Fashion Terminology Quotes

By the time the traditionally male lexicographers become interested in looking at fashion words, their origins are lost in the mists of time.

The erotic element always present in fashion, the kiss of loving labor on the body, is now overtly expressed by language. Belts hug or clasp; necklines plunge; jerseys bind. The word exciting tingles everywhere.

I am wearing a vest. If I had no arms, it would be a jacket.

The concept of plus-size is so derogatory and weird. What does that mean? Plus the normal size? It shouldn't exist any more.

I'm wary of the word glam because I think that became the all-inclusive term with for any bloke with lipstick on, which is fine, you know, and that's what it is when it comes down to the public level.

Does a man need to know what a peplum is? Probably not.

I really don't think we should label models as 'plus' or 'runway.'

I remember hearing other models talk about going to castings for Givenchy, and I was like, 'What are they saying?' And then I realized and was like, 'Oh, the Give-in-chee one.' I had been calling it Give-in-chee the whole time. I was shocked.

Cheap as chips, cheap as chips, it's a British expression. There's no couture in their darling.

Fashion is all about references. All these names being thrown around.

The word 'fashion' I don't like because fashion is something that's over in six months. I'd like to find a word that's more timeless.

I'm constantly correcting young people and fashion students in this nation when they say "Well, I do couture." By definition, you don't. You have to be licensed by the government of France to do couture. So don't use that term. You can say that you do one-of-a-kind, you can say it's custom, but you can't say it's couture - because it's inaccurate.

A lot of American guys wear really wide legged jeans and square shoes. Then they come to Sweden and think my friends are gay because they're wearing 'really tight jeans'. It's called 'fitted!'

If you have to ask if a clothing item is a dress or a top, it is always a top.

I don't like the term streetwear. It limits self-expression in my opinion.

I had such a distaste for '70s clothing. So, the '90s were a rough period for me because I got made fun of for wearing what they used to call "pegged pants." Now they call them "skinny jeans."

What are American dry-goods? asked the duchess, raising her large hands in wonder and accentuating the verb. American novels, answered Lord Henry.

I can speak Cantonese, but I can't speak about fashion - I learnt all my fashion in Europe, so often, during interviews in Chinese I just don't know the right word - it can be very hard to explain things.

I hate the terminology of 'costume' because my clothes are not costumes at all. I think they're high fashion, avant-garde, and more couture, definitely, and yes, some of my pieces are not particularly wearable, but I wouldn't say they're costumes, I'd say they're more couture.

Vintage is my vocabulary... like the notes of a musician.

Isn't it funny - why is it called a tennis bracelet? It doesn't seem very tennis, does it?

All clothes are worn on the street, but 'streetwear' had once described T-shirt brands and skate-inspired brands, and now it's just a lazy innuendo used to describe clothing made by designers that the establishment deems 'less than.'

Curvy models are becoming more and more vocal about the isolating nature of the term 'plus-size.' We are calling ourselves what we want to be called - women, with shapes that are our own.

Oddly, a search for 'jeggings' in my email inbox shows that my first exposure to the phenomenon came from - wait for it - Mike Allen of 'Politico,' who helpfully explained the concept on December 20, 2009.

It makes me cross when I hear people say, 'It's so last season.' I always say, 'It's vintage.'