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| - The character always wears the same outfit, regardless of the setting or season. Winter (or at least a Christmas Episode) may sometimes see the addition of a heavy coat, but circumstances will conspire to put the character in a situation where they must shed the coat, at which point it is never seen again. (A more likely choice is a hat, scarf, and perhaps mittens, which imply colder weather without obscuring the character's trademark wardrobe). Sometimes there is good reason for this, such as the following cases which are generally considered exempt from this trope:
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| - The character always wears the same outfit, regardless of the setting or season. Winter (or at least a Christmas Episode) may sometimes see the addition of a heavy coat, but circumstances will conspire to put the character in a situation where they must shed the coat, at which point it is never seen again. (A more likely choice is a hat, scarf, and perhaps mittens, which imply colder weather without obscuring the character's trademark wardrobe). Even characters whose very nature should prevent them from having such a Limited Wardrobe (read: fashion nuts) may still have one. A common Lampshade Hanging is revealing the character's wardrobe to consist entirely of multiple copies of the same outfit (see page image), doubly so if another character points to an arbitrary item and explains, "That's their favorite". Sometimes there is good reason for this, such as the following cases which are generally considered exempt from this trope:
* Characters who are habitually required to wear a uniform: schoolkids, military personnel, superheroes -- heck, even the Burger Fool. Lawyers in a suit and doctors in a lab coat are almost mandatory.
* Animals, robots, or similar characters who don't actually wear clothing in the first place.
* Characters who are Trapped in Another World or Walking the Earth, who may not have had time to pack additional clothes, or need to travel light. (Though this doesn't explain why the season never seems to change either...) In a slight aversion you might see them wear out their original clothing only to wear something a bit more natural.
* Stories set in a limited time-frame, i.e. close to Real Time, and there is no reason for a character to change clothes and sometimes doing so is just wasted time.
* Supernatural characters, like ghosts or possessed humans who can't or just don't feel the need to change clothes. One benefit to this trope is that characters are recognized by their clothing. Their clothing becomes just as much identified with them as their hairstyle and personality. Always wearing a plain T-shirt, shorts and sneakers can indicate a relaxed personality; an expensive business suit is the hallmark of any Corrupt Corporate Executive. A more logistical reason is that whether something is filmed or animated it is rarely done in a sequential order. Even though character models are rather simple to produce and alter and in live action rather easy to change clothing, making such changes on a regular basis requires a great deal more effort to maintain Continuity from scene to scene. This is kind of the same reason main characters have a Dirt Forcefield and have little Clothing Damage unless dramatically necessary. This trope is especially prevalent in shows with heavy merchandising tie-ins, where it is considered important to maximize the resemblance between the characters and their action figure counterparts. A rotating and varied wardrobe would counter that. In animated works, this can be the mark of cheap animation, and is deliberately done so as to allow the studio to recycle as much Stock Footage as it possibly can (See Filmation). It happens with broadcast TV anime, due to having smaller budgets than movie/OVA works. This also cuts time, since many series are produced on a deadline, too. This is also not seen as odd if the person is attending a school with a dress code. In many Asian countries, conformity is enforced and all the schools have uniforms. And in most Catholic schools, they're all required to wear uniforms anyway. For characters who always wear their school uniforms no matter what the occasion (in or out of school), see School Uniforms Are the New Black. This trope is extremely common in video games, RPG's especially, to the point of having its own sub-trope, Informed Equipment. Often, characters will wear only one primary outfit throughout the entire course of the game, sometimes with one or two secondary outfits that serve the purpose of giving the player some sort of special ability when they're worn. Some games instead offer one or more Palette Swaps of the primary outfit, although this was more in older games with limited graphics and is very rare in "modern" games; either way they rarely serve any purpose beyond aesthetic appeal. A variation in Live Action is to have variations on the same outfit scheme, such as Hawaiian shirts, polo shirts, the color mauve, etc. Compare Same Clothes, Different Year. See Clingy Costume if the character actually cannot change their clothes. Also see Memetic Outfit. Compare Plot Pants, Hairstyle Inertia. Contrast Unlimited Wardrobe. Compare 24-Hour Armor and Clothes Make the Legend, where the marketability and recognition factor of an iconic outfit outweighs any desire to vary it on the part of a show's production staff. Also compare Only Six Faces, which involves character designs instead of clothing. Examples of Limited Wardrobe include:
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