Fashion Fluency: Tips from a columnist

My friend in the recording arts program shared a chart that matched different frequencies with an obscure list of adjectives that musicians might use to describe them — things like muddy, zappy and salty. I couldn’t help but compare them to the vague terms designers gab with in the fashion world.

I’ve been a fashion columnist for three years, an enthusiast since I first visited the shiny city of New York for my 11th birthday, and an addict since my first internship at Nylon Magazine.

Learning to speak fashion fluently involved immense research, blog-stalking and fake confident smiles as I jotted down unfamiliar terms in my phone while pretending to text. I’m not sure if I fooled anyone, but I eventually didn’t have to.

Speaking fashion can sound like a foreign language, and it often is foreign. However, it’s perfectly possible to learn if you want. It can not only help you keep up with certain crowds’ conversations, but it can eventually merit you a certain amount of authority as a trendsetter. Personally, following fashion allowed me to conceptualize my own personal style.

No matter your motives, if fashion fluency is your prerogative, I’d like to help. Consider these basics a sliver of my senior advice and a thanks to all of you for keeping me in print for the past three years.

Vocab & vocabulaire
What’s the difference between passé and outré? Talking the talk is half the battle. If you’re unfamiliar with a term, look it up.

Don’t compliment a piece by saying it’s passé only to find out you just called it “last season.”

Know that appliqué is embroidering or stitching one fabric to another and that du jour means super trendy.

Also, it’s not all French. Begin to take note of what people call an A-line skirt and a yoke neckline. When comes to those tricky pronunciations, YouTube it. You’ll be discredited if you pronounce très chic, which means very fashionable, as trees chick.

Haute couture & ready-to-wear
Haute couture refers to garments tailored specifically for an individual — it’s high sewn.

Essentially, these custom-made designer pieces are more physically flattering, whereas ready-to-wear pieces are produced by a factory in standard sizes.

The term usually refers to women’s clothes, whereas men’s ready-wear is often called porter. Most labels have ready-to-wear pieces as well as couture pieces.

Collections & pieces
A piece is a single garment within a collection. A clothing line is not synonymous with collection. A line is often a release of a lot of pieces that embrace the ethos of a brand.

Collections are usually released biannually and are designed based not only on the brand’s personality, but also with trends in mind.

Typically, designers will release a winter/fall collection and a spring/summer collection. Within these will sometimes be specified ready-to-wear pieces or specialized minor collections like resort wear.

Fashion capitals & fashion weeks
Fashion Week began in New York City in 1943, but major cities globally competing for the title of fashion capital have since begun having their own fashion weeks.

It’s a vague term. Typically, New York, Milan, Paris and London are seen as major Fashion Week players, but Berlin, Barcelona and Shanghai have recently been stealing guru attention.

It takes place twice a year, showcasing the fall/winter collections in the spring and summer/spring collections in the fall, ensuring you know what to expect in advance.
The shows have major production value, and it’s important to remember all pieces are not about the collection — some just play the part of a catwalk prop.

Columnists & covers
What’s “in” and what’s “out” is highly objective. Remember this and remember your source.

Columnists give opinions, whereas covers usually report on a designer or collection more objectively. Each piece has a story behind it, and getting to know designers is essential.

Also, make sure to follow a diversely fashioned crowd. Don’t just follow the United States’ Vogue. Follow France, the United Kingdom, China and other editions.

Twitter is buzzing with sartorial accounts. Pick a few, and go to the source.

Follow a designer directly to gain a direct perspective. Remember to remain humble and recognize individuality.

Raw & washed
Denim is basically cotton, but there’s nothing else basic about it. From details to dyes, it’s complex. You have options.

Recognize the difference between raw or dry denim and those that have been washed after dying.

It’s a big difference as raw affects the look and fits immensely due to its adaptation to the body that wears it.

This applies to many assumed basics. Notice fabrics, notice hemlines and learn the details most would assume are generic.

Designers & successors
Fashion houses, or brands, are traditionally named after their founders and then run by successors. Know your history. Know names such as Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Jacobs and Oscar de la Renta.

But also know that Alexander McQueen’s house has been continued after his death by Sarah Burton. Follow her too. Read books, watch films and browse.

Fashion fluency is a continual process that becomes natural if you embrace your curiosity. Question the inspiration behind your favorite piece, and you might just be inspired yourself.

kcollisi@indiana.edu
@KelCollisi