Idiom : Fashion

I think sometimes "fashion" is written loosely. In some publications the journalist doesn’t even bother getting the designer's name right; sometimes they even use fashion expressions or concepts without fully understanding their meaning.  In other industries  the misuse of concepts will be unforgivable, but in fashion some people don’t bother  getting their facts straight.

So here are a couple of misused terms and a brief explanation that will help when speaking fashion!

The English expression high fashion is the “equivalent” of the French term "haute couture", and it's used to refer to the creation of an exclusive, custom made, high quality fabrics and special attention-sewing piece of clothing. The origin of this term comes from the French law protected qualification that can only be used by the firms that meet well-defined high standards in fashion.  The guardian of this term is the Chambre de commerce et d'industrie de Paris, this commission regulates which fashion houses are eligible to be catalogued as a Haute Couture. The fashion house must fulfill a list of very specific requirements and standards in order to be awarded this recognition.  In other words, when people refer to designers, or the designer is a self-proclaimed high fashion or haute couture designer, is completely incorrect. It’s like a musician claiming to be a Grammy class musician, or a physicist saying that he is a Nobel class physicist, without actually winning a Grammy or the Nobel Prize.  Anyhow, I’ve read about this issue in some other blogs so hopefully people will read about this and they will understand that it is not ok to use this expression loosely.

Photos taken from internet

My next misused concept is Fashion Victim. Sometimes I see on twitter, magazines and blogs how writers misinterpret this concept. They have the wrong idea that the meaning of the words separately is the equivalent of the expression. But what you must learn, as a fashionista, is that the term fashion victim was introduced by Oscar de la Renta, referring to those people who are so into fashion that they slavishly follow every trend, jumping from trend to trend without developing their own style. Materialism is also a common practice of a fashion victim, the one who needs to wear all the important brands and show them off just to feel fashionable. In Gianni Versace words: “When a woman alters her look too much from season to season, she becomes a fashion victim.”

Photos taken from internet

The last concept that I want to set straight is Glamour and Glam. Lets start by understanding the meaning of Glamour: originally it was the term applied to a magic spell cast on somebody to make them believe something or to induce attraction. As years passed by, the term applied to non-magical items, which helped create a more attractive appearance. Today Glamour refers to the impression of fascination or attraction to an appearance of luxury and elegance. While on the other hand Glam is the music-related fashion trend from the early and mid 1970s with colorful, ambisexual outfits, such as platform shoes and single piece glitter suits. Glam is an exaggerated celebration all things beautiful, superficial, marvelous and fabulous. Glam refers to over board 70’s glamour! 
Even though the meaning of Glamour has changed through time, be aware when writing and reading about these two concepts and the slight difference between them! 

Photos taken from internet

Editing by Lina Lis