23 style terms to help you speak fashion

Fashion moves faster than the Nissan Patrol on the E11, and so does everything in the industry orbit, including the words and phrases used to indicate you’re “on trend.” Which, by the way, nothing to say anymore, sorry.

While some fashion phrases have made a comeback this year looking at you, sleeve candy there are plenty of newcomers that have made due to the time we live in, such as sofa wear. Elsewhere, other words like authentic and pop just don’t mean as much as you think.

Confused? Do not.

As the stars prepare to walk the red carpet at the Met Gala on Tuesday, dressed up for this year’s theme In America: A Lexicon of Fashion, here are 23 fashion terms to cover all night long that you can also master at home.

androgynous

A trend that ebbs and flows but never completely goes away, androgyny has been a fashion favorite since the 1930s. This year, gender ambiguous style has been expressed in boyfriend blazers, boxers and chunky shoes, as well as unisex clothing whips and stitching (see also: kilts).

Authentic

One of the biggest fashion crimes you can commit isn’t wearing tie-dye (which there are so many these days, thanks to Gen Z inventing them), but inauthentic. For an authentic fashion style, one should be able to show off one’s fashion cut by knowing the origins and evolution of things like this season’s hijab or tractor boots. It’s important to note that you don’t actually have to own a tractor to use it.

Candy

“Wait a minute,” you ask, “didn’t the term ‘arm candy’ disappear in the mid-’90s?” Why, yes, it happened. But what about fashion becoming cyclical, and with all the 1990s back (see also: Y2K), pointing to something – candy is fashionable once again. Arm candy, leg candy, ear candy, elbow candy (probably).

Capsule

The concept of having just a few pieces of clothing to match everything else in your wardrobe reappears every season. Popularized by American designer Donna Karan, thanks to her 1985 seven-piece collection, this term only serves to sneer at your full wardrobe and make you wonder why you have a child’s habit of rushing shopping.

coordination

Because saying coordinated takes too long.

Sofa clothes

Thanks to the past 18 months mostly working from home, this term needs a bit of explanation. It should be noted, however, that the sofa clothes have slipped off the sofa and bent forward in public. But since fashion people can’t stand the utterance of words like sweatpants or elastic waistbands, they invented “sofa wear” which is basically sweatpants and elastic waistband, but this time paired with heels.

Cross

Not what makes you jump, jump, but a new way of buttoning your clothes. Presumably because traditional buttons are now completely inauthentic, crosses are overlapping belts designed to create an asymmetrical look.

Curated

A term that no longer only applies to museums, curated is a fashion term that is still attached. Instantly improve whatever you’re doing by claiming that you curate it instead of just setting it up in the morning.

Forecasting

Weather? No! New trend? Yes! Forecasting is all about looking at street stylers (see: street stylers) on Instagram and TikTok, to predict what everyone will be wearing next season.

Go to

As ubiquitous as arm candy, go-to remains a staple (see: staple) of fashion dialects. Describing items of clothing or accessories that you wear repeatedly (bags, jackets, etc.), if you pop into Starbucks for coffee during Fashion Week, you can even go all over the place, which is super-meta.

Hack

Hacking has been all over the internet for the past few years promising, and only occasionally providing, ways to make everyday life a little easier. Fashion hacking, however, means completely destroying your existing outfit to create something that, because it’s not restricted or done professionally, will last about a day.

Transport

YouTube videos where people show off the fruits of their latest shopping trips enjoyed their heyday between 2008-2016, peaking in 2010. Back then, millions of people would be watching their favorite influencers to find out what they tried on the camera before returning them for store credit. at a later time. Since then, Hauls has turned to TikTok and has mostly featured only one store: Chinese fashion giant Shein.

Folding

Older fashionistas (a word that no one says anymore, gosh, what a shame!) will remember Jean Paul Gaultiers skirts from the early ’90s. This is an influence that American designer Thom Browne has renewed by tying Stranger Thingss David Harbor to model his new line. Influential fashion index Want notes that Brownes pleated skirts were number 10 in the most sought-after menswear item in the second quarter of the year.

man / Woman

What better way to refer to unisex or androgynous. As cool as it was for women to steal their men’s boxers and blazers, it’s now also acceptable for men to rummage through their partner’s wardrobe, thanks to the Thom Brownes pleated skirt for men (see: skirt).

Movement

The term style for something, an event, a fashion moment, you know, a trend. Movement sounds a little more convincing than trend, so here we are.

pop

This is another word that floats around the ether fashion adopting a different guise as the style dictates. Over the years, we’ve had phrases like pop of color, make your look pop and pop goes the weasel (one of which isn’t fashion related.) This year, the word has evolved into color pop, which is a new trend or movement, if you want to.

Gather

One of the greatest compliments a fashionista can give is that you look very presentable.” Unless, of course, you are too neat, in which case leave town immediately.

Shaket

It’s been a while since we’ve had a new style portmanteau to play with. We have jeggings (jeans-leggings), skorts (skirt-shorts) and greige (grey-beige). Hair has a lob (long bob) and celebrities have Bennifer (Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez 2.0). Now it’s the turn of the shack, a shirt-jacket hybrid mostly found in brushed plaids for an I-not-born-when-grunge-is-something vibe.

spliced

The term used to describe two styles or colors that go together, is seen in the two-tone dresses, knits, and denim that are popular in street style today. Spliced ​​shoes are also a fashion favorite, so it’s as if you’re accidentally wearing two different shoes to work.

staples

Things that everyone seems to have in their wardrobe. Staples change from year to year and season to season, so at this point, literally everything you have now becomes a staple.

Street stylist

Since fashion is constantly trying to capture the cool street style trends that are developing at the grassroots level as opposed to designer sketches, it makes sense that someone who wears street style is dubbed a street styler.

Ussie

Fans of the Emmy-winning hit Apple TV+ Ted Lasso You must be familiar with ussie, the term for selfies but there are more than just you in the frame.

Y2K

Von Dutch trucker caps, boot-cut jeans, oversized belt worn low on the hips, pointless scarf, miniskirt and boots, Ed Hardy, platform flip flops No, this isn’t a fashion nightmare. Gen Z has invented the 1990s and repackaged it as Y2K with Bella Hadid as their high fashion priest.

Updated: September 12, 2021, 11:09