fashion’s Big Four
The term fashion’s Big Four, also known as simply the Big Four, are the world’s major fashion capitals: New York, Paris, London, and Milan. Several other cities have a significant […]
Fashion
fashion week
The truth is, there’s not just one—there are at least ten official fashion weeks held around the globe each year. Each of the Big Four fashion capitals holds at least two annual prêt-à-porter fashion weeks: one in […]
Coco Chanel
COH´-coh shuh-NELL´ If you know the name of only one fashion designer, let it be Coco Chanel (1883-1971). Though she passed away half a century ago, her name still packs […]
Women’s Wear Daily
You’re at least vaguely familiar with Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar, but have you heard of Women’s Wear Daily? Considered the bible of the women’s fashion industry, the trade journal, […]
dernier cri
dehr´-nyay CREE´ (literal French, ‘last cry’) The dernier cri is the newest fashion, whether in the field of fashion itself or in another discipline. For example, “gauchos” for women were […]
couturier
coo-CHUR´-yay At its most basic level, couturier is the French term for male dressmaker, though it’s often applied to designers, manufacturers, and merchants of women’s clothing in general, male or […]
haute couture
oht´ kwi-TYUR´ (literally ‘high cutting’ or ‘high dressmaking’ in French) Haute couture is custom-made women’s clothing by top fashion designers, as well as the system that creates such clothing. This […]
Madison Avenue, New York City
Madison Avenue is home to the bulk of Manhattan’s snobbiest retail establishments, which are packed into a twenty-block stretch between East 58th and East 78th streets. Retail rents here are […]
Fifth Avenue, New York City
Fifth Avenue, Manhattan’s traditional stretch of luxury retail, has been upstaged in recent decades by Madison Avenue. But Fifth is still home to a relatively short section of high-end shopping, […]
jet set
The jet set is the international group of rich people who congregate at the world’s most fashionable resorts. Members of the jet set are also members of the carriage trade, […]