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the trades that have Designed , Manufactured , Marketed and Sold Clothing over hundreds of years. Clothing terminology ranges from the arcane ( Watchet , a pale blue color name from the Sixteenth Century ) to the everyday ( T-shirt ), and changes over time in response to Fashion which in turn reflects Social , Artistic , and Political Trends . CATEGORIES OF CLOTHING TERMINOLOGY At its broadest, clothing terminology may be said to include names for:
PERSISTENCE OF CLOTHING TERMINOLOGY in a red fur-lined gown with split hanging sleeves, a men's fashion of the mid-16th century]] Despite the constant introduction of new terms by Fashion Designer s, clothing manufacturers and marketers, the names for several basic garment classes in English are very stable over time. ''Gown'', ''shirt/skirt'', ''frock'', and ''coat'' are all attested back to the early Medieval period. ''Gown'' (from or ''cap and gown'', Evening Gown , Nightgown , Hospital Gown , and so on (''see'' Gown ). ''Shirt'' and ''skirt'' are originally the same word, the former being the southern and the latter the northern pronunication in early Middle English . Like ''gown'', ''shirt'' is becoming a specialized term in Britain , though it retains its general meaning in the U.S. (''see'' Shirt ). ''Coat'' remains a term for an overgarment, its essential meaning for the last thousand years (''see'' Coat ). SOURCES OF NEW TERMINOLOGY Names for new styles or fashions in clothing are frequently the deliberate inventions of fashion designers or clothing manufacturers; these include Chanel 's Little Black Dress (a term which has survived) and Lanvin 's '' Robe De Style '' (which has not). Other terms are of more obscure origin. Personal names Clothing styles are frequently named after people — often with a military connection:
Place names Another fertile source for clothing terms is place names, which usually reflect the origin (or supposed origin) of a fashion. Modern terms such as Bermuda shorts, Hawaiian Shirts , and Fair Isle Sweater s are the latest in a long line that stretches back to ''holland'' (linen), ''damask'' ("from Damascus "), '' Polonaise '' ("in the fashion of Polish women"), ''jersey'' (originally Jersey Frock ), '' Balaclava '', '' Mantua '', and ''denim'' ("serge de Nîmes " after the city). Costume historian's terms Costume historians, with a "rearward-looking" view, require names for clothing styles that were not used (or needed) when the styles were actually worn. For example, the Van Dyke collar is so-called from its appearances in seventeenth century portraits by Anthony Van Dyck , and the Watteau pleats of the ''robe á la française'' are called after their appearance in the portraits of Antoine Watteau . Similarly, terms may be applied ahistorically to entire categories of garments, so that ''corset'' is applied to garments that were called ''stays'' or a ''pair of bodies'' until the introduction of the word ''corset'' in the late eighteenth century. And ''dress'' is now applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and skirt, although for most of its history ''dress'' simply meant clothing, or a complete outfit of clothing with its appropriate accessories. Short forms A notable trend at the turn of the becomes ''cami'', hooded sweaters or Sweatshirt s become ''hoodies'', and as of 2005, short or "shrunken" cardigans are ''cardies''. The much-older term ''shimmy'' for "slip" is most likely a False Singular from Chemise . REFERENCES
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