What is the difference between “みだらな格好” and “あられもない格好?”

Question

I'm trying to figure out the difference in nuance between みだらな格好 and あられもない格好.

My dictionary tells me "みだらな" means "lewd"/"obscene"/"indecent", and あられもない means "unladylike", "immodest", these definitions seem to imply みだらな格好 and あられもない格好 are practically the same however, would I be correct in assuming みだらな格好 is more stronger and gives a negative impression/ is offensive, whereas あられもない格好 can be neutral and maybe even positive?

Also would 格好 only refer to looks or can it also apply to behaviour and mannerisms?

Answer 1

みだらな is simpler, it clearly carries a negative and sexual connotation. みだらな格好 usually refers to inappropriate clothes which are (purposely) sexually-attractive. みだらな行為 is an euphemistic way of referring to unlawful sexual activities (commonly used by mass media). 猥褻な is a similar word.

あられもない originally means something like "can't be" or "impossible", and it's sometimes used even without sexual implication (e.g., あられもない疑い is almost the same as あらぬ疑い). When it refers to one's way of dressing, あられもない格好 does mean someone (usually a woman) is inappropriately and/or scantily dressed (or undressed), but it does not necessarily imply purposeful sexual attractiveness. For example, what I might consider あられもない格好 but not quite みだらな格好 are:

• An unconscious drunken woman who is showing her underwear lying on the street
• A woman relaxing in her house alone wearing only underwear (and accidentally witnessed by someone)
• A female warrior wearing a severely damaged armor and exposing her skin
• A naked (humanoid) girl who does not seem to be embarrassed while talking with someone else (in a fantasy works, etc)
• Sailor Moon's transformation scene (video)

As you can see, being あられもない is not always immoral, but it's not positive, either.

Answer 2

みだらな格好 and あられもない格好 have the same meaning as you said, and the both have a negative impression. I don't think which one definitely has a more negative impression, but personally, I feel あられもない格好 has a little bit more negative impression. If you want to imply a positive impression, you can say 色っぽい格好 or セクシーな格好. This 格好 only means "clothes".