How to speak fashion
As the Queen sits on the ‘frow’ (that’s the catwalk’s front row) here’s the A to Z of the other daft lingo she needs to know...
ARe you sporting an arm party or a zori? Do you favour a mullet dress or a lettuce? And — most importantly — are you OTM ( that’s Of The Moment, dahling!) or a hapless, unfashionable ‘civilian’?
Yes, we’re in the midst of the fashion season. London and New York fashion weeks have just finished, Milan is on now, and the biggie, Paris, starts next week.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the fashion pack are on a different planet, so strange is the gobbledygook they spout.
A light has been shone on this strange language thanks to social media. Now, anyone with a computer or smartphone can have a front-row seat to the catwalk shows, thanks to the fact most designers stream them live over the internet. So, ‘true’ insiders are using their own acronyms, words and phrases (with deadly, pretentious seriousness) to exclude anyone not in the know.
So do you speak fashion? Here, fashion expert and stylist CAMILLA RIDLEY DAY brings you the inside guide to the A to Z of fashion-pack speak . . .
A IS FOR ...
ARM PARTY NO, NOT a real party — but rather an arm adorned with several ornate bracelets (big, chunky styles, as seen on the Marni catwalk). There are now web pages devoted to styling your arm with the correct bangles. This is a trend that is actually possible for all of us to carry off — just as long as your job doesn’t involve typing or driving.
AOP PRONOUNCED like the Yorkshire ‘eh up, love’, this means All Over Print. Think a very patterned Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, or a clashing, patterned blazer and pair of trousers.
B IS FOR ...
BASIC NO, NOT your M&S staples, but the
ultimate hackle-raising insult. In fashion lingo, basic means to be utterly predictable. Kate Middleton’s Sloaney style is often given as an example of this. The term applies to women who still wear jeans ripped at the knee (very last year) and those who think ugg boots are still super cool. So how does one use this term? Try saying: ‘ She’s so basic’ about a member of your rambling group whose waterproof is from Boden rather than a proper outdoor brand.
BELFIE A TERM coined by Kim Kardashian, the reality star with the unfeasibly famous bottom. A belfie is a picture of your rear, taken from behind then posted on social media — the word being a cheeky amalgamation of ‘bottom’ and ‘selfie’.
B.O.T. THAT’S Bang On Trend! Say each letter individually, rather than saying ‘bot’, when looking at something truly fabulous.
BUMBAG 2.0 YES, really. The bumbag made an unlikely return to high fashion last year (hence the 2.0), strapped to those sashaying down the catwalks of Stella McCartney, Kenzo and Gucci.
The trend shows no sign of waning this season — they’re available everywhere, from Topshop to Chloe. Can be worn in the traditional way or — 2018 update! — slung over the shoulder.
C IS FOR ...
CHANDEL-EARS WEARING an enormous pair of statement — or chandelier — earrings. ‘ She’s so bold pairing that dress with those fabulous chandel-ears.’
CIVILIAN A PERSON who is not part of the fashion world — i. e. normal. An overused insult. ‘Why’s she at fashion week? You can tell that she’s just a civilian . . .’
E IS FOR ...
EAR JACKET NOT a sweet way of keeping the extremities warm, the ear jacket and its little sister, the ear crawler, is an earring style.
The jacket has a stud in front, a middle piece you attach at the back that hangs below and hugs your earlobe, and a fastener. The crawler runs up your ear like a silvery worm. Try Claire’s Accessories, Argos, and Stella and Dot.
EYE GLOSS FASHIONISTAS roll their eyes at the very thought of lip gloss (very early 2000s). eye gloss is the way forward — a Vaseline- like oily cream you rub over the eyelid to give eyes a sheen. Keen? Try NYX Professional Makeup Lid Lacquer.
EVERYTHING THE ultimate compliment. ‘ Darling, that drazer is just everything.’
EXTRA SO OVER-THE-TOP as to be ridiculous. ‘Goodness, Sharon looks a little extra today in those heels.’
F IS FOR ...
FROW THE ‘front row’ of seats closest to the catwalk and considered to be the most desirable place to sit at the shows. Frequented by A-listers, Vogue editors — and now the Queen.
FIERCE NOT scary — this means deeply cool (it’s supermodel Tyra Banks’s catchphrase). Keep up.
FRILL-SEEKER A WEARER of over-the-top ruffles and frills . . . just like
FINDIKOGLU FASHION is having a middle eastern moment. last year it was Israeli designer Dodo Bar Or whom everyone was wearing ( she specialised in kitschy, cotton kaftans costing hundreds of pounds). now it’s Dilara Findikoglu, a Turkish designer who hit the headlines last year when she put on a catwalk show which included occult imagery in a Roman Catholic church.
G IS FOR ...
GLOVE SHOES A SOFT ballet pump (which fits like a glove) on a block heel. The phrase was coined in 2011 by designer Martiniano lopez Crozet, and versions were subsequently released by such designers as Phoebe Philo for Celine. GROUTFIT The all grey outfit. Groutfit was originally used to describe someone’s miserable personality as well as their miserable clothes. such is the capricious nature of fashion that groutfit has most recently been celebrated as now being chic, liberating and comfortable.
H IS FOR ...
HAIR DIRECTOR DON’T you dare call them a hairdresser! Today’s backstage crimpers are known as hair directors (possibly as they have the reputation for being fearsome divas).
HAIRMERICANO The glossy coffee- coloured brunette shade that was this winter’s must-have hair colour. Replaced ‘ Bronde’ ( a messy brunette-blonde that was huge last summer). Be warned, though, before you visit your hair director: this year is all about the ‘blondeshell’ — a sun-kissed hollywood blonde. You heard it here first.
I IS FOR ...
INVESTMENT PIECE Yes, it is possible to buy some items of high fashion that increase in value (classic designer handbags, pieces of rare haute couture) — which is what this once referred to.
however, for the snowflake generation, the meaning has altered to become clothing that makes you feel ‘ invested’ in yourself. In other words, it’s justification for buying an item you believe will score you a job or a partner. vogue has just released a list of the 30 investment pieces you ought to buy before you’re 30.
J IS FOR ...
JAGGED EDGES JEANS need to be distressed or frayed at the hem to be on trend. look at labels such as Mih or go high street at Topshop and Zara. Or take sandpaper to your own.
K IS FOR ...
KICKS NEVER call a spade a spade (or a shoe a shoe) in fashion. Kicks is a street culture word for trainers. some say that it derives from over a century of slang; it was apparently first used to mean shoes in 1897.
M IS FOR ...
MULLET NOT a hairstyle which was fashionable in the eighties, but an asymmetrical hemline where the hem is higher at the front or side than the back (left).
MVP
MOST valuable Polish, as referred to in vogue late last year about helmut lang’s pink manicures at new York Fashion Week.
N IS FOR ...
NODEL An INSULT used in the fashion world to mean ‘ not Models’. Women who aren’t models, but model. Often social media stars or bloggers. Boden isn’t exactly high fashion, but they exemplified the nodel trend for years by using real (but good-looking) people.
O IS FOR ...
ON FLEEK On Trend. Try it at book club. ‘The Girl In The Window is so On Fleek.’ see?
Q IS FOR …
QUILTED SOMEONE wearing an enormous puffy jacket that makes it look as if they’ve left home in a duvet has been ‘quilted’.
R IS FOR …
RAGLAN A sleeve style, where one single piece of fabric runs from the wrist to the neck without a shoulder seam. Think bomber jackets and T-shirts.
T IS FOR ...
TOE CLEAVAGE When the edge of your toes show when you’re wearing heels. louboutins are particularly low- cut (left). Fashionable a few years ago — so you can just imagine how the fashion insiders feel about it now.
U IS FOR ...
UNITARD SKIN-TIGHT garment which covers the body from neck to ankle — as seen on the Acne catwalk. hard to wear if you have any body fat.
V IS FOR ...
VENT NOT an expression of anger, but a split in a garment which allows you to move — for example, at the back of a pencil skirt.
W IS FOR ...
WRISTLET GO hands-free! A small clutch bag with an attached loop of fabric which can be worn around the wrist. A major accessory trend for this year.
WOKE ARE you woke? That’s not poor grammar — it’s the fashion way of asking whether you’re fashionably right- on. Meghan and her vegan leather and eco-friendly outfits is very woke.
X IS FOR ...
X-RAY FABRICS SHEER fabrics with a translucent effect. look great on girls in their 20s. less great in your 40s, though if you want to wear see-through chiffon, go for it.
Y IS FOR ...
YOLO STANDS for ‘you only live once’. ‘ should I really wear these rainbow- coloured sequins to Tesco?’ ‘Yes, obviously. Yolo.’ YOU As In ‘it’s very you’ when describing someone’s outfit. Almost certainly an insult.
Z IS FOR...
ZORI A TRADITIONAL Japanese sandal, which is said to be the direct ancestor of the flip-flop. World War II soldiers brought them back to the u.s. and they were redesigned in bright colours in the Fifties, and again recently (above).