Advanced Clothing Vocabulary

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ADVANCED CLOTHING
VOCABULARY
VOCABULARY LESSON
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1 Underwear
Menswear underpants styles:
Boxer shorts - elastic waist, baggy legs - baggy means loose,
not tight
Briefs (also known as y-fronts) are short and snug (tight or
close-fitting)
Boxer briefs - a combination of boxer shorts and briefs -
long and tight-fitting
Womenswear underpants styles

US - panties
UK - knickers/pants
Briefs: Also rudely referred to as ‘granny pants' because
they aren’t considered to be very appealing, These cover you
well, are triangular come up high and finish low.
Control pants/Spanx: If you want underwear that holds you
in and smooths your silhouette, this is called ‘control pants’,
or ‘Spanx’ which is a brand name.
Boyshorts - these are like little boxer shorts that are much
more rectangular.
Bikini/hipster - low rising briefs that rest on the hips
Thongs/G-strings/Brazilians - The back of these knickers
are designed to sit between the buttocks, rather than rest
on top. Many women find these far more comfortable that
other styles, especially because with these you tend to avoid
a VPL, which is a visible panty line, where the edge of your
underwear digs into your bottom, leaving a visible dent or
line.
Seamless - smooth, without obvious joins. A seam in clothing is
a line where two pieces of fabric have been joined or sewn
together.
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Bra styles
Bra - A bra is short for brassiere, but no one seems to say that
anymore.
Different styles are as follows:
A triangle bra - triangular in shape, like a bikini
A t-shirt bra - simple style, gives a smooth look under a t-
shirt
A sports bra - maximum control and hold for exercise
A strapless bra - no straps (material over your shoulders)
A push-up bra - extra padding to boost cleavage volume
A bandeau - this is a strip of elasticated material with no
straps or adjusters.
There are 2 adjectives that you need to know with bras -
padded and underwired.
If a bra is padded, it means that there is extra sponge or gel
material that will give your cleavage a boost.
If a bra is underwired it means that there is metal wiring below
the cup to the bra to give extra shape.
Socks, Tights & Thermals

Trainer socks - finish below the ankle so they can’t be seen
if you wear trainers
Pop-socks - these cover just the outside of the foot, so they
are invisible when you wear shoes like pumps or boatshoes
(we will cover these later)
Ankle socks - these come up to the ankles
Mid-calf
Over-the calf
Knee-high
Over-the-knee
Thigh-high
We also have what we call tights in BE or pantyhose in AE.

The thickness of these is determined by the denier which refers
to the thickness of the yarn used to knit a pair of tights. 20
denier would be very fine and transparent, 200 denier would
be very thick and opaque.
Stockings are a cross between tights and socks that finish at
your thigh.
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Lastly, we have thermal underwear, used to keep us warm

underneath our clothes.
Long johns are like thermal trousers or leggings
An undershirt is usually a long-sleeved t-shirt
Vests are sleeveless with straps
We often just call all types of thermal underwear ‘thermals’.
Tops/Shirts
In BE we refer to clothing for your torso as tops, but in AE they
call them shirts. In BE, a shirt usually has a collar and buttons -
a top is anything you wear on your torso.
One word you will hear a lot when talking about tops is
‘sleeves’ or ‘-sleeved’. The sleeves are the parts of the garment
that cover your arms.
We also mention collars, the material that covers your neck, or
a neckline which is essentially the hole for your neck.
There are so many different necklines, but to name a few:
Unisex
V-neck - v-shaped
Polo neck - a rolled high neck
Cowl neck - loose material around the neck
Crew neck - a normal round neck
Womenswear in particular
Boat neck - an elegant, long and thin neckline that runs
shoulder to shoulder, across the collarbone
Sweetheart - a heart-shaped neckline that accentuates the
cleavage
Square neck - a square-shaped neckline
Scoop neck - a rounded, deep neckline
Halter neck - straps that go around the neck
A top can:
Be sleeveless/strapless - have no sleeves
Be strappy, have straps - a strappy top.
have spaghetti straps - really thin straps, like spaghetti.
Have short sleeves
Have ½ length sleeves or ¾ length sleeves
Be long-sleeved/short-sleeved
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In BE, a strappy top is called a vest top. In AE it's usually called

a tank.
A t-shirt generally refers to a short-sleeved top
If we want to refer to a long-sleeved top we would specify a
long-sleeved t-shirt.
Also popular are crop tops, which show your stomach.
Blouses are feminine shirts - a loose-fitting upper garment
formerly worn by women.
On shirts and sometimes blouses, we have cuffs, which is the

material at the end of the sleeve, and the accessories we use to
join the cuffs are called cufflinks.
Jumpers/Sweaters:
We also have jumpers in BrE and sweaters in AmE.
BrE has sweatshirts and hoodies, which are made of fine-knit
cotton. A hoodie has a hood and usually a pocket at the front.
For jumpers we have a variety of patterns and designs

Cable-knit or chunky-knit - a thick textured knitted pattern
Fair-isle - 'Christmas' style jumpers with a wintery design
around the shoulders
Striped or stripey - with stripes
Cardigans - jumpers that are separated down the front with
buttons
Casual jackets:
Biker/leather - jackets typically worn by motorcyclists
Denim - jean material, often called a 'jean jacket' in AmE
Bomber/military - an army-style jacket
Baseball/varsity - American high school style jacket
Formal jackets (usually menswear):

A blazer - a more casual jacket
Tailored jacket - close fitting
Dinner jacket - satin on the lapels
Single-breasted - one row of buttons
Double-breasted - two rows of buttons
Morning coat jacket - long 'tails' at the back
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Coats:
Trench coat - long, often beige, with a belt
Duffle coat - with wooden fasteners
Parka/Rain coat - waterproof & knee-length
Ski jacket - insulated for cold weather
Shooting coat - dark green or tweed for country sports
Overcoat - a big smart coat to go over indoor clothing
Women (generally) may choose to wear the following on colder

evenings:
Poncho - a garment of a type originally worn in South
America, made of a thick piece of woollen cloth with a slit
in the middle for the head
Shawl - a piece of fabric worn by women over the shoulders
Wrap - a large scarf that is wrapped around your body for
warmth
Jeans:
Jeans come in a variety of waist heights:
High-rise
Regular-rise
Low-rise
They also come in many different fits:
Skinny - tight jeans
Straight - looser than skinny jeans, but still fairly snug
Boot-cut - slightly flared under the knee to allow boots gto
go underneath
Flared - jeans that go out (flare out) at the knee or
sometimes in the whole leg
Mom-jeans - old fashioned jeans that are now back in
fashion - high waisted and baggy, often cropped at the
ankle
Jeggings - jean-leggings hybrid
Trouser Styles:
Leggings - high-waisted/regular
BrE - Joggers AmE - Sweat pants - athletic trousers
Harem pants - baggy, loose-fitting cotton trousers
Wide-leg trousers
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Corduroys - made of velvety corduroy material

Cargo Pants - army-style pants
Chinos - cotton formal trousers, often beige
Shorts - short trousers
AmE - Hotpants, BrE - Short shorts - very short shorts
Skirts:
Mini/midi/maxi - short/mid-length/full-length
Pleated - with folded fabric
Skater - flaring from the waist
Tulip - coming in at the knee/thigh like a tulip flower
Trumpet - flaring out like a trumpet
Tiered/rara - with many layers
Pencil - tight-fitting, usually to the knee
Dresses:
Jumpsuit - not a dress per say, more like a dress with
trouser legs
BrE - Playsuit /AmE - Romper- like a jumpsuit but with
shorts instead of full-length legs
Tea dress/sundress - feminine, usually sort and floral
Fit and flare dress - tight top, flared skirt
Wrap dress - a wrapped dress that is tied with a bow
Maxi dress - full-length dress
Ballgown - formal, full-length occasion dress
Peplum dress - tight dress with a flared waist
Bodycon dress - tight party dress
Pencil dress - tight smart dress
Women's shoes:
We usually talk about heels (with a high heel) or flats (no heel)
Ballet flats - ballet-style pumps
Kitten heels - with a tiny, thin heel
Platform heels - high, with a thick platform under the
whole shoe
Wedges - high shoes with no defined heel
Stilettos - with a tall, thin heel
Court shoes/pumps - smart, high shoes
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General Shoes:
BrE - trainers /AmE - sneakers - sports training shoes
Boots - usually leather, covering the entire foot
Sandals - strapped summer shoes
Flipflops - simple rubber sandals for the beach
Loafers - smart leather shoes shaped like moccasins
Boat shoes - nautical style leather shoes with light soles
Brogues - smart leather shoes with ornamental perforated
patterns in the leather, and laces.
Accessories:
Sunglasses/sunnies/shades - sun protection eyewear
Tie - A thin strip of material to tie around your shirt collar
cravat - a silk scarf worn in place of a tie
Watch - a personal wrist clock
Scarf - material for around the neck
Gloves - protective clothing for the hands - like shoes for
the hands
Umbrella - for protection from rain
Hats:
Bobble hat - a wool hat with a pompom
Woolly hat/beanie - a wool hat worn for warmth
Fedora - a low, soft felt hat with a curled brim and the
crown creased lengthways.
Fascinator - a decorative headpiece worn by women at
weddings or the races
Top hat - a tall, formal hat
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YOUTUBE.

Womenswear underpants styles

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

Socks, Tights & Thermals

We also have what we call tights in BE or pantyhose in AE.

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

Lastly, we have thermal underwear, used to keep us warm

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

In BE, a strappy top is called a vest top. In AE it's usually called

On shirts and sometimes blouses, we have cuffs, which is the

For jumpers we have a variety of patterns and designs

Formal jackets (usually menswear):

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

Women (generally) may choose to wear the following on colder

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

Corduroys - made of velvety corduroy material

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

©ENGLISH WITH LUCY

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