12 Fashion Terms: Essential Terms for Talking About Fashion

Within the fashion industry, fashion designers, sewists, dressmakers, and anyone who designs, makes, and sells clothing may use the following terms:

1. 1. A-line: A dress or skirt silhouette that is narrow at the top, around the waistline, before flaring out at the hemline. It makes an A-shape silhouette.
2. 2. Embellishment: This is a decorative detail on the fabric of the garment, such as appliqué, embroidery, sequins, or fastenings.
3. 3. Hemline: Hemline refers to the lower edge of the garment. A hemline can hit the thigh, the knee, the ankle, or the floor.
4. 4. Inseam: This usually refers to the seam area inside the pant leg, from the crotch to the hemline. It can also refer to the seam area on the sleeve, from the armhole to the sleeve hem.
5. 5. Neckline: The neckline is the top edge of a top or a dress, usually around the neck. There are various neckline cuts, such as a bib neckline (where there’s an extra piece of fabric sewn to the front), boatneck, halter, off-the-shoulder, plunging, and V-neck.
6. 6. Sleeve: A sleeve is the part of a clothing item, whether a dress, T-shirt, blouse, jacket, or sweater, that covers the arm. Sleeves are attached to the armhole of the garment. Sleeves can be tight or loose-fitting, long or short. Examples of sleeves include cap sleeves, bell sleeves, dolman/batwing sleeves, and raglan sleeves.
7. 7. Waistline: This term applies to dresses or long garments covering the wearer's upper and lower half. The waistline is the line that demarcates the upper and lower half of the garment. The waistline can hit just below the bust, such as in an empire waist, or below the natural waist, called a drop waist.
8. 8. Evening wear: This describes a dress code for formal events, such as a gala or a wedding. Evening wear is usually bespoke for the wearer and more expensive than daytime casual clothing. Examples of evening wear include an evening gown, a wedding dress, or a tuxedo.
9. 9. Haute couture: Haute couture includes high-end clothesmaking where clothes are usually made by hand from start to finish, with custom tailoring for the wearer. Haute couture is also made in small batches, with limited-edition merchandising, and is much more expensive than ready-to-wear clothes. Special retailers sell haute couture, also known as high fashion.
10. 10. Ready-to-wear: “Ready-to-wear” (known as prêt-à-porter in French) is a fashion industry term that signifies that an article of clothing was mass-manufactured in standardized sizes and sold in finished condition—rather than designed and sewn for one particular person. Retail stores sell ready-to-wear clothes in standard sizes rather than tailoring items for the wearer. Ready-to-wear garments tend to be trendy and switch out from season to season.
11. 11. Outerwear: Outerwear refers to clothing worn on top of an outfit, usually to protect the wearer from the environment. Outerwear typically features heavier fabrics than clothing worn directly on the body. Outerwear can include a trench coat, a quilted puffer coat, or a wool coat.
12. 12. Sportswear: Sportswear or activewear is ready-to-wear clothing for working out or casual day wear. Sportswear can include drawstring pants, sweatpants, sweatshirts, hoodies, and sneakers.

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