Do you sometimes find yourself confused with fashion lingo?
Since fashion encompasses culture across the globe, it's only natural to encounter strange words like prêt-a-porter, tulle, and jodhpurs when you read a fashion magazine or talk to an expert. Aside from being updated on the latest trends, a fashionista like you should also be familiar with foreign fashion lingo. Read on to enrich your fashion vocabulary!
Aaglet, aiglet: metal tag of a lace, intended primarily to make it easier to thread through eyelet-holes, but afterwards also as an ornament to pendent ends.
Á la mode: in fashion; fashionable look; funky; in vogue; in style.
Ápplique: French for applied or laid on; decoration in the form of embroidery, cut-out motif, or contrasting fabric stitched onto a foundation.
Avant-garde: pioneers or innovators in any art in a particular period; the characteristic quality of such pioneering.
Babushka: triangular head-scarf; head covering folded diagonally and tied under the chin.
Bagheera: fine uncut pile velvet; imitation made of rayon crepe.
Bateau neckline: décolletage having a bow-shaped curve from shoulder to shoulder; boat-neck.
Blasé: blah; boring; dull; insipid; passé; square.
Caftan (kaftan): a full length garment with elbow or full length sleeves. Originally from the Middle East, often highly embellished with embroidery, kaftans now come in all lengths.
Chape: backside of a buckle attaching to it a strap.
Chenille: velvet-like cord, having short threads or fibers of silk and wool standing out at right angles from a core of thread or wire, like the hairs of a caterpillar, used in trimming and bordering dresses.
De rigueur: as required by current fashion.
Faux: artificial.
Froufrou: fussy, showy dress or ornamentation.
Haute couture: high fashion, always made to measure.
Jodhpurs: pants cut full over the thighs but fitting tightly from knee to ankle, originally worn for horse riding as less formal alternative to breeches and knee-high boots.
Kitsch: vulgar design and appearance, often pretentious bad taste.
Maquette: a preliminary sketch.
Mignonette: lace; fine net.
Prêt-a-porter: French term for ready to wear.
Rocaille: style of ornamentation based on rock and shell motifs; rococo.
Savoir-faire: ability to act suitably.
Savoir-vivre: knowledge of the world and ways of society; sophisticated; hip.
Trousseau: a bride's outfit.
Tulle: a stiffened silk net, which can also include synthetic nets.
Zori: Japanese thonged sandals with straw, leather, or wood soles.
Photo by Pranz Kaeno Billones
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