Fashion Vocabulary -150+ words related to Fashion

A Dictionary of words related to fashion; Fashion terms that are used in the fashion circle by the experts, that you may want to know.
Posted on :
Updated on:
By Sarina Tariq

fashion vocabulary terms

This is a list of fashion-related words that differentiate the fashion talk of the common man from the fashion elite. You can call it the fashion jargon tossed around by the designers and editors who decide the course of fashion.

The fashion connoisseurs use them as part of their everyday conversation. Some of these words are common terms but some were unfamiliar to me, even technical.

If you want to be part of the fashion crowd you have to sprinkle some of them in your conversation or at least know some of them so that you know what they are talking about.

Common Fashion Terms – your Fashion Glossary

Accent

Emphasis given to a distinctive characteristic of a garment. It can be a colour or trimming or accessory.

Accessories

In fashion, accessories refer to items with a useful or decorative purpose used in conjunction with one’s outfit. They complement and enhance the clothes worn. Include Belts & Suspenders, Bridal Veils, Eyewear, Footwear, Gloves & Mittens, Handbags, Handkerchiefs, Headwear, Jewelry, Legwear, Neckwear, Shawls & Wraps, Umbrellas, Watches.

Acid wash

Treatment done on fabric to fade the colour with bleach solution. Check out the post on different ways (15) to distress your jeans to look fashionable

Academic costume

Characteristic clothes worn by those studying or teaching in colleges/ universities.

Accent shades

Bright dark colours like fluorescent colours. These are used as an emphasis rather than as the whole colour of a design.

Accessory

Refers to things like shoes, hats, jewellery, neckwear, belts, scarfs, gloves, corsets, lingerie, boutonnieres that are added to an outfit to make it more fashionable.

Accessorizing

The process of adding accessory to clothing on display.

Active sportswear

Clothes worn by the participants in sports events.

Achromatic colours

This refers to having no colour; in fashion, it means black or white colours.

Accouterments

A popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behavior.

Adaptation

Garment/design similar to another original design/model but having some characteristic changes.

Advanced colours

Warm colours like shades of red.

Androgynous style

Androgyny in fashion refers to dressing in styles that make it difficult for the viewer to determine the gender of the person. Gender-neutral fashion. Also called Unisex fashion. A style that is neither strongly feminine or masculine. More details on androgynous style here.

Anime

Anime is short for animation and refers to a dressing style that follows the fashion on Japanese Anime cartoons. Mostly features punk style clothing.

Anti Fashion 

Dressing in styles different from the fashion of the day; showing an indifference to fashion and its varying trends. Other terms used synonymously are anti-establishment, edgy fashion, alternate fashion, counterculture, and counterfashion.

Antique style

A style of the past.

Anti Pill

Treatment done on fabric to increase the wear resistance, preventing uneven and worn look of fabric surface.

Army look

A style that resembles an army uniform (military style).

Art deco

Style incorporating geometric patterns in typical colours of yellow green gold silver and black.

Art Nouveau

Style that incorporates linear and curvilinear designs.

a la mode

French term for fashion. Pronounced as a-lə-ˈmod

American Style

A sporty easy going casual style of clothing.

Apparel

Another word for clothes, clothing and garments.

Apparel manufacturing

Involves assembling, cutting, finishing, grading, labeling, marketing of garments in an industrial set up.

Asymmetrical

One sided, not balanced. Learn more about asymmetrical hemlines here.

Atelier

Large dressmaking organization. Pronounced a-təl-ya

Attire

Clothing.

Athletic clothing

Clothing worn for athletic activities. Brands like Puma specialize in athletic clothing.

Au naturel

This French origin word is used to indicate something in its natural state. Like a nude body.

Avant-Garde

Refers to never seen before innovative designs by designers who are original thinkers bringing change to fashion.

Body clothes

Underclothing

Balance / symmetry

Having two opposing sides of same dimension.

Bespoke

This refers to a made-to-order garment made as per the customer’s characteristic measurements and specifications. Usually said about men’s formal clothes or wedding clothes.

Barfly apparel

Clothing suitable for wearing at cocktail bars.

Baroque

Exaggerated style ; over ornate clothing style.

Beachwear

Clothing suitable for beach.

Beaumonde

The fashionable world.

Black tie event

A dress code for evening events and social functions ; involves a tuxedo, tie and formal shoes. For girls, this is a long gown.

Bling

The term used for flashy ostentatious accessories.

Body-con clothing

Tight fitting clothing eg. Bodycon dress.

Boutique

A store or shop (usually high end expensive store) selling unique items to a specific set of customers. Learn more about starting a boutique here.

Boyfriend style

Meaning borrowed from boyfriend; Clothing style belonging to males adapted to suit females; eg. Boyfriend jeans.

Bib and tucker

Colloquial term for clothes ( wear one’s finest clothes)

Border print

A design that is seen along the border of a fabric.

Bohemian style of fashion (Boho)

An unconventional style of dressing that draws inspiration from bohemian and hippie influences. Boho chic is a stylish bohemian fashion with many celebrities and socialities following this trend. Check out. 

Business Formal dress code

Garments suitable for a formal event – suits for both men and women and tailored dresses for women.

Business Casual dress code

Clothes suitable for a semi-formal event – pants and shirts for men, pencil skirts and blouses for women ; not too casual like jeans or too formal like suits.

Bulky clothing

Loose fitting clothing.

Capsule wardrobe

This is a term used for a collection of a few timeless and essential items of clothing . Check out the post on the what you should have in your capsule wardrobe

Cut of a garment

Style and shape of a garment and how it hangs on the body.

Camouflage clothing

Design with elements of camouflage in it like the print / khaki colour.

Care label

A mandatory label found in all clothes that denotes atleast one method of caring for that garment/fabric in lieu of symbols. They usually have fabric details, its content, washing drying, bleaching and ironing instructions. Learn more about the 40+ fabric care label symbols here.

Casual wear

Informal wear; everyday garments.

Catwalk

A platform along which models walk to display clothes in fashion shows.

Channel suit

A prestigious coveted suit for women designed by the Famous French designer Coco Chanel.

Cheugy

The most dreaded word in fashion world these days – it means you are out of fashion in simple terms or the “opposite of trendy”.

Chic

Stylish / sophisticated. Pronounced shēk

Chinois

Chinese style.

Cine mode

A fashion with origin in the movies.

City wear

Street clothes with a sophisticated style.

Cocktail dress code

This is a party event – a suit for men and party dress for women.

Collection

Usually held twice a year in spring/summer and fall/ winter.

Colour coordination

Design incorporating colour theory and colour harmony.

Classic

A style which is deemed timeless. Evergreen fashion.

Clique

As per Wikipedia clique is a small close-knit group of people who do not readily allow others to join them. In fashion clique refers to a group of very fashion conscious people who share a common sense of style.

Collection

A set of creations of a designer for a particular season. 

Colour blocking

This is a technique in which large blocks of solid coloured fabric are joined  (usually sewn) to form the garment; placing blocks of different colours side by side this way provides a visually striking effect. You can learn more about color blocking in this post.

Colour fast

This refers  to a dyed fabric’s ability to resist fading or colour running when it is washed, exposure to sunlight etc.

Colorway

A fashion industry terminology for a product in a specific color.

Core aesthetics

Core aesthetics refers to taking inspiration for one’s style on a core subject or feature of a subject. Eg. Fairycore aesthetic style.

Cosplay

A pastime of dressing up in costume (Oxford dictionary).

Country look

A rustic look ; wearing tweeds.

Cool colours

These are colours in the blue family.

Contemporary style

A current look.

Continental style

This refers to the European style of clothing.

Contrast

In fashion this refers to using colours which are in stark contrast to each other and hence both stand out.

Conservative styles

Traditional dressing style.

Cosmetic colours

Colours that relate to makeup/cosmetics used.

Cosmopolitan

A dress style that is universal rather than localized.

Costume

Garments based a theme or a story.

Couturier

This is a French term for male designers. The female designer is a couturiere.

Craze

A fashion which becomes very popular for a short period.

Composite style

A combination of distinct styles; simple and refined; cool and feminine; feminine and flirtatious ; funky and fun.

Costume jewelry

This is jewelry made to complement a particular fashionable garment/collection ;  usually inexpensive than real jewellery.

Cultural appropriation in fashion

This term is used when some one inappropriately adopts the fashion of a minority and somehow makes a mimicry of it without respecting the particular culture.

Dated fashion

Style of clothing which is Out of fashion (no longer fashionable).

Décolletage

Area from the neck to the chest. 

Diffusion Line

A  modestly priced line of garments made by an haute couture designer.

Distressing

Process in which fabric is artificially aged or worn. Learn different ways to distress a piece of clothing and the 15 different ways used to distress jeans

Draping

The way a fabric falls/hangs on a body.

Drop tail style

This refers to clothing with the back having more length than the front.

Dandy style

This is a term related to men’s clothing – indicating a flamboyant self-absorbent style of dressing.

Deadstock

Clothing that has never been worn, often from a previous season.

Design elements

In fashion, this refers to Color, Shape, line, texture, balance, harmony, proportion, pattern etc which are very important in designing well-liked clothes.

Double Denim Trend

This is a style of wearing more than one clothing in denim at a time Eg. Denim Jacket with denim jeans. Also referred to as Canadian Tuxedo.

Earth colors

Colours in the brown family.

Eclectic style of fashion

This is a fashion style composed of elements drawn from various sources; A mix of various styles.

Electric colours

Brilliant colours.

Elegant dressing style

A sophisticated graceful style.

Ensemble

An outfit ( totally) that is coordinated and harmonious.

Eponymous fashion brand

When a designer decides to name a brand his own name ie the creator gives his own name to his brand. eg LOUIS VUITTON.

Ethnic

Native or traditional

Exotic

A style that is fascinating and evokes the look of a foreign land.

Embellishing

The addition of decorative details or features.

Ensemble

A set of clothes that give out a look of unity and coordination.

Designer

A person who thinks up ideas for making very characteristic garments.

Display

A presentation of clothes.

Effortless dressing

This refers to a style which is high end but looks effortless.

Fabric swatches

Small pieces of fabric used as a sample.

Fabric Finishes

This refers to the application of certain resins/chemicals or making the fabric undergo some processes so that its functional or aesthetic appeal is enhanced.

Fad

A short lived fashion ; the popularity fades pretty fast after a burst.

Fashion 2.0

Fashion in the digital age with social media and websites leading the way for major upheavals in fashion.

Fashion capitals

Refers to high fashion cities like Paris, New York, Los Angels, London, Tokyo, Berlin, Barcelona. Read more about the 15 most prominent fashion capitals here.

Fashion Cycle

This refers to the rise rule and decline of a style.

Fashion Faux Pas

A misstep made in fashion like a wrong choice of clothing.

Fashion Forecast

A prediction as to the fashions / styles/ trends that will be popular in the coming future.

Fashion forward

A person who is ahead and knowledgeable of fashion trends.

Fashion icon

Someone who is very popular for his/her fashion style that everyone looks up to him/her. eg Victoria Beckham, Kate Middleton, Priyanka Chopra, Harry Styles

Fashion Line

All of the clothing a fashion designer produces for a specific category.

Fashion press

Those reporting the fashion events / shows / displays etc.

Fashion show

Displaying Formal collection of fashion styles by designers to merchandisers/ customers.

Fashion house

A company involved in fashion design.

Fashionista

A devoted follower of fashion.

Fashion icon

A term used to refer to someone or something that has become popular for being very fashionable.

Fashion sense

Knowledge of how to dress fashionably.

Fashion police

An imaginary police force that ensures that people dress according to fashion.

Fashion sketch

An initial drawing made for the purpose of garment design. It will give a basic idea about the garment.

Fashion subcultures

Subdivisions of society that influence fashion and have a heavy influence on fashion elsewhere everywhere. The attitude and beliefs of the subculture are reflected in their clothing. Grunge, punk, goth, alternative, bohemian, rock,  rap, and hip-hop are such subcultures.

Fashion tribe

A group of people who share a common sense of dressing style/ fad/ fashion.

Fabric Prints

These are prominent fabric patterns which are very popular like animal prints, African prints. Check out the post on the 55 popular names of fabric patterns you will usually find on fabric surfaces.

Face of the fabric & texture

The outer surface of the fabric ( also refers to facing)

Fashion Label

A collection of expensive clothes belonging to a particular upcoming designer.

Fatigues

Military combat apparel.

Flat sketches

Technical sketch of a design as if it were lying flat- the details include stitching techniques etc. Also called flats.You can make this by hand or with software like illustrator.

Florals

Fabric printed with floral patterns.

Formal clothing ( evening clothes)

An occasion dressing style; Long evening gown for females and suits/tuxedos for men.

Foundation

An undergarment worn to smooth a figure.

Garcon look

Garconne; A boyish fashion worn by women ; also called flapper look.

Gender-queer

A person whose gender identity cannot be categorized as solely male or female.

Gradation

Shades of the same colour.

Geek Chic

The style associated with the thinking man/woman, technology workers/ professionals. Tailored suits, over sized glasses.

Groufit

Athleisure clothing in grey colour.

Grunge

A messy unco-ordinated style of dressing seen in people who follow or like grunge music. Ripped jeans, layered clothing, black boots

Haberdashery

Sewing notions like buttons zippers etc; also refers to a men’s clothing shop

High stepper

A colloquial term for a person who is very aware or conscious of fashion and how he/ she looks.

Hand of a fabric

The feel of the fabric

Haute Couture 

Expensive, fashionable clothes produced by leading exclusive fashion houses. It means the finest dress making in French language; simply termed as ‘couture’ pronounced kü-ˈtu̇r. Learn more about Haute Couture.

Heavy metal fashion

Fashion adopted by fans of heavy metal music (metal heads or headbangers); skinny fit jeans, jackets, clothes with patches and badges

High Fashion

The designing, making, and marketing of expensive, fashionable exclusive clothes ( as opposed to mass-market clothing); haute couture

Hippie style

An unusual ( to western style) bohemian fashion style characterized by long hair, jeans  bell bottom pants peasant blouses tie and dye fabric, long full skirts etc

Hosiery

Tight fitting knitted garments that are worn on the leg and feet. It is usually made of highly stretchable fabrics like spandex.

Hourglass figure

A female body shape with a narrow waist and proportionately bigger hips ad bust; considered to be the ideal shape for women eg Hourglass figure of Marilyn Monroe

House

In the fashion world, a fashion house is a name used for a company dealing in fashion.

Hot number

A style which  sells very fast at that time

Imitation

A fake or copy ; usually used for describing fur and jewellery

Iridescent colours

Imitating the colors of the rainbow

Impact colours

A color used in a fashion design for an impact

Jewel tones

Deep colours

Kawaii

Kawaii is a cute fashion trend that originated in Japan. It follows the definite meaning of Kawaii – Japanese artistic and cultural style that emphasizes the quality of cuteness, using bright colours and characters with a childlike appearance.

Kitsch

In fashion refers to low quality style; garish style

Knock Off

A design that is a copy of a more expensive clothing

Lagenlook style ( Layered style)

This is a style in which different garments are layered over each other, in different lengths

Limited edition clothing

Also termed Special edition; This is a special designer collection made in limited numbers.

Line

A collection of styles shown to a producer in a given season.

Line sheet

A reference guide used by people connected with fashion detailing garment styles price, colour, fabric details etc related to a line.

Look Book

A book with all the photographs of a model, photographer, style, stylist, or images representing the full clothing line of a designer. It is meant as a catalog for marketing to be presented to the buyers.

Long line clothing

Clothing meant for tall people

Loungewear

Garments worn around the house

Made to measure garments

This refers to the use of  preexisting template patterns and then making the garments out of them after adjusting to the measurements of the customer

Marine style

A style that looks like the clothing of sailors

Mass produced / Fashion

Styles/ fashion that is widely accepted and hence made in large quantities

Masculine style

This refers to women’s clothing made to look like men’s ( also called mannish)

Melange

A fashion which is a mixture of styles, elements or trends

Minimalist

A simple understated look; a fashion consisting of simple styles and plain colours.

Monotone clothing

Clothes of a single colour

Mood Board

A physical or digital collage of design ideas used by fashion designers to consolidate their collections or get ideas. Will have details of an idea, drawings or photos, fabric swatches etc. 

Motif

A design used in a pattern/ print / embroidery etc ; usually found recurring

Muslin

This is a trial garment made to test a pattern ; it is originally made in the fabric muslin cotton

Neutral Colours

Neutral means without colour. In fashion Classic colours like black, white, gray, brown and beige and sometimes blue are called neutral colours. Read more different shades of neutral colors here.

Off the rack

Another name for ready to wear mass-produced clothing in standard sizes that are made in a large number and are readily available in retail stores.

Ombre

This refers to the style in which color graduates from light to dark

Over size

Garments which are of a much looser fit.

Passe 

Refers to anything that is No longer fashionable; out of date fashion.(pronounced pasei) This is deemed an insult in fashionable circles

Paninaro

An Italian term that refers to a lifestyle that is luxurious and is hungry for very expensive designer garments – those who follow this lifestyle will always be perfectly dressed in the latest fashion trends. It is considered today as a symbol of excess and superficiality.

Panache

Style which represents flamboyance or confidence

Pantone colours

Pantone colours refer to a colour reference system developed by the company Pantone Inc that standardizes the colours in the CMYK process. The pantone colours correspond exactly to the inks and dyes used to colour the fabric by various industries, basically for printing purposes and manufacture of coloured fabric.

Pattern

A template used as a guide to make a garment.

Pret-a- porter

Refers to ready to wear clothes by designers. 

Peek-a-boo style

Refers to adding cut out details or sheer elements in garments which reveals parts of the body. Read about making peek-a-boo cut outs in this post.

Peasant style

A style which is reminiscent of the country women folk with embroidered blouses and long skirts

Placement prints

This refers to fabric patterns with a print that consists of a large motif or design which is a stand out design and which is strategically placed on the garment which makes it a highlight 

Post modern fashion

In this trend decoration is given more importance than function. Jean Francois Lyotard first explained this phenomenon; Vivienne Westwood, Alexande Mcqueen etc were proponents of this style, which had a lot of theatrical style to it.

Power dressing

This refers to a style of dressing that emphasizes one’s power. The word was coined in the 1970s and it meant a smartly tailored dressing meant to impress. Now represents clothes that men and women wear to workplaces and meetings to make them look powerful.

Preppy style

A collegiate look; for boys polo shirts, chinos and navy blazers

Pre-spring collection

This refers to high-end collections of fashion designers marketed to upscale stores for customers expecting to spend the post-holiday season in warm-weather climates.

Print on print

Colorful and vibrant clothing with lots of different prints mixed in.

Punk style

This is a style which epitomizes the punk subculture with its roots in music and emerged into prominence in the western world during the  mid 1970s. Distressed jeans, metal studs, chains, body piercing and leather jackets all are characteristics of this style. 

Resort  wear (Cruise wear)

This is a line of clothing meant as holiday or travel collection; it is meant for a  relaxed living for the affluent people; clothes meant for the poolside life. Also refer Pre-spring collection

Ready to wear or RTW

This is the term for factory made clothing in standardized sizes.

Retro

Style imitative of or derived from the trends of the recent past.

Retrofuturism

Influence of future as predicted in an earlier era – ie past’s vision of the future.

Reversible clothing

Garments that can be reversed and used from both sides. The seam allowances etc will be hidden with clever construction methods.

Rockability fashion

The fashion following the dressing style of music icon Elvis Presley;
characteristics are tight jeans or black pants (drainpipe pants), brothel creeper shoes, motorcycle jackets.

Safari style

The kind of clothing that resembles clothes worn during hunting.

Sample

A garment made to be shown to the retailers/merchandisers.

Silhouette

Outline or shape of a design or garment.

Seamstress/ Sewer / Sewist

A woman who sews is called a seamstress and a man who sews is called a sewer. Sewist is a more gender neutral term.

Selvedge

The finished edge of the fabric ( on opposite sides of the lengthwise fabric)

Sanforized clothing

A shrink control process used on fabric.

Sleek style

The style which gives a slender slim streamlined look.

Slip on clothes

The type of clothes which are worn without any fastenings / just slip on through the head.

Slim fit

Clothing made to fit close to the body.

Sloper

This is a type of basic pattern that is used as the building block for all other pattern making without any ease or design elements (craftsy.com)

Slogan

This refers to the wordings printed or worked across the bodice of a garment. Eg slogans on the chest of a t-shirt.

Sportswear

A casual style of clothing meant for a relaxed look but can be used in a casual business setting too. American style dressing.

Statement Jewelry

Bold and attention grabbing Jewelry meant to grab all eyeballs. Eg Statement necklace.

Street wear

This is basically clothes meant for the streets – skater friendly garments. It is a broad difficult to define fashion and may mean simply urban fashion.More on Streetwear fashion here

Stonewashed fabric

A fabric faded through a specific process. 

Stylist (Fashion)

A person who dresses clients in styles that she /he curates. It could be for editorial purposes, for celebrities, for branding purposes in marketing. 

Surfer look

A carefree dressing style sported by surfers on beaches

Sartorial

Anything related to Tailoring, clothes, fashion or style of dress.;Of or pertaining to tailors and their trade (www.dictionary.com); it is also used in relation to the quality of a dress

Separates

Clothes that are bought separately and cover only part of the body but can be mixed and matched to create combinations. Eg: pants and shirts

Supportive clothing

This refers to clothing that gives support ; eg. muscular support for sports, support for bust, support for legs with ailments like a varicose vein

Style

“Fashion is what you’re offered four times a year by designers. And style is What you choose.” Lauren Hutton

Style Surfing

This refers to shifting from clothing style of one subculture to other; sometimes combining and transforming styles

Sweats

Cotton jersey sports wear

Tailoring

Making of made to measure/custom made garments

Throwback fashion

Fashion belonging to the past

Theme

This refers to a concept behind a collection of clothes designed by fashion designers – usually they have a message or an attitude

Theme board (mood board)

A board with fashion drawings, sketches, swatches used to create a mood about a product. 

Toile

This is a piece of clothing made by a fashion designer or a seamstress for testing purposes – it can be made to test a pattern or a design, to see how the garment will look and drape and whether it needs any alterations or additions. It is usually made in a cheap fabric

Tone on Tone

General term for Colour combinations with shades of the same colour.

Trend

A general direction in which something is developing or changing ( oxford dictionary)

Trendy

An adjective used to describe someone who is very fashionable or stylish

Trunk show

Display of a designers collection in a store

Twin prints

Two prints that share the same colour combination in one garment

Unisex style

Clothing suitable for both female and male gender. Also called Androgynous style.

Up cycled clothing

This is the creative reuse of old clothes by changing certain design elements.

Utilitarian clothing

Functional clothing rather than decorative ; Clothes that serve a practical purpose. Usually points to work clothes. They are practical and functional rather than decorative. eg: a Raincoat protecting from rain

Vintage

Clothing inspired from a previous era. Fashion/Things belonging to the time 20 years or older can be considered to be vintage. 

Wasp waist

Exaggeratedly narrow waist making the hips and bust look bigger in comparison; usually achieved by using corsets. This was the popular way of dressing in the 19th century England

Warm colours

Red, yellow and orange and in between colours in the colour wheel

Weft

In the fabric, fibers that run the width of the fabric.

X-ray Fabric

Sheer fabric used to make clothes.

70’s style

Style of clothing characterized by Wide legged trousers, slouchy silhouettes, big prints.

Abbreviations used in fashion

LBD

Little Black Dress

OOTD

Outfit of the Day

RTW

Ready to wear

POP

The area where a customer makes the final decision to purchase.

Did you perhaps notice that a lot of words in these fashion terms are still in french or or french origin. Would you like to know the meanings of a lot of these words- check out the post on french fashion words.

You may also want to check out some other categories and terms very much related to fashion. 

I have skipped these terms in this post, because they are better elaborated elsewhere. But they are also very much related to fashion and you may want to read them after this one is over.

Reference : The Magic of Fashion: Ritual, Commodity, Glamour By Brian Moeran

Photo of author
Sarina Tariq
Hi, I love sewing, fabric, fashion, embroidery, doing easy DIY projects and then writing about them. Hope you have fun learning from sewguide as much as I do. If you find any mistakes here, please point it out in the comments.

26 thoughts on “Fashion Vocabulary -150+ words related to Fashion”

Your opinion is important. Leave a comment