When you read Voici magazine, you’ll be able to follow the fashions of all the best-dressed celebrities. Please check your email for further instructions. Once he’s dressed, he’ll come find them! (The ski slopes are freezing! les ballerines (f) – (ballerina) flats. As someone who’s always hot, this unspoken French fashion rule drives me crazy, and I don’t follow it. Do you have an eye for thrift store finds? Whether you’re shopping for clothes, food, or souvenirs, you can use the following phrases in any French-speaking country to help you find just the right thing. Learn how to talk about clothes and style, how to pay compliments and how to express criticism about someone's outfit. FluentU uses a natural approach that helps you ease into the French language and culture over time. Whether you wear boots or sneakers, make sure your shoes are impeccably clean. In that case, you can say un sweat à capuche (a hooded sweatshirt). We’ve got to buy you a new school uniform. (Okay, here we are at the shop. Similar to le cache-col and le cache-nez, le cache-oreilles “hides” your ears from the bitter winter cold. les lunettes (de soleil) – glasses. (Sara doesn’t like robes or skirts. (No, a bikini isn’t modest enough for me.). Interestingly – and frustratingly – les tennis can apparently be either masculine or feminine. Not to be confused with the noun les lainages from earlier. (Where are you going, Sylvia? I love how it describes exactly what to do with a scarf or muffler when it’s cold and windy outside! Let your wardrobe be as colorful as the changing autumn leaves around you. un slip de bain – a short, briefs-style men’s bathing suit; a Speedo. When in France, go shopping! For a wool scarf, see the next word. On very rare occasions, you may see bottillon used to describe a low men’s boot. (Market studies show that plus size clothing sells very well.). An iconic part of private school uniforms, blazers are also a versatile part of an autumn wardrobe. If you want to say something is custom-made without using this phrase as an adjective, you can put du in front of it. (Why is it your favorite? I go there every April. The only exception to this is that most French people prefer to be more covered, than less, so you might see them put on a jacket or wear a scarf if it suddenly gets a bit chilly in the summer. The final “r” is pronounced in French. The garment was named after the workers who favored this style. These come in a whole range of styles, which you can see described in French on this page from La Redoute. un gilet ( learn more) coat. Choose from 500 different sets of french describing clothes flashcards on Quizlet. For example: -Tu vas porter quelle tenue ce soir ? Une paire de moufles is a pair of mittens. FluentU has a wide variety of great content, like interviews and web series, as you can see here: FluentU brings native videos within reach with interactive subtitles. That said, of course, if you don’t need to specify a type of dress or gown, using une robe is fine. These are just the basics when it comes to talking about clothes, of course. les vêtements – clothes/clothing. Ma vase a disparu ! We also participate in other affiliate advertising programs for products and services we believe in. Your inconnu (blind date) will be able to pick you out of la foule (the crowd) at the café, and your romantic rendez-vous will get off to a good start. On prend les mesures maintenant, et puis, vous essayerez quelques tailles. The French are specialists in great clothing and shoes.They differentiate them endlessly according to shape, texture and more. une culotte – women’s underwear (panties/knickers).Historically, culottes were short pants. In other words, even if you choose your normal size, this particular clothing brand might fit smaller/larger. The world of outdoor clothing in French is particularly rich and there are many variations that come up. (I would like to update my beachwear. My daughter needs a new school uniform—a blazer, a skirt, a turtleneck and wool tights. (I’m going to “Time for Spring.” It’s my favorite shop. la ceinture belt le chemisier blouse la botte boot le bouton button la casquette cap le vêtement clothes le manteau coat la robe dress le gant glove la robe de chambre gown, bathrobe le … Learn french about clothes talking with free interactive flashcards. (The choice here reflects the most common usage found on Google.) (Of course! dégriffé(e) – de-branded clothing. bathing suit. ), Justine: Oui, comme d’hab’. Again, there’s a certain similarity to the English term. After all, France is the most stylish, sophisticated, fashionable country in the world, right? The latter two are international brands, but their French websites are, of course, adapted to the French market. un sac (à main) – a purse/handbag. I see this word all over shops in France, especially in Paris, but I’ve always thought it was simply a reduction on branded clothes. Then you have the opportunity to identify each piece of clothing using multiple choice. We’ve broken the list down into several categories including men’s and women’s clothes, clothes for men and women only, accessories, materials and useful verbs. For example: André a économisé pour pouvoir  s’offrir un costume sur mesure (André saved up money to buy himself a tailor-made suit.) Tank tops are commonly called le marcel after Marcel Eisenberg, who ran a hosiery shop. (Caleçon d’homme means “boxer shorts,” and caleçon de femme means “leggings.” Caleçon will make a return in summer, as part of the French word for “swimming trunks.”). Ex: Sara n’aime ni les robes, ni les jupes. It’s not to be confused with le petit haut, which is specifically for “crop top” and features a bare midriff. You can also get a glimpse of actual French people (especially, in this particular example, Frenchmen) wearing scarves as they go about their day, in this somewhat voyeuristic video. Each time, the wolf answers that he’s putting on a different item of clothing. Ahhh, French fashion.There are a zillion specific words to describe French clothes, however lists on the web are usually very limited. Every definition has examples that have been written to help you understand how the word is used. To refer to any school uniform, use the cognate uniforme scolaire. These are also called “breeches” in English. Other sites use scripted content. des mitaines (f) – mittens. With de soleil, you have sunglasses. se serrer la ceinture – to tighten your belt (stop spending money and make sacrifices). These words will help you purchase clothing if you travel, live or work in French-speaking countries. (She’s so rich that she only wears designer shoes. Clothing words are essential to describing personal appearance. It turns out that de-branding clothing is a whole thing, which you can read about here, if you want. For example, in Paris, you can find a list of garage sales that are being held every weekend in different neighborhoods, and in Lille, every year in September there’s the Braderie de Lille, a citywide garage sale. Luckily, most of these have vending machines that sell bathing caps and other accessories for a few euros. A débardeur is also a name for a longshoreman or stevedore. It’s a fun song to sing or act out with kids, and also a great way to practice your French clothes vocabulary – you can even add in clothing items you find particularly tricky. Every year, there are two official full months of sales in France (generally January/February and July), called Les Soldes (more on that a little later on). rire sous cape – to secretly laugh/to laugh in one’s sleeve. If you’re traveling in France it’s very likely that you’ll have to buy or replace an article of clothing. (I’ll be wearing a burgundy shirt and a dark blue hat.). Useful words for describing clothes in French. Whether you’re just window shopping or you’re planning to buy a whole new wardrobe, these words will help you talk about clothes in French all year ’round. Ma fille a besoin d’un nouveau uniforme scolaire—un blazer, une jupe, un pull à col roulé et un collant en laine. comme cul et chemise  – thick as thieves/like two peas in a pod. You can probably talk about colors, too. Check the next word for how to say “vest” in French. ), Sylvie: Parce qu’ils ont les meilleures maxi-robes, les plus jolis corsaires et même les plus doux pullovers légers. If you’re an English native speaker, be careful not to pronounce this like the word “sweat” – trust me, no French person will understand what you’re talking about. Literally, to be good in your sneakers/trainers. It may seem cliché, but believe it or not, scarves really are an essential part of a typical French wardrobe – for both women and men! When describing a person in French, you must keep the gender issue in mind. Nevertheless, a denim jacket is called a “jean jacket” in France—thus borrowing back the English word “jeans” for the garment made from denim, which originally came from the French jean fustian (referring to a Genoan fabric similar to denim, made of cotton and flax). There are many reasons to go beyond the basics when it comes to French clothing vocabulary. That might make you feel a little disappointed, but look at it this way: If this way of dressing intimidates you, you won’t have to worry if you come to France and don’t look the part. Although this term isn’t quite as common as the previous one, it always makes me smile when I hear it. BBC Languages - Learn French in your own time and have fun with The French Experience. 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