Apparelexicon: A Glossary of Sartorial Terms

I haven't been able to find a decent online glossary that explains clothing terms in clear and enjoyable prose so I thought I'd create one. It's going to start small and then I'll add to it over time. Hopefully, I'll think of a good way to incorporate pictures at some point. Let me know if there are any terms you want moved up on the priority list.


Argyle -- The preppy, diamond pattern you see on socks and sweaters, sometimes worn by professors and ostentatious golfers. Named after the region in western Scotland, home of the specific tartan from which it spawned.

Bespoke -- See Made-to-measure.

Boutonnière -- French for buttonhole, but signifies a flower or miniature bouquet worn in the buttonhole of a suit lapel.

Check -- Any pattern where vertical and horizontal stripes are superimposed.

Corduroy -- A vertically or, more rarely, horizontally ribbed fabric, usually used for trousers and sports coats. Contrast with the diagonally ribbed twill.

Felt -- A fabric made not by spinning and weaving yarn but by kneading (or, rolling) wool, fur, or hair and pressing it while applying heat and/or moisture to make the fibers mat together into a smooth surface.

Made-to-measure -- A garment you have made specially to fit your unique dimensions, as distinct from a ready-to-wear garment you buy right off the rack (and possibly alter a bit).

Off-the-peg/rack -- See Ready-to-wear.

Pills -- The little beads that form on sweaters, sheets, flannel shirts, and the like after a few or many washes (called "pilling"). More common on synthetic fabrics (think satin sheets) or clothes made of cheap materials (think merino wool sweaters from Banana Republic), they can be removed with an ordinary shaving razor.

Ready-made [suit, shirt, etc.] -- See Ready-to-wear.

Ready-to-wear (aka. ready-made, stock, and off-the-peg) -- A garment you buy right off the rack (and possibly alter a bit), as opposed to a bespoke or made-to-measure garment you have made specially to fit your unique dimensions. The film Prêt-à-Porter, with Julia Roberts, derives its name from the French equivalent for this term.

Repp -- Technically a twill, or diagonally ribbed, silk, but in practice, a “repp tie,” for example, means one with two different-colored but equally-sized (a half inch or so) stripes, like those worn by college types.

Sartorial -- From the OED: "of or relating to tailoring, clothes, or style of dress." Comes from the Latin for tailor, "sartor," which in turn stems from "sarcire," meaning "to patch." Incidentally, the sartorius muscle in the inner thigh, used in crossing one thigh over the other, received its name from these cognates on the observation that such is the typical posture of tailors.

Seersucker -- That puckery, pastel and white striped cotton fabric you see men wearing with straw hats and the like during the summer.

Shantung -- Wild (i.e., raw) spun silk with slubs, or lumps and nubs, on the surface of the fabric, making it look like someone yanked out chunks of the weave with a seam ripper or other sharp object. Has a linen or rough cottony feel and derives its name from the province in China, where it originated in 1882.

Slub -- A lump, knob, or other irregularity in the surface of a [usually silk] fabric. Produced by knotting or twisting (called "slubbing") the yarn or by spinning fibers of various lengths together.

Tartan -- Any one of those many Scottish plaids you see on kilts and bagpipes, identifying the particular clan to which the Scot before you belongs.

Twill -- Any diagonlly ribbed fabric, as distinct from the vertically or, more rarely, horizontally ribbed corduroy.