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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