Talk:Clothing terminology

Moved from article:

Pant terminology
T-shirt, shirt, blouse, etc. Anything which is worn around the chest has many names depending on kind... But... Besides Jeans being denim-pants... Is there any word for wool pants of the kind which match sweaters/sweatshirts? 'Cause in Spanish both are called "buzo" akin to the Spanish (at least in Lima-Peru) name for Scuba divers... But in English... How is it?

Watchet
The word links to an entry which does not clarifies in which way a "watchet" is some kind of clothing

History
How did these terms originate? Who decided to use missy instead of a more specific, descriptive term?

Where did the term tank top come from?

Culture
How do people learn about these terms, and at what age? What percentage of men even know what missy means?

Notes on major rewrite
I started a complete new structure for this article based on the request for wikification and tone. Much of what was in the original article is covered thoroughly elsewhere (the question about t-shirts vs polo shirts is covered under shirt, for example). I am trying to cover as many of the original "questions" by links as I can.

The question on standard sizes and why they are called that should probably be an entire article of its own; I'll need to do some research before I tackle it. ("Half sizes" to "queen" to "womens/plus sizes" happened in the last 50 years, and of course all those are US only).

I am thinking we need Clothing:Sizes, Clothing:Merchandizing, etc. Or something like them...

PKM 02:37, 28 May 2005 (UTC)

At the same time I moved from page:

There is a wide variety of clothing terminology, and some such terms cannot be found in most dictionaries. For example, a search of a wide variety of online dictionaries failed to find a single clothing-related definition for the term missy, which is a very widely used term for a category of women's clothing.

Gender differences in clothing terminology
The terms shirt, blouse, and top have similar meanings but different uses. The latter two are used primarily for women's garments, whereas shirt can refer to clothing for either gender. Top can also be used as a general term for any clothing on the upper body, from a camisole to a coat.

Gender differences in clothing departments
Men's clothing departments are typically arranged by style (casual, sportswear, formal) whereas women's clothing departments are typically arranged by size. Thus, clothing stores often have women's Petites departments but rarely a men's Mediums department.

Men's clothing terms
The difference between a T-shirt, a golf shirt, and a polo shirt is...

The difference between pants and slacks is...

The terms blazer, dinner jacket, and sports coat all have similar meanings but different connotations.

Women's clothing terms
Junior - is this an age range or a size range?

Missy / Misses / Miss - are these synonyms or do they each mean something slightly different? Do they refer to age, size, or marital status?

Petites - I guess these are small sizes

Plus size - and these are larger sizes

The difference between tights and leggings is...

Formality
Casual, country club casual, business casual, semi-formal, formal, and black-tie are among the terms used to describe types of clothing according to how formal they are.

More good work, PKM!
This is a well-done article. Thanks ever so much.

I arrived in Wikipedia intending to work on the costume and clothing articles, which were and are sketchy, and ended up writing articles on Islam and Islamic history. (I'm not a Muslim, I've just been researching the topic, and writing for Wikipedia is a great spur to research.) But I'd be happy to get back to work on the clothing stuff, particularily if there are other people working on the topics. Wikipedia could be a great history of costume resource, frex, and there's practically nothing.

Another editor who worked on the Corset article with me is also good on clothing topics -- I'm blanking on her name. A good community of editors could get lots done. Zora 21:12, 5 Jun 2005 (UTC)

New Section July 2005
I've started the "Sources" section with a few items - there is lots more to be done here, please jump in.

We need something on the adoption and twisting of foreign and native dress terms (e.g. sarong). And place names as sources (e.g. Jersey, Guernsey). PKM 2 July 2005 17:48 (UTC)

Suggested addition to the main page
Where would the word pleat belong? It didn't seem to fit any of the existing categories but I couldn't think of a category for the term. Embellishments? doesn't seem right. I'm not an apparel expert, just looking for information on pleats, including types of and the manufacturing process. I'll have to do more research on pleats and perhaps try to write that entry. But if someone can come up with the category name that would be great.

Me again. I came up with an appropriate category (I think). Now we need to fill in the details.


 * I've been mentally wrestling with what to do about an article on pleat. The British usage seems to be plait and US references I have pre-WWII also refer to "plaits" where we would now say "pleats" - but of course "plait" also means "braid".  Still don't have a good answer.
 * In any case, I think "pleats" go with tucks, smocking, gathers, shirring - maybe as "fabric manuipulations"? Will try that... PKM 20:05, 10 September 2005 (UTC)


 * Fabric manipulations sounds great to me. Thanks for all the work you've been putting into this! Zora 20:29, 10 September 2005 (UTC)


 * I am british. 'plait' is just for hair weaving etc here. 'pleat' is for fabric. 'pleat' is good. 82.31.180.216 10:16, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

Small Clothes
I'm wondering why I can't find "small clothes" anywhere in wikipedia. This page seems to be the ideal location for this term, a description of what it is, and how this style came to be. Small clothes were popular in the mid-eighteenth century in the U.S. and U.K. The term primarily applies to the britches that came to just past the knee. Another source states that the term came into use around 1759. Thanks. William J Bean (talk) 21:03, 5 September 2012 (UTC)

Academic dress
Argh, got my comment on the last fix backward. Academic regalia redirects to academic dress, therefore the latter is the approved link. PKM 03:58, 7 January 2006 (UTC)

Dart, DTM (Dye to Match)
Where do these go?

There must be millions of technical and manufacturing terms not listed here. 88.109.152.209 00:54, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Sealing Process
Do terms relating to the sealing process belong here?

... In fact I can't find sealing process on wiki at all. The sealing process happens when the exact details of the product are confirmed between the supplier and the retailer. There are 'gold seals' and 'red seals' that I know of, and maybe others. 88.109.152.209 00:54, 7 January 2007 (UTC)

Inaccuracy in "short forms"
The shortening of names for articles of clothing as included here predates the 21st century by decades. I have only my memory as reference but I have no doubt more substantial references could be found. Good article otherwise! Richard Avery (talk) 08:46, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

what is a nancy sweatshirt
I noticed in many shopping sites, items are described as Nancy T-shirts or Nancy sweatshirts. I'd like to know if the term "nancy" is a fashion jargon or a designer's name or just a regular adjective slang that means feminine, sexy and hot. Kowloonese (talk) 03:07, 26 March 2015 (UTC)
 * Or a homophobic slur as in "nancy boy?" My first thought anyway. A quick Google shows no consistency or pattern to the designs described as "nancy." Mabalu (talk) 10:25, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

This Article is a Totally Westernized Perspective
This article is from a totally contrived, westernized perspective. It is actually offensive. Do the editors who have contributed even realize that other parts of the World utilize and have utilized other types of clothing? I came here to get ideas about global cultural use of clothing, and walked away with a standardized, 21st Century idea of clothing use in the United States and Western Europe. How did that happen? Is everyone here really trapped inside the small parameters of their brain? Has anyone heard of a kimono, shawl, tunic, Lehenga, Sari or Kurti? I suppose not. And those clothing types just refer to women. I imagine men of different cultures also have clothing unique to those cultures. This article - purporting to be a broad (I would think global) topic - is as Eurocentric as it can get. Is there anyway to expand it and include other populations around the world that may also use clothing. Clothing is not something specific to the American or European experience, is it? Maybe the world is in such violent upheaval as a rebellion against what is obviously cultural tunnel vision perpetrated by the U.S. and Western Europe? Stevenmitchell (talk) 00:11, 15 August 2016 (UTC)