Luxury Lexicon 29 terms

Menswear terms

Terms used in menswear design, tailoring and retail.

All groups

A

Athleisure
Clothing that combines sportswear features with styles intended for everyday wear.

B

Bespoke
Made for an individual customer; in tailoring, cut from a pattern created specifically for that person.
Blucher
A lace-up shoe with separate lacing tabs attached to the vamp.
Brogue
A shoe decorated with small perforations and often serrated edges along its panels.

C

Cap toe
A shoe with a distinct cap section over the toe, usually formed by an additional piece of upper material.
Chelsea boot
An ankle boot with elastic side panels and usually a pull tab, designed to slip on without laces.
Chukka boot
An ankle-height boot, usually with two or three pairs of lace eyelets.
Collar
A band or shaped piece of fabric attached around a garment's neckline.
Cravat
A length of fabric worn around the neck and tied or arranged as neckwear.

D

Derby
A lace-up shoe with an open lacing system: the panels carrying the eyelets sit over the vamp.
Desert boot
A type of ankle-height chukka boot traditionally made with a suede upper and a crepe-rubber sole.

H

Houndstooth
A pattern of broken checks with pointed corners, often seen in contrasting light and dark colors.

L

Loafer
A slip-on shoe without laces or another fastening, usually with a low heel.

M

Made-to-measure
Making a garment by adjusting an existing pattern to a customer's measurements.
Monk strap
A shoe fastened by a strap and one or more buckles instead of laces.

O

Oxford
A lace-up shoe with closed lacing, where the eyelet panels are attached beneath the vamp.

P

Penny loafer
A loafer with a strap across the vamp containing a small shaped opening.
Piqué
Fabric with a raised texture, such as small ribs, cords or a honeycomb-like surface.
Prêt-à-porter
French for ready-to-wear: clothing made in standard sizes and offered ready for purchase.

R

Ready-to-wear
Clothing made in standard sizes and offered ready for purchase.

S

Saddle shoe
A lace-up shoe with a contrasting, saddle-shaped panel across the middle of its upper.
Seersucker
A fabric with alternating smooth and puckered areas, often arranged in stripes.
Spectator
A shoe made with contrasting colors or materials, commonly on the toe, vamp and heel sections.

T

Tailor
A craftsperson who cuts, makes, alters and fits garments, chiefly structured ones such as jackets, coats and trousers.
Tailoring
Making, shaping and fitting garments, including suits and coats, as well as altering finished clothing.
Tweed
A rough, often nubby wool cloth woven in twill or herringbone, used chiefly for suits and coats.

W

Wholecut
A shoe whose upper is cut principally from one piece of leather.
Wingtip
A shoe with a toe cap whose pointed center and curved sides form a wing-like or W-shaped outline.
Worsted
Smooth, firm yarn spun from long wool fibers that have been carded and combed, and the cloth woven from it.

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