Ever wonder what the difference is between a shift dress and a sheath dress? Never really understood the whole "Couture" thing? Use our Style Vocab resource to brush up on some commonly used fashion terms and phrases and improve your fashion IQ - because hey, it takes more than just great clothes to be stylish!


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z


Obi

An Obi is a brightly colored sash worn round the waist traditionally by Japanese women and children. Marc Jacobs features a series of obi's in his Spring 2009 collection.

Off-the-Peg

Off-The-Peg is an alternative slang term for off-the-rack, or Ready-to-Wear fashion.

One-Shoulder

The term "One-Shoulder" refers to an asymmetrical neckline starting under one arm and continuing diagonally over the opposite shoulder leaving one shoulder bare. Also called a sling neckline.

On-Trend

"On-Trend" is a phrase that means a person, designer, or thing is perfectly insync with current fashion trends.

Ombré

An Ombré dye describes a dip-dyed fading technique, created by lowering a garment repeatedly into the dye. The Ombré fading technique is very popular in designer fashion and has been featured on the runways of everyone from Mucci Prada to Michael Kors.

Organdy

Organdy (or Organdie), is a stiff transparent fabric made of cotton or silk; commonly used for trim, and light apparel. Similar to Organza.

Organza

Organza is a thin stiff transparent fabric made of silk or synthetic fiber. Organza is similar to Organdy, however it is woven tighter and has a stiffer feel.

Overdressed

To be Overdressed, means to be dressed with too much formality for an occasion.