The word vintage, from the Latin word vinum “wine,” originally applied to the yield of vineyard during a specific season or a particular place. Over time, vintage came to be applied to automobiles and eventually to clothing. The term vintage...
A New York City caller wonders why we refer to clothing as duds. The term dates back to the 1300s, when the word dudde referred to a cloak or mantle of coarse cloth. Over time, it came to refer to shabby clothing, and eventually acquired a more...
It might be the grooviest new holiday since Burning Man: Hippie Christmas is the annual festivity surrounding the end of the college school year, when students leave perfectly good clothing and household goods by the curb or the dumpster because...
Bespoke, as in bespoke tailored clothing, comes from an old word meaning “spoken for”—to bespeak means to request or order a good or service. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Origin of Bespoke” Hello, you have A Way with Words...
When a jacket’s been on the hanger too long, the shoulders get punched out, meaning they become distended. The same principle is behind the term butt-sprung, which describes a skirt that’s distended by the wearer, and now applies to anything that’s...
jeggings n.— «“What’s so great this year,” she says, “is that they’re making jeans that are great for boots.” They’re slim, soft, light and tight, fitting almost like leggings. In fact, At the store they like to call them “jeggings.”» —“Just a bit...