Fashion lingo

Do you know your glittens from your jeggings, jorts or trogues? The department store Debenhams has issued a dictionary of fashion words for its staff, although it doesn't want sales assistants to use them with the general public, as most people haven't a clue what the words mean.

 

Jeggings is a word that has made it into most dictionaries as it first appeared a few years ago (jeggings - the word and the garment - are a cross between jeans and leggings). The word glittens has nothing to do with glitter, which is what I originally thought; it is a portmanteau word made up of gloves and mittens, and refers to mittens which roll back to reveal gloved fingers. Jorts are shorts with some of the qualities of jeans. Trogues are a cross between trainers and brogues.

 

Looking down the Daily Telegraph's list of fashion terms, I must admit that I shall now be looking out for mace (male lace) and mangrows (babygrows for men)!

Comments

[Marc Leavitt]

Susan:
These are all portmanteau words which are opaque to the non-cognoscenti. It sounds like the store is trying to legitimize the fashion industry as a profession by using insider jargonto prove its importance(or simply employing the dictionary as a marketing tool).By the way, Trogues won't do for AmE; we call trainers sneakers, and although brogue is used, it's not in the vocabulary of the average consumer anymore.

[Virtual Linguist]

Thanks, Marc. I think you're right when you say it's a marketing tool, and a way of getting the store's name into the newspapers. Not many people wear brogues here either, although they are considered an example of traditional craftsmanship. For that reason they are generally expensive -- trogues are a cheaper option!