Glossary
Glossary
Twenty terms that make shopping and reading about warm-weather clothes much easier.
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B
- Break
- The fold of fabric where the trouser hem meets the shoe. Full break means a clear crease, slight break a small one, and no break means the hem just touches the shoe.
C
- Camp collar
- A flat, turned-down collar with no stand that lies open at the neck. Also called a revere or Cuban collar.
D
- Drape
- How a fabric hangs and moves under its own weight. Good drape means soft, flowing lines rather than stiff ones.
E
- Ease
- The extra room in a garment beyond the measurement of your body. More ease means a looser fit.
F
- Fly
- The front opening of trousers. Where a shirt hem sits against the fly is a handy guide to correct length.
G
- Gauge
- How fine or coarse a knit is. Fine gauge means tight, thin stitches; coarse gauge means chunky, open ones.
H
- Hopsack
- An open, basket-like weave that breathes well. Common in lightweight jackets and trousers.
I
- Inside leg
- The measurement from crotch to the bottom of the trouser hem, along the inner leg.
L
- Linen
- A fabric from flax fibre. Cool, absorbent and quick drying, but it creases easily.
N
- Natural waist
- The narrowest part of the torso, roughly at the navel. Higher-rise trousers sit here.
O
- Open weave
- A fabric woven loosely enough for air to pass through, which is why it feels cooler.
P
- Pleat
- A fold of fabric sewn into the waistband that adds room at the hip and thigh. Forward pleats fold toward the fly.
R
- Rise
- The distance from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband. A higher rise sits closer to the navel.
S
- Seersucker
- A lightweight fabric with a puckered stripe that holds the cloth away from skin.
- Sprezzatura
- An Italian word for studied nonchalance: looking effortless while having paid careful attention.
T
- Taper
- A leg that gets narrower from the knee to the hem.
- Tonal
- An outfit built from several shades of one colour family rather than from contrasting colours.
- Tropical wool
- A lightweight, open-weave wool made for warm weather. It breathes and keeps its shape better than linen.
U
- Unstructured
- A jacket made with little or no padding or interlining so it feels soft and moves like a cardigan.
V
- Vent
- A slit at the back of a jacket hem that allows movement. Side vents are the most common.