Fashion Terms and Their Meaning

 Have you read an article recently without an idea what the fashion terms mean? Worry your sweet head no more as I bring to you in clear terms the A-Z of mostly used fashion terminologies.

A-line : a garment, usually dress or skirt

that is slightly flared from a narrow waist

Bespoke: a made-to-order garment, usually 

a suit, could also apply to shoes or a wedding dress; tailored specifically to the customer’s measurements and specifications

Brick-and-Mortar : The term for a physical

location of a store in a real place, not online

Cable-knit : usually refers to a sweater,

knit with a type of stitch that produces a

twist that resembles a two-ply cable

CFDA : The Council of Fashion Designers

of America

Color-blocking : originally a technique

where blocks of fabric are sewn together

in one garment to create clothing with a

few different solid colors; has now come

to encompass an outfit that applies the

same technique to a combination of

pieces (ie shirt, pants, shoes)

DIY : acronym for “do it yourself,”

referring to creating something yourself

and making a blog post (tutorial)

instructing others on how to make it,

step-by-step

Editrix : A powerful female editor, most

especially used to refer to Anna Wintour

or Carine Roitfeld

Fashionality: used to describe a person in

the fashion industry with a lot of personality and sometimes celebrity status

Faux Pas: A term borrowed from the French, meaning a miss-step or major no-no

Haute Couture: a French term, mean

exclusive, custom-fitted high fashion

clothing as produced in Paris, and

imitated in other fashion capitals such as

New York, London, and Milan – made for

individual customers from high quality,

expensive fabrics

Kitten heel : a short slender heel, usually

just 1.5 or 2 inches high

Live-pinning : to pin images to Pinterest

instantaneously as they are created;

recently done by @OscarPRGirl during

Oscar de la Renta’s Resort 2013 show

Peplum: A short flared, gathered, or

pleated strip of fabric attached at the

waist of a woman’s jacket, dress, blouse

or skirt to create a hanging frill or

flounce

Pinteresting : When something is worthy

of being pinned to a board on Pinterest ,

you might say, “That’s so pinteresting!”

Quilted : when two or more layers of

material are sewn together to make a

thicker padded material, often creating a

diamond pattern of seams throughout the

fabric; for example, the classic Chanel

quilted handbag

Ruching: Gathers created in clothing by

pulling fabric between 2 or more lines of

stitching.

September Issue : This usually the biggest

and most important issue in a monthly

magazine’s editorial calendar, focusing

on fall fashion; also a film about the

making of Vogue’s September 2007 issue

and it’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour

Trickle-up trend : Fashion trends that start

“on the street” and make their way into

high fashion

Vanity sizing: (also know as size inflation)

when the same clothing size becomes

larger over time

Vlog: a video blog, or video post on a blog