A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style (23 page)

flannel

A lightly napped fabric with a soft, somewhat cozy hand. Excellent, excellent for trousers, especially in gray.

French cuff

A shirt cuff that folds back—doubles—and is often fastened with a cuff link. Be you man or woman, keep the cuff link subtle. Otherwise the look gets very Gordon Gecko.

frog closures

If you’ve ever had any Chinese clothing, you’ve probably dealt with a frog. They are comprised of a corded loop
and a large knot; slip the knot through the loop and you’re closed.

gabardine

Available in both cotton and wool varieties, gabardine is a tightly woven fabric that is often made into pants and coats. The cotton variety is often used for trenchcoats.

gauchos

A split-skirt–style pant that should only be worn on the Pampas.

grain

The direction of the threads in a piece of fabric.

gray glen plaid

Wool fabric with a pattern of intersecting lines that form squares.

hand

Literally, how the fabric feels to your hand. Cashmere has a soft hand; burlap a rough one.

jersey

Not just a fabric, it’s a whole classification. Silk jersey, wool jersey, rayon jersey, the list goes on and on. What they have in common is the fact that they are a knit without a rib: that means they are smooth and usually drape well. A fabric that Chanel did wonders with and still a staple.

jodphur

Riding pant that balloons at the thigh and then narrows. A tough look to pull off between the thigh ballooning and the fact that ones needs a horse nearby to not look like she is in costume.

lawn

A delicate, soft cotton that works beautifully in summer dresses and blouses.

le smoking

Yves Saint Laurent’s blockbuster 1966 tuxedo suit for women. Originally shown with a frilly white blouse and black ribbon around the neck. Still fabulous.

linen

A fabric that comes from the flax plant. There is nothing cooler in the heat of summer and the fact that it wrinkles like crazy is just part of its charm.

maillot

A one-piece swimsuit, often cut low in back.

melton

A heavy fabric used for coats. Often a combination of wool and other fibers. Melton can be rough and is best for utilitarian purposes.

merino wool

A high-quality wool yarn that comes from merino sheep.

minaudière

A small, hard case carried as an evening bag. Judith Leiber is famous for her extremely sparkly versions.

mohair

Hair from the angora goat, used for everything from sweaters and coats to upholstery. Can be a bit prickly, so often works well in a blend.

muslin

Cotton fabric used primarily for prototyping garments.

passmenterie

Trimmings, like braid or cord. A lovely word.

peplum

A bodice that flares below the waist. One often sees peplum jackets.

Peter Pan collar

A small, rounded collar that rests flat. Although it occasionally pops up on womenswear, this collar is most closely associated with childrenswear.

pile

Yarns that stand up create pile. The yarns can remain uncut or be cut to various lengths. Terry cloth is an example of an uncut yarn.

pinked

An edge cut with pinking shears to prevent unraveling. The shears do not leave a straight line like standard scissors; instead they produce a saw-tooth effect.

piqué

A durable cotton with a raised, woven design.

princess silhouette

Tight through the bodice and waistline, full of skirt. What puts the princess in the princess silhouette is the absence of a seam at the waistline.

raffia

A palm fiber often woven to create hats or a decorative trim.

sack

Merci, Monsieur Givenchy
, for the sack dress. He made the look famous and it is exactly what it sounds like. A dress with no waistline that hangs straight from the shoulders.
Über
chic in the summer with a pair of flat leather sandals.

seersucker

A puckered, striped cotton fabric associated with southern dandies and their white-shoe–wearing brethren. A lovely, classic material for summer wear. That means Labor Day arrives, off goes the seersucker.

self belt

Any belt made of the same fabric as the garment it comes with. You are not wedded to the self belt, and can always wear something else if you wish.

set-in sleeve

A sleeve sewn into the armhole. A kimono does not have a set-in sleeve.

sheath

The sheath has meant slightly different things over the years, but generally speaking, it is a fitted dress that gets its shape from darts.

surplice

A loose, draping neckline of two pieces of fabric that cross one another. The result is a soft V-neck.

trapeze

A look popularized by Dior in the late fifties and which is still with us. Think triangle: fitted through the shoulders, loose at the waist, and continuing to a full bottom.

vicuña

Ah, our final ungulate! Vicuñas are a type of llama that has exceedingly soft hair. A vicuña coat plays a small but important role in the Billy Wilder classic
Sunset Boulevard
.

We would like to thank Tamar Brazis and Susan Van Metre, our editors at Harry N. Abrams. Without their patience, fortitude, and whip-cracking, this book would never have been delivered—or at least not for many more months!

Tim would like to thank his mother, Nancy, who is the source of more than enough anecdotes for this book . . . and many others to come.

Kate would like to thank Tim for being the dearest friend and mentor one could ever hope for. She would also like to thank her darling Alex for all his generosity and love.

Tim Gunn
is one of the stars of the hit Bravo show in which aspiring fashion designers compete for a runway debut at New York’s Fashion Week. He was the Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design and is now the Chief Creative Officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc. He lives in New York City.

Kate Moloney
is the Assistant Chair of the Fashion Design Department at Parsons The New School for Design. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

This book was designed by Becky Terhune and art directed by Chad W. Beckerman and Mark LaRiviere. The illustrations are by Lainé Roundy. The main text is set in Bembo, an old-style serif typeface based upon one designed by Francesco Griffo in 1495. The version of Bembo used in this book is a revival designed by Stanley Morison for the Monotype Corporation in 1929. The display heads are set in Didot, designed by Adrian Frutiger in 1991 after the original by the French typeface designer Fermin Didot, and OPTILariatScript.