Basic Trope: A character (usually female) who normally dresses down dresses up for an occasion, surprising and impressing the people around her (including her Love Interest).
- Straight: Alice, who normally dresses in jeans and a scruffy jacket and spurns makeup, appears at a function in an elegant evening dress and makeup, amazing Bob with her beautiful appearance.
- Exaggerated:
- Alice, who is normally The Pig-Pen, appears in a ballgown, literally glowing with beauty. Her very appearance is enough to bring everyone to their knees weeping with joy.
- Ninety-nine percent of the time, Alice scampers around nude and gets all sweaty and grubby. The remaining one percent of the time, she is the best-dressed person for miles around and has the demeanour of an aristocratic Proper Lady.
- Downplayed:
- Alice usually wears jeans, a jacket, and a bit of makeup if she has time in the morning. She appears at a function in an evening dress and more makeup than she usually wears, and Bob thinks she's quite attractive.
- Alice is going through a depressive episode, during which she wears whatever is at arms length in the morning and doesn't bother combing her hair unless she needs to go outside. When she starts putting more effort into her appearance, it's a sign that she's feeling better mentally, and her friends and family point out she's looking much better.
- Justified:
- Alice rarely feels the need to dress up, and it's an aspect of her that people rarely see, thus making it a surprise when she makes an effort.
- Alice is a genuinely beautiful person but normally lacks the confidence to present herself to best effect.
- Studies show that dressing up automatically enhances a person's attractiveness.
- Inverted:
- Alice, normally known to dress elegantly in every appearance, shows up in relaxed and slightly scruffy attire, surprising Bob.
- Alice appears all dolled up, only for everyone to remark that she looks better in her normal clothes.
- Gender Inverted: Bob, who normally has unkempt hair, scraggly five o'clock shadow and dresses in a ratty tank-top and jeans, shows up showered, and shaved, in an Armani suit. Alice is in awe when she sees how handsome he is.
- Subverted:
- Alice expects to shock her friends with her new make-over, but they did not react to her new look and continue to talk to her normally.
- Alice shows up at the party all dolled up. Her friends stare at her in stunned silence, before telling her that they prefer her old look.
- Doubly Subverted:
- Only because they're too embarrassed to admit how stunning she looks in her dress and make-up.
- Her friends follow-up to say that for the occasional, special, formal event, that it is a good look.
- Parodied:
- Alice's idea of what is 'elegant' and 'fashionable' is quite different from everyone else's; people's reactions of surprise and amazement are not for the reasons she thinks.
- The girl in the dress is really Allen.
- Zig Zagged: There are multiple times when Alice has to dress for a function. Each of these looks range from divine beauty to looking hardly any better than usual.
- Averted: Alice has a changing sense of style, and is known to dress appropriately regardless of the context.
- Enforced: "As per the producer's will, we have to show that the tomboy has her feminine side, or else the audience will not buy it."
- Lampshaded: "Wow, you really do clean up nice!"
- Invoked: Alice, who wants Bob to notice her, invites him to a formal event and dresses up for it.
- Exploited: Alice uses her temporary beauty to seduce someone at the event.
- Defied: Not wanting to attract too much attention, Alice either wears the shabbiest clothes she is allowed to,or avoids the event entirely.
- Discussed: "Hmm, Alice isn't here yet. Bet you five bucks she shows up all Disney Princess'd and totally impresses Bob."
- Conversed: "In shows like this, the tomboy always gets dolled up for the big dance and everyone always oohs and ahhs like she's the Second Coming."
- Deconstructed:
- Bob falls in love with the 'cleaned-up' Alice, which leads to dissatisfaction in the relationship when Alice prefers to dress down afterwards.
- Unnecessary Makeover
- Reconstructed: Bob realizes that Alice is Alice despite what she's wearing, and falls in love with her actual persona instead of the image of her dressed up.
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