Luxury Lexicon 17 terms

Style terms

Terms that describe silhouettes, styling choices and the presentation of clothing.

All groups

A

Accessories
Items worn or carried with clothing, such as bags, belts, scarves and jewellery.
Avant-garde
Experimental or unconventional design that challenges established styles or ways of making things.

C

Capsule wardrobe
A small selection of clothing chosen to work together in several combinations.
Colour blocking
A design using distinct areas of contrasting solid colours.
Cravat
A length of fabric worn around the neck and tied or arranged as neckwear.

D

Denim
A durable, usually cotton fabric with a twill weave, often made with indigo-dyed warp yarns and lighter weft yarns.
Drape
The way a fabric hangs, folds and moves under its own weight.

F

Fast fashion
A model of clothing production and retail built around rapidly changing styles and relatively low prices.
Fit
The way a garment sits on the body, including its shape, ease and freedom of movement.

H

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

L

Layering
Wearing or styling garments in overlapping layers.

M

Monochrome
A design or outfit based on one colour, which may appear in several shades.

P

Patina
A surface appearance that develops through use, aging or deliberate treatment, particularly on leather or metal.
Pattern
A template used to cut the separate pieces of a garment.

Q

Quiet luxury
Quiet luxury describes a style that conveys quality through materials, workmanship and restrained details, with little emphasis on conspicuous branding.

S

Silhouette
The overall outline or shape of a garment or outfit.
Statement piece
An item intended to be a prominent visual focus in an outfit.

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