| Cabriolet
bonnet from The Empire, not currently available. |
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Cabriolet
Bonnet
Named for the cabriolet carriage, this type of bonnet had a soft gathered
crown and stiff, face-framing brim. It could be quite ordinary or
very elegant depending on materials, quality and trimmings. The term
could also refer to a hood worn over a high coiffure. |
| Brocade
Russian caftan shown with ornated headdress and veil from Heritage
Brides |
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Caftan
The caftan is traditional dress in parts of Russia for both men and
women. This very elaborate one marks its wearer as a member of the
upper class. In the 1970s, caftans of the same basic shape (but without
the headdress, of course) were worn as dressing gowns and for casual
entertaining. Occasionally you'd see one at the grocery store, but
let's don't talk about that. |
| Camisole
to wear under other clothing, 1969, from The
Way We Wore 1969. |
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Camisole
Camisoles have straight across necklines and straps. They were usually
undergarments until the last few decades when they became acceptable
"tops," for hot weather or to wear under a jacket or blouse.
This one from 1969 was intended as an undergarment and has matching
"tap pants." |
| Canezou-fichu,
c. 1835, from Estelle of the Romantic
Age |
 |
Canezou
Originally a short jacket similar to a spenser, but evolved into the
sleeveless, sideless form seen at the left. This form was called a
"fichu-canezou." I'm not sure why it wasn't just called
a fichu since that what it looks like to me - maybe because it seems
a little longer over the shoulders. It was nearly always tucked into
a belt and always made of white material. |
| Capuchon
that forms part a 16th century peasant costume from Elsabeth
of the 1500s. |
 |
Capuchon
A hood that covers the hair and hangs down the back in points. Seen
through much of the Middle Ages in many forms. |
| Corduroy
car coat from The Way We Wore 1969 |
 |
Car
Coat
Hip length casual coat created to provide easy entrance and exit from
automobiles. I've seen them as early as the 1920s and on into the
early 1970s. But the term seems to have disappeared; recently when
I asked group of freshmen girls at the community college where I work
if they were familiar with it, no one knew what I was talking about.
|
| Lavender
carriage dress with matching pelerine, boots, bonnet and gloves, 1820,
from Regency Cousins |
 |
Carriage
Dress
A carriage dress was actually a rather fancy daytime visiting ensemble.
It took its name from the fact that it was too elaborate and/or
delicate to be practical for the wearer to make her visits on foot;
she needed a carriage. I have a hunch that dressmakers were apt
to call any rather expensive visiting dress a carriage dress, since
to have a carriage available for visiting meant that the family
of the lady in question could afford to keep a carriage and to use
it frequently. Calling the dress by a name that implied wealth was
bound to make its price a little easier to swallow.
|
| Casacque
worn with a traveling dress, 1864, from Kitty
of the Civil War Era |
 |
Casacque
A garment somewhere between a loose jacket and mantle - but with sleeves.
Worn outdoors over the very wide skirts of the middle part of the
19th century The hemline had to be wide to accommodate the skirt,
but they all look like maternity tops to me and in period photographs,
women wearing them look like loose bales of fabric. |
| Headdress
with tessellated cauls from Elsabeth
of the 1500s. |
 |
Caul
Sometime in the 14th century it became fashionable to wear long
hair coiled or braided and stuffed into metal cauls, or hairnets,
often ornamented with jeweled bands at the top. For a while the cauls
were cylindrical boxes, one on each side of the head (as shown). Later
the same changed drastically. Don't you know that having that metal
up against your face could get cold in the winter? |
| Crushed
velvet ceinture, from Lily of the Edwardian
Age |
 |
Ceinture
The term is the French word for belt. During the Edwardian period
it referred to a tight sash or belt. The term pops up all over the
fashion magazines of the period. Some publications apparently had
an allergy to the word "belt." |
| Striped
sundress seamed to form chevrons, late 1930s from The Glamorous
Thirties |
 |
Chevron
Chevrons are stripes that meet together to form an angle. This sundress
shows double chevrons on the bodice forming a diamond and single chevrons
on the skirt in the familiar V pattern. |
| Seersucker
Chanel suit, from The Way We Wore 1969. |
 |
Chanel
Suit
Originally designed by Gabrielle Chanel, the Chanel suit has a boxy
jacket and a round neck, usually collarless worn with a fairly straight
or A line skirt. Since the 1920s this basic design has inspired countless
imitations and variations, including this one in seersucker with a
round flat collar and a mini skirt. |
| Chaperon
over a braided coiffure from Elsabeth
of the 1500s. |
 |
Chaperon
In the 1500s the chaperon was large, flat, round - something like
a turban in effect but formed differently. Usually worn with some
sort of drapery or veil. Earlier the term referred to a kind of hood. |
| High
waisted chemise from The Empire, not currently available. |
 |
Chemise
A chemise was an undergarment with or without sleeves that hung loosely
from the shoulders, though it was sometimes belted under the breasts
or at the waist or hips. During many periods the sleeves, neckline
or peeking hem of the chemise were worn exposed. It is usually white
and may or may not be ornamented. It has also been called a shift
or a smock. |
| Very
fine muslin chemise dress with a heavily embroidered hem from Regency
Cousins. |
 |
Chemise
Dress
The chemise dress emerged in the 1790s and continued until the early
1820s. It was made of very fine delicate fabric, almost always white
and could be worn alone or under a spenser, tunic or other
garment. |
| From
Dorothy of the Gallant Forties |
 |
Cheongsam
The fashions of East and West met in the 1920s in the cheongsam, a
tight-fitting dress with a high collar, side-slit skirt and asymmetrical
frog closure. It could be long or short, with long or short sleeves.
Its most popular period was in the 1930s and 1940s, but the style
continues even today with modifications. |
| Two
stranded gold choker, 1959, from Kitty
Dale |
 |
Choker
Choker is the apt name of a necklace worn snugly around the neck.
Short, tight necklaces or ribbons tied around the neck have been worn
off and on throughout most of the history of Western fashion; however,
the term seems to have emerged sometime in the late 19th century or
first half of the 20th century. |
| Cloche
with brim flush with crown from The Roaring Twenties,
not currently available. |
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Cloche
A cloche is a brimless hat that fits the head snugly and is often
worn well down on the forehead and ears. The term has been coming
and going for centuries, but was at its most widespread in the 1920s.
In the 20s, the cloche was usually reserved for early in the day and
wide brimmed hats were worn in the afternoon. |
| Clutch
bags from The Glamorous Thirties, not currently available. |
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Clutch
Bag
Collection of clutch bags from the 1930s. These bags have been popular
off and on since the early part of the 1900s. They're called "clutch
bags" because you have to grab them; they don't have handles. |
| Black
lace covered cocktail dress, 1959, from Kitty
Dale |
 |
Cocktail
Dress
There is some dispute over the date of the cocktail's invention; I've
seen references to them as early as the 1910s, but things get murky
prior to that. My best guess on the history of the cocktail dress
is that it started up around about the 1920s when the habit of changing
into dressier attire in the mid to late afternoon began to wane, and
the term "afternoon dress" started to disappear. At that
time the need emerged for a name for dressy outfit meant for late
afternoon and early evening but that was not quite as formal as eveningwear.
|
| 1925
evening gown with a large silk rose corsage fastened to the sash from
Jazz Age Sisters |
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Corsage
1) A real or artificial flower worn on the shoulder, wrist or waist
or in the hair; often received as a gift.
2) French for "bodice"
3) And don't forget this definition - something a prom date just
better show up with!
|
| Corset
from Kitty of the Civil War Years
|
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Corset
The origin of the corset may be the cotte, a stiffened linen
undergarment worn in the Middle Ages to give a smooth line under clinging
garments. Whatever its origin, the corset - stiffened with everything
from paste to bone and wood to steel - was the plague of women and
the target for medical criticism for centuries. Thank God that's over
- mostly! |
| Corset
cover with ribbon beading from Helen
of the Edwardian Age. |
 |
Corset
Cover
Corsets were expensive - they were essentially equipment used to alter
the natural shape of the body, so they had to be strong. In fact,
they were so strong that corset makers were men since it was thought
that only men had the strength to make and fit them. To protect these
precious garments from wear and stains from perspiration and dye rubbed
off from clothing, many women wore corset covers which could be quite
lovely. |
| Côte-hardie
from Elsabeth of the 1500s |
 |
Côte-hardie,
Côtehardie
The côte-hardie is the long-sleeved gown laced in the
back for a snug fit though the bodice to the hips and falling away
in a fuller skirt. It was often worn with a surcoat, as shown. However,
I've also seen the term applied to the over-garment seen here. The
experts need to make up their minds on this one.
|
| Crinoline
with flat front from Camille of
the Civil War years. |
 |
Crinoline
Strictly speaking, a crinoline is a horse hair stiffened petticoat.
Even more strictly, it is the horse hair itself. But the term broadened
in late 1850s and early 1860s in the search for methods to reduce
the weight of the many petticoats worn to support the very wide skirts
then fashionable. It eventually came to refer hoops worn for the same
purpose and even to the crinkly net ruffles worn under bouffant skirts
in the 1950s and 1960s and little girls' dresses today. |
| Short
culottes from The Way We Wore 1969 |
 |
Culotte
A culotte is basically a divided skirt worn for sport or casual wear.
The length has tended to follow the prevailing skirt length of the
period. The one to the left is from late 1960s, so it is miniskirt
length.
|
| Day
dress with cuirass bodice from Augusta
of the Gilded Age. |
 |
Cuirass
The term "cuirass" once referred to an item of body armor,
but it's easy to see how it came to be applied to a tight, fairly
long bodice with a smooth line and usually heavy boning in the seams.
The smooth line of the bodice contrasted with the heavy draping of
the skirt worn in the 1880s. |
| Cutaway
suit jacket, 1914 from Julia of
the Nouveau Age |
 |
Cutaway
The front of a cutaway coat is relatively short and tapers to a longer
length or tails in the back. This cutaway is a jacket to a skirt with
tiers that echo the lines of the cutaway. |
| Cutwork
embroidered apron from Heritage Brides
|
 |
Cutwork
Embroidery
Cutwork is a general term for any embroidery that creates a lace-like
effect with small holes secured by satin stitches or similar embroidery
stitches to create a pattern - usual floral. |
