better-looking later on in a white tux with white sneakers, although in that getup he strikes out.
* ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'': Tucker gets to experience the tongue-tied moment rather than Danny when Sam dolls up for a party.
* WesternAnimation/{{Daria}} invokes this trope in order to convince Quinn to stop posing as an intellectual.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': The episode "Don't Make Me Over" had Meg Griffin get a makeover that made her look pretty. She reverted to her normal self because it was too much work. Meanwhile, in the episode "Blind Ambition", Lois stops wearing makeup after Peter goes blind, revealing that without it she looks pale and wrinkled.
* In ''WesternAnimation/FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends'', Frankie was never lacking in the looks department, but when she dresses up for a date in "Frankie My Dear," Mac and Bloo begin fighting for her affection.
** And PrinceCharming. AND Derek the pizza delivery boy. ''AND'' a bad boy named Dylan ([[AllGirlsWantBadBoys whom she (initially) chooses over everyone else]]).
* ''WesternAnimation/GeneratorRex'' Doc Holiday dons a lovely white dress for one episode. Rex himself also looks suave in one of Six's suits and his hair combed back.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Grojband}}'':
** Laney usually sports a tough rebel-type appearance that [[LadyLooksLikeADude makes her look somewhat boyish,]] but when she participates in a beauty pageant, and Kin and Kon work on her dress, hair, and makeup, she ends up looking absolutely beautiful in a black and green dress and her hair is done in two side buns. The usually ObliviousToLove Corey looks lovestruck when he sees her looking like a real girl for once.
-->"I gotta admit. You make a cute girl... Bro!"
** Male example: Corey, like Laney, has a similarly rebel-styled look, but he looks very dandy when he dresses all fancy for a wedding gig, with a clean blue suit, a bow tie, and his trademark skull beanie gone to reveal a nice clean haircut. Laney also gets a bit fancier for the same gig, putting on a bow in her hair and a skirt that makes her look quite darling.
* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnold'': This trope is parodied in the episode ''Helga's Makeover'', in which the normally tomboyish Helga subjects herself to a girly makeover using tips from a teen magazine in order to join an all-girls' slumber party. [[http://ha-rewatch.livejournal.com/3290.html?thread=87514 The result]] falls straight into the UncannyValley, especially because, as she herself points out, they're only nine years old.
** Also, in ''Arnold's Valentine'', she tries to disguise herself as a French girl, which ends with her sporting a literal poodle hairdo that looks as ridiculous as it sounds. Ironically, when her hair gets messed up, she actually does end up looking quite pretty, and there are other instances, such as ''Helga's Boyfriend'', in which she can pull off genuinely good looks.
** In the episode where they play Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet, Arnold tells her she looks very nice in her costume.
* ''WesternAnimation/JimmyTwoShoes'': Heloise looks more like a little girl compared to other examples (WordOfGod is that she's about Jimmy's age though), but episodes like "Scent of a Heinous" and "Heloise's Secret Admirer" have shown that even the normally ObliviousToLove Jimmy [[ShipTease notices]] how much more elegant she looks when dressed up for formal occasions.
* ''WesternAnimation/KaBlam'': June, the tomboyish female host is usually shown to be very beautiful in a dress, aside from her usual t-shirt, shorts, and hoodie.
** It's actually stated in an episode that she'll only wear one if she's made to, otherwise, she dislikes wearing them. (Was her little act in "Won't Stick to Most Dental Work" plainly fanservice?)
* ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'' did this one, on two separate occasions, on the stairs at her house. There's no grand staircases in HighSchool gymnasiums, so one would think that the real-life temptation to attempt this trope for a prom date is very hard to fight for a teenage girl.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'': Wanda manages to pull this off any time she dusts off her pink tuxedo for a formal occasion.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLifeAsATeenageRobot'': Jenny's not lacking in the looks department for a robot, but in "The Great Unwashed", she gets a real makeover in hot red from some mechanics after being wrecked in an explosion. Even Brad is stunned by the results.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'': The episode "Simple Ways" confirms that Applejack, the resident farmer/cowgirl, can [[http://derpibooru.org/547593 make herself quite stunning]] when she wants.
** There's also Rainbow Dash whenever she dresses up for big occasions, most notable include the Grand Galloping Gala and Shining Armor and Princess Cadence's wedding. Fancy Pants has commented on Ponyville being "charmingly rustic" which means he's well aware of how country folk like Applejack and Rainbow Dash can look gorgeous. Cadence herself looks pretty beat up and defeated when we first meet [[spoiler: the real her]] but by the end, looks fabulous in her wedding gown.
** Fluttershy also looks stunning whenever she dresses up, though she is already cute naturally. No wonder Rarity asked HER to be her model in "Green Isn't Your Color".
* Candace in ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. Several episodes, such as "Gaming the System," show that she is very lovely with a different outfit and hairstyle.
* In ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Octi Gone", the girls all wear party dress versions of the normal clothes. Bubbles and Buttercup are even decked out in hair bows. Of course, [[{{Tomboy}} Buttercup]] is the one to complain:
--> '''Professor Utonium:''' I sure do love parties, don’t you, girls?\\
'''Buttercup:''' No! Cuz I have to wear this stupid girly party dress and I look like a dork!
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', the [[AlphaBitch Ashleys]] enter rough-and-tumble tomboy Spinelli into a beauty pageant as a prank. After a makeover and pageantry lessons from her friends, Spinelli turns out to be quite good at the beauty pageant thing when she sets her mind to it and even wins the pageant.
* In the WesternAnimation/SillySymphonies short “The Cookie Carnival” we find a cookie girl who is rather homely looking and is dressed in rags, she’s sad that she can’t enter the beauty contest because she doesn’t have a fancy dress, a wandering hobo dolls her up and decorates her with various frosting, custard, sprinkles, and other assorted candy, she becomes very pretty, now looking like a young blonde woman, she’s so beautiful that she ends up winning the contest and everyone wants to marry her.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' has Lisa, in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E4LisaTheBeautyQueen "Lisa the Beauty Queen"]] convinced that she's ugly. In an attempt to rectify this, Homer enters her in a beauty pageant. Lisa competes, and wins second place. Bart more or less tells her in this episode that she is quite pretty.
** Bart is also a bit overcome when he sees her in her wedding finery, in the future-based episode about marrying a boy she meets in college. He tells her that seeing her makes him want to get married for a third time.
* ''WesternAnimation/SmilingFriends:'' Desmond spends most of his episode being an over-detailed and overweight {{Gonk}} whose poor hygiene and lack of self-care reflects utterly in his appearance... when he finds a purpose in life that pulls him out of his funk, however, he cleans up completely (even regrowing his hair) and starts looking a ''lot'' more respectable.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheSpectacularSpiderMan'': Gwen Stacy when shows up to her Valentine's date with Harry [[TheGlassesGottaGo sans glasses]] and wearing a dress.
* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'' makes himself over to be "long, tan and handsome"[[note]]"long" being the underwater substitute for "tall"[[/note]] to chaperone Mr. Krabs's daughter Pearl to her prom, by way of a wig and stilts. Mr. Krabs even comments, "Cleans up pretty good, doesn't he?" when he sees the new look.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarVsTheForcesOfEvil'':
** While Star is typically cute, her getting gussied up for a fancy ball In "Blood Moon Ball" is the first time her friend Marco compliments her looks. Star's demon ex-boyfriend Tom nails the trope's name upon seeing her later in the same episode.
** In "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown", Jackie and Star are left speechless when they see Marco dressed up for a high school dance. [[spoiler: This is also when Star's subconscious crush on Marco starts becoming conscious.]]
** Also in "Bon Bon the Birthday Clown", Jackie, Marco's date. While she is usually a tomboyish skater girl, in her dress she (in Star's words) "look[s] like the ocean!"
* This happens to the main trio when they [[spoiler:prepare to]] go to their high school's prom in ''WesternAnimation/SymBionicTitan''. Not as much as Ilana, who usually is dressed very nicely, but Lance's hair is groomed and Octus (while trying on outfits) is able to alter his appearance to look like he's in shape.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles|1987}}'': Occurs to April in the first cartoon, after Irma insists she dress up for a royal ball at an embassy. All four turtles go gaga over her new look and despite the fact that she's never been a slouch in the looks department, and the fact that they're... well, ''turtles''.
%%which ''new'' series? 2003 or 2012?
%%** In the new series Casey Jones looks ''damn'' sexy in a tux.
* ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'': Robin experiences this with Starfire, when she unexpectedly shows up at the party all dolled up so she can "investigate Kitten (the episode's [[AlphaBitch antagonist]]) thoroughly". [[LampshadedDoubleEntendre Whatever that means.]]
** In the same episode, Robin himself looks quite nice in that tux.
** There's another instance for Starfire, in the episode "Go!". Throughout the entire episode, Starfire has been wearing her prison garb and either screaming at everyone or being suspicious of them (since she just escaped being sold into slavery, that's understandable). At the end, when the enemy has been driven away, Starfire shows up wearing the outfit she spends most of the series wearing, smiling and looking happy and relaxed for the first time. Everyone is amazed.
* Played with in episode 4 of ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}''. When [[ActionGirl Evangelyne]] lets down her hair and puts on a princess gown, she thinks she must look ridiculous, but her friends are impressed. There are a few problems with this, though: they are supposed to disguise as "ugly" princesses, and Eva's cuteness makes her suspicious. Also, she can barely walks in high heels and [[TheKlutz falls several times]], making the stairs part of the trope quite perilous. As for the LoveInterest, [[IdiotHero Sadlygrove]], he sure finds her good-looking... although [[PaperThinDisguise he doesn't even recognize her]].
* Done in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TheWeekenders'' where Lor develops a crush on a boy and starts acting more girly to impress him including wearing dresses and makeup. Even Tino is shocked at how good she looks.
* Shriek from ''WesternAnimation/CatDog,'' when she goes to [=CatDog's=] cookout in a dress and her hair made up in an attempt to impress Dog. It results in nearly every guy (except for Dog) trying to hit on her, and when they realized who she was, they all fainted. As it turns out, prior to this episode, Dog didn't even know that Shriek was a girl.
* ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': In "Bubble" Charlie the sasquatch, after getting hosed down with water after saving Panda from a polluted lake, is revealed to have shiny golden fur. He prefers his dirty, unkempt fur because being so clean makes him uncomfortable.
[[/folder]]

* Subverted in ''Anime/CodeGeass'', where Nina Einstein is all dressed up in the pre-wedding celebration but is still much more confident at work as a scientist, which is demonstrated by comparison to matter. However, played straight with Milly Ashford on the same occasion and Cecile Croomy earlier. AbsoluteCleavage indeed.