Fashion History Mystery #58: Alizarin to Zoster: An A-Z of Fun, Strange and Obscure Fashion Terminology (Dressed Classic)

Summary

Dressed: The History of Fashion

Episode: Fashion History Mystery #58 – Alizarin to Zoster: An A–Z of Fun, Strange, and Obscure Fashion Terminology

Hosts: April Callahan & Cassidy Zachary
Date: November 7, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this playful and “extra nerdy” minisode, hosts April Callahan and Cassidy Zachary bring listeners an A-to-Z glossary of obscure, strange, and delightful terminology from the history of fashion. Each term represents a letter of the alphabet (with a few tricky exceptions) and was personally unknown to the hosts before researching this episode. Their witty banter and love of “word nerdery” make for a fun, educational journey through surprising, macabre, and quirky fashion language.

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Key Discussion Points & Notable Terms

A–F

• A – Alizarin (03:56)

  • Cassie explains: “Alizarin is a natural dye made from madder root... It creates a reddish hue, famously associated with Turkey Red.”
  • Notable moment: Cassie admits she forgot this term, despite writing a grad school paper on Turkey Red. April jokes, “Not to be confused with the house in Harry Potter, but...” (05:17)

• B – Bat's wing / Bat swing (05:27)

  • April first teases the macabre idea of actual bat wings as ornaments before clarifying the truth: “Bat swing was actually another textile term for a soft, slightly fuzzy cotton textile... woven in a tubular fashion, perfect for sleeves and petticoats.”

• C – Calendaring (06:00)

  • Cassie: “If any of our listeners are fans of moire textiles, calendaring is the process... that creates the moire’s distinctive watery effect.”

• D – Diaper Cloth (06:26)

  • April: “Origins in the Belgian city of Depri... famed for its linen cloth. Used in bedding and also, to cover baby's bums. Now we know where ‘diaper’ comes from.”

• E – Emery Bag (06:56)

  • Cassie reveals historic practicality: “An emery bag contained powdered emery... used to polish and clean one's sewing needles.”
  • Memorable banter:
    • April: “Have you ever cleaned your sewing needles, Cass?”
    • Cassie: “No.” (07:29)
    • April: “I can barely manage to clean my makeup brushes from time to time…”

• F – Fallal (07:37)

  • April: “Used negatively for cheap trinkets... Considered tasteless or tacky. I feel like this is what all the quote-unquote proper society ladies are thinking about Lady Russell’s costumes on The Gilded Age.”

G–M

• G – Gibus (08:08)

  • Cassie: “A collapsible top hat, super fashionable during the 19th century... You could pop it down, making it easier to store at the theater.”

• H – Hollywood Top (08:46)

  • April: “Our only lingerie term! A slip featuring a V-shaped bodice.”

• I – Induement (09:13)

  • Cassie: “An archaic term for a garment or piece of clothing. So, just put on your induement today, friends.”

• J – Jane (09:38)

  • April: “A term used for false bangs... Victorians were mad for them. Wigs, hair pieces, and extensions are nothing new.”

• K – Kilty Tongue (13:11)

  • Cassie: “Those early 20th-century shoes with a fringed cover over the laces—that’s a kilty tongue.”

• L – Littery (13:51)

  • April: “Based on the French word for bed, ‘lit.’ Used in the past to refer generally to all types of bedding.”

• M – Malay (14:12)

  • Cassie: “A mixture of colors in textiles or clothing, dating back to the 14th century.”

N–T

• N – None So Pretty (14:29)

  • April: “A type of fanciful ribbon, tape, or cording from America’s colonial period.”

• O – Ouch (14:55)

  • Cassie: “A jewelry term referring to a clasp or the setting of a piece.”
  • April wonders about the name: “Was it called that because it got caught in your hair? We’ve all been there!”

• P – Parfalage (15:53)

  • April: “Ultra fashionable 18th-century pastime! Ladies picked apart metallic trimmings to recover precious threads. It became so trendy that objects were made just to be ‘destroyed’ in this way.”
  • Cassie: “That's quirky!”
  • April relates it to sustainable crafty practices today—like unraveling store sweaters to salvage yarn.

• Q – Quirk / Clocking (17:54)

  • Cassie: “Small embroidered designs near the ankles of stockings. Quirking is an alternate term to clocking.”

• R – Roach (18:42)

  • April explains, to Cassie’s horror (18:51): “A hairstyle—front of hair brushed into a backwards roll. Cute style or not, not sure I want to think about roaches in my hair.”

• S – Scroop (19:05)

  • Cassie: “The rustling sound of silk. Museums sometimes use this to detect fake historic garments.”
  • April is fascinated: “Would love a whole episode on fake historic garments!”

• T – Tarmesand (23:19)

  • April: “Garments reversible and wearable on both sides—each with a different appearance.”

U–Z

• U – Ugly (24:00)

  • April: “Noun, not adjective! In mid-19th-century Victorian fashion, this was a wired silk shade or veil over hats to protect from the sun.”

• V – Vampe (24:53)

  • Cassie: “Early American term for socks. Makes sense, as ‘vamp’ is part of a shoe.”

• W – Whang (25:13)

  • April: “Leather straps for thong sandals. Historically could also mean a leather whip.”

• X – [No Term!] (25:54)

  • April and Cassie admit defeat: “We could not find a single interesting, obscure fashion term with X!”

• Y – Yarn (Glass Yarn) (26:26)

  • Cassie: “Glass yarn—as in actual yarn spun from molten glass—was a 19th-century invention. Today’s fiber optics are descendants.”

• Z – Zona, Zonar, Zoster (27:34)

  • April: “All refer to belts in the ancient world. The etymological similarities are clear.”

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Memorable Quotes

• “We are diving deep into our nerdiest of nerdy episodes today. This should be an educational exercise for one and for all—and maybe, I don’t know, keep tally… I knew like, one.”
  —April Callahan (03:02)

• “Alizarin is a natural dye made from madder root... creates a reddish hue, famously associated with Turkey Red. I wrote a paper on Turkey Red and I still didn’t remember this term!”
  —Cassie Zachary (03:56)

• “You could pop your gibus tall top hat down inside the brim—and it would instantly come more flat and easier to store at the theater.”
  —Cassie Zachary (08:08)

• “Have you ever cleaned your sewing needles, Cass?”
  —April Callahan
  “No.”
  —Cassie Zachary (07:29)

• “A hairstyle called ‘roach’... cute style or not, not sure I want to think about roaches in the context of hair.”
  —April Callahan (18:42)

• “Scroop… the rustling sound of silk.”
  —Cassie Zachary (19:05)

• “We could not find a single x term, even after texting my costumer friends—now I have them on the hunt!”
  —April Callahan (25:54)

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Notable Moments & Insights

• Learning in Real Time: Both hosts selected terms they themselves had never heard—reminding listeners that even professional historians are always learning. (03:02)
• Language Evolution: The etymology and surprising connections (such as “diaper” and “none so pretty”) highlight how much of today’s language is rooted in historical, sometimes forgotten terms. (06:26, 14:29)
• Sustainable Practices—Past and Present: The pastime of parfalage relates to both 18th-century recycling and contemporary upcycling crafts. (15:53, 17:36)
• Material History: Terms like scroop and calendaring illuminate the scientific processes and sensory experiences behind fashion. (06:00, 19:05)
• Lingering Mysteries: The absence of an “X” term becomes its own mystery—sparking a call to listeners to join the research. (25:54)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:02] Introduction to the Fashion Alphabet Game
• [03:56] A – Alizarin
• [05:27] B – Bat's Wing / Bat Swing
• [06:00] C – Calendaring
• [06:26] D – Diaper Cloth
• [06:56] E – Emery Bag
• [07:37] F – Fallal
• [08:08] G – Gibus
• [08:46] H – Hollywood Top
• [09:13] I – Induement
• [09:38] J – Jane
• [13:11] K – Kilty Tongue
• [13:51] L – Littery
• [14:12] M – Malay
• [14:29] N – None So Pretty
• [14:55] O – Ouch
• [15:53] P – Parfalage
• [17:54] Q – Quirk / Clocking
• [18:42] R – Roach
• [19:05] S – Scroop
• [23:19] T – Tarmesand
• [24:00] U – Ugly
• [24:53] V – Vampe
• [25:13] W – Whang
• [25:54] X – The Missing Letter
• [26:26] Y – Glass Yarn
• [27:34] Z – Zona, Zonar, Zoster
• [28:02] Recommended Reading and Further Exploration

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Further Resources Recommended

• Dictionaries of Costume and Fashion:
  • Fairchild Books Dictionary of Fashion by Sandra Kaiser and Phyllis Turtura
  • Dictionary of Costume and Fashion: Historic and Modern by Mary Brooks Picken (28:02)
• Fashion History Rabbit Holes: Listeners are encouraged to explore more through dictionaries, catalogs, and even personal upcycling projects.

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Final Thoughts

April and Cassie close with encouragement to consider the historical A–Z residing in your own closet and invite listener interaction for more peculiar terms and topics. Their enthusiasm and playfulness make this episode an engaging listen for anyone fascinated by words, history, and the ever-evolving language of getting dressed.

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Where to find more:

• Instagram: @dressedpodcast
• Facebook: Dressed: The History of Fashion
• Newsletter, tours, and courses: dressedhistory.com
• Favorite books: bookshop.org/shop/dressed

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Transcript

[April Callahan]

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[Cassie Zachary]

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[April Callahan]

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[April Callahan]

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[April Callahan]

The history of Fashion is a production of dress media. With over 8 billion people in the.

[Cassie Zachary]

World, we all have one thing in common.

[April Callahan]

Every day, we all get dressed.

[Cassie Zachary]

Welcome to Dressed the History of Fashion, a podcast that explores the who, what, when of why we Wear. We are friends, fashion historians, and your.

[April Callahan]

Hosts, Cassie Zachary and April Callahan.

[Cassie Zachary]

Okay, dressed listeners, we have heard you, because more than a few of you have written to us lately noting that you really especially enjoy our extra, extra nerdy episodes of Dressed. And today's minisode promises to be exactly that.

[April Callahan]

Yes, totally nerding out today. This is actually going to be really fun because today we're going to play a bit of the Alphabet game, but by way of the history of fashion, of course. And because we are also word nerds, we thought it'd be entertaining to explore some of the more, well, unusual terms used for garments and textiles in eras gone by. And April and I have actually selected words that we ourselves were unfamiliar with until working on this episode. So this should be an educational exercise for one and for all. And maybe, I don't know, keep tally, dress listeners, maybe you do know some of these terms. I don't know. I knew, like, one.

[Cassie Zachary]

I feel. I feel like. I feel like some of our, like, professional fashion historians out there are going to know a few. But don't be surprised if you don't know some of these as well.

[April Callahan]

We're trying to stump you, but we'll.

[Cassie Zachary]

See how we go.

Exactly. That's. That's the whole goal.

[April Callahan]

We'll see how it goes.

[Cassie Zachary]

Okay, so, Cass, this exercise was a total hoot for me. I definitely learned a lot. But even just skimming the pages of things that I was looking at, I was seeing other terms that I didn't know, too. So it wasn't just the ones that we're going to talk about today, but I learned new terms for topics that I've actually already worked on. For instance, the first word that I chose is alizarin, which is apparently a natural dye made from madderroot, and that's madder, M, A, D, D, E, R. And usually this creates a reddish hue, and it's famously associated with the color known as turkey red. I wrote a paper on turkey red in grad school, and I still didn't remember this term. I mean, it was a long time ago, so maybe I forgot, but I didn't remember the word alizarin. But turkey red has a scintillating and sometimes kind of like scandalous history involving industrial espionage, historic trade routes, et cetera. And perhaps we should do an episode on it someday. I think it'd be very interesting. But if you can't wait, there is actually more than a few books out there on this topic, and one that I would recommend is called madder. Read M A D D E R A History of Luxury and Trade by Robert Sinziner. And I'm sorry if I'm pronouncing your last name wrong, but that's my first term. Alizarin, what did you pick?

[April Callahan]

I was going to say Alizarin, not to be confused with the house in Harry Potter from Harry Potter, but.

[Cassie Zachary]

No, no, no, no, not Slytherin. Alizarin with an A.

[April Callahan]

So I'm gonna go with B. Is for bat's wing or bat swing. The wings of bats were actually used as ornaments and dress in the 19th century.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yep.

[April Callahan]

Macabre.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yes.

[April Callahan]

Entirely false. Also yes.

[Cassie Zachary]

She checked out.

[April Callahan]

Bat swings was actually another textile term used for a soft, slightly fuzzy cotton textile that was sometimes actually woven in a tubular fashion, which is somewhat unusual, but which made it perfect for use for sleeves and pettic. Who knew? I had no idea.

[Cassie Zachary]

I did not. Well, apparently we are on the same tip, textile science for the win. Because I chose calendaring for the letter C. And that is not scheduling your day out, friends. If any of our listeners are fans of moire textiles. Calendaring is the process that involves heat, pressure, sometimes a little bit of moisture and roller polishing. And that is actually what creates the moires distinctive watery effect.

[April Callahan]

So very cool. I had no idea. We are definitely on a roll here. D. So D is for diaper cloth, which has its origins in the Belgian city of Depri. D, apostrophe, Y, P, R, E, S. Famed for its linen cloth, used in bed sheeting, tablecloth, undergarments, and you guessed it, to cover baby's bums. No idea that was where the term diaper came from, but now we know.

[Cassie Zachary]

Well, apparently to sew said diaper cloth, perhaps my next selection for the letter E would be much appreciated. Historically found in many women's sewing baskets, an emery bag contained powdered emery, and emery is a mixture of corundrum and magnetite and together they form in a. When they're powdered, they form an abrasive. And this is apparently used to polish and clean one's sewing needles. Have you ever cleaned your sewing needles, Cass?

[April Callahan]

No.

[Cassie Zachary]

Okay, me neither. I can barely manage to clean my makeup brushes from time to time, so that's all I have to say about that.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, I could probably count on one finger how many times I've cleaned my makeup brushes, but that says a lot about how much makeup I wear. So I wonder if emery might also be used to clean my selection for F, which is fallal, a term used negatively for cheap trinkets. Or other small items of dress considered to be tasteless or tacky. And I feel like actually this is what all the quote unquote, proper society ladies are thinking about. Lady Russell's costumes on the gilded Age. If anyone's watching that HBO show. Just saying.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yep, I'm, I'm watching. But I have not watched the last episode, which was last night, so perhaps I will do that this evening. Okay, well, if you wore your gibus with a G, so that's G I B U s to the opera or theater, you would have been thought of as the opposite of tasteless. Cas. This is a term used for collapsible top hats, which were super fashionable during the 19th century. And you could just basically like pop the tall top down inside, like the brim, and it would instantly come, like, more flat and easier to store while you were seated at the top theater and it didn't take up room, which is pretty cool.

[April Callahan]

I want to see one of these. They have to exist in museum collections, right?

[Cassie Zachary]

Oh, they do. I've, I've seen them. I actually also wrote a paper on grad school.

[April Callahan]

So returning home from an evening out at said theater, that gentleman's lady friend might choose to slip into her. H is for Hollywood top. Our only lingerie term on this list. Hollywood top refers apparently to a slip featuring a V shaped bodice.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yes, yes. I have never heard of a Hollywood top, so I'll go ahead and accuse that of being an endubent. I for enduement is apparently an archaic term for a garment or piece of clothing. So if we just have you put on your enduement today, friends.

[April Callahan]

Basically everything we're using today is an enduement, I would argue.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yeah.

[April Callahan]

Moving on to J, we have jane, which apparently was a term used for false banks. And that's right, dress listeners, wigs, hair pieces, extensions are absolutely nothing new. The Victorians, for instance, were absolutely mad for them. And if you look at the hairstyles of say the 1880s, the 1870s, I wonder how they achieve all of those twists and abundance of braids and hair. That's because more than likely plenty of it was fake. Like if you look in like a Sears catalog, for instance, plenty of Janes.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yes, for sure. And also, like entire just. It was big industry back then. Like there were entire catalogs just for those things. You can even sometimes find ads for them in fashion magazines at the very back. It's kind of interesting.

[April Callahan]

I'm assuming this was human hair, which again, this could be yes and no.

[Cassie Zachary]

If you wanted to pay the most amount of money for it. Yes. And if you didn't, there were alternatives. Let's just say that.

[April Callahan]

Okay, another episode. If you want to hear about it, let us know.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yeah.

[April Callahan]

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[Cassie Zachary]

We're going to move on to K and K is for Kilty Tongue and Cast. Well, I didn't know this term. As soon as I read the definition for it, I immediately knew what it was. So you know how sometimes you see Those very early 20th century shoes that were mainly worn for sports like golf that have like a fringed cover over the laces. It's like this very iconic look. And apparently that type of shoe tongue that comes up and over and then it kind of has a fringy edges that is called a kilty tongue.

[April Callahan]

Interesting. I have a pair of very narrow, very vintage shoes that apparently have a kilty tongue as. Cool.

[Cassie Zachary]

Now you know.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, now I know. So after an invigorating day, that sports person might be dying to go home and crawl into their littery. L is for littery, based on the French word for bed, which is lit. L, I, T. Littery was a term used in the past to refer generally to all types of bedding.

[Cassie Zachary]

I would like to inquire if that literary would come in Malay. So M for Malay. M, E, L, L, A, Y. Dates all the way back to the 14th century. And it is a term used for a mixture of colors in textiles and or clothing.

[April Callahan]

Interesting. So from the American colonial period comes our selection for N where women wore. This was a time where women wore dresses trimmed with none so pretty. A type of fanciful ribbon, tape or cording.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yeah, I think that's really great. Also too, like, totally off topic. But, like, there's a millinery term for ribbons at the back of your hat called follow me lads, which I also think is.

[April Callahan]

Oh, that's lovely.

[Cassie Zachary]

I know. Okay, so if a woman was wearing a very elegant dress trimmed with none so pretty, perhaps she might also be wearing an ouch. And I'm not in pain. Dress listeners. Apparently ouch was a jewelry term referring to a clasp or a setting of the piece. Sometimes it could actually mean the entire piece, apparently. But I'm wondering, why was it called an ouch? Like, was it because it might get caught in your hair and cause discomfort? You know, I think we've all had that happen. One can only wonder.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, it's super interesting. And then how does it become like, you know, this more common parlance associated with, you know, hurting oneself? Like, how does that transition in where and when? Super interesting word nerd. So word nerds, our listeners know, and maybe you don't if you're newer to the show. We've done entire episodes dedicated to words like the origin of the term flapper.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yeah.

[April Callahan]

So this next term actually has to be my favorite yet because this is incredibly fascinating. We have to do a little bit of a deeper dive on this one at some point when we have a chance to do some additional Research. April, have you heard of the ultra fashionable 18th century pastime, a parfalage?

[Cassie Zachary]

I have not.

[April Callahan]

Okay, so this is super interesting. As we both know, 18th century fashions had a penchant for adding metallic trimmings to both men and women's wear. If you were of a certain class, and, you know, we always love to imagine how it would sparkle under the candlelight of the era, especially like the court of Queen Marie Antoinette. And this metallic effect was created by the use of threads made of real gold and silver, which were not only costly, but ultimately valuable. When the trimming was no longer itself valuable, so it was going to be discarded, et cetera. So apparently, women began picking apart the trim to save the threads of precious metal, and this even included aristocratic women. It became like this pastime. So you would sit around with your friends gossiping and just picking apart these types of trims, and the valuable threads could then be molten down and redeemed for cash. And apparently there was this whole industry around this, which is fascinating. And not only would people, quote, unquote, recycle the threads, but it became such a hot thing to do that some makers started making small objects that incorporated precious metal threads for the sheer purpose of par. Falage. They were created to ultimately be destroyed as part of this hobby.

[Cassie Zachary]

Okay, that's crazy. Well, no, I. I don't want to say that.

[April Callahan]

Let me.

[Cassie Zachary]

Let me reverse that. It's not crazy. It's quirky.

[April Callahan]

It's very quirky.

[Cassie Zachary]

I was.

[April Callahan]

I can't remember, I was following some Instagram historical costumer, and she went on the same vein. She went to the store and bought a sweater, a knit sweater, and then undid the whole sweater just so she could get the yarn, which I thought was just so creative. And it's kind of an example of this.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep. Well, speaking of quirky, you guessed it. Quirk is my choice for letter Q. Perhaps some of you will know this better as the practice of clocking, which was the placement of small embroidered designs like flowers or geometric patterns near the ankle area of one's stockings. And this practice dates all the way back to the 17th century. And clocked stockings were popular for men, women, and children for a good 200, maybe plus years or so casts. So I just learned today, I've known this term clocking for a very long time, but I just learned that quirking is an alternate term for this very popular practice.

[April Callahan]

So not an alternative form of twerking?

[Cassie Zachary]

I don't know. We'll find out.

[April Callahan]

Maybe now it will be. Who knows? Our dress listeners is for roach. And extra surprising that this was a term.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yikes.

[April Callahan]

Rev. Yeah, I know, I know. It's so bizarre referencing a hairstyle where the front of the hair was brushed into a backwards roll. And I mean, cute style or not, I'm not sure I want to think about roaches in the context of one's hair.

[Cassie Zachary]

No, no, no, no, no. I'm with you 900% on that one. I'm going to pass. I will tell you what I am in for though, and that is some 18th century scroop S is for scroop CAS. And while I did not know this term, I'm not sure if you did specifically. We have actually both probably encountered scroop cat before in the past because scroop is the rustling sound of silk. And I remember oh so fondly on a trip to a museum study collection one day while we were in grad school with Professor Lourdes Font. She gave us this whole lecture about the market for fake historic garments that get sold to museum collections and collectors. And she demonstrated what fake and also real 18th century silk sounds like vis a vis a real and also a fake robe a la francaise from the 18th century. And the differences of how the silk sounds when it rustles and it sounds completely different when the techniques used in the 18th century have been sort of completely abandoned by advancements in technology, et cetera.

[April Callahan]

That is super interesting. I don't believe I ever got this class from Lourdes Font, but I'd love to have a future episode on this because that's really interesting. And I'm talking specifically about the market for fake historic garments.

[Cassie Zachary]

Right, right, right. Well, also too just fakes in general. And I've already talked to Ariel Alaia and she says she's going to come on and talk to us about that.

[April Callahan]

Would love to. Would love to talk to her for sure.

Cass, I think it's about time that we get real about something whether we like it or not. The current pace of the fashion industry is a major contributor to environmental pollution and waste. And that is why we are huge advocates for buying pre loved items and vintage.

[Cassie Zachary]

And this is one reason why we have partnered with the RealReal. The best place to shop and sell authenticated luxury bags, clothing, watches and so much more. Both April and I have been customers for years in terms of both filling and cleaning out our closets.

[April Callahan]

The RealReal is the easiest and fastest way to sell with more than 40 plus million members ready to shop your closet and they use real time data to determine the highest possible price for every item. And they handle all the work for you, from photography and copywriting to shipping and customer service. Because your to do list is already.

[Cassie Zachary]

Long enough, the RealReal is the world's largest and most trusted resource for authenticated luxury resell, with thousands of new arrivals daily. No one does resell like the RealReal and this month you get an extra $100 site credit when you sell for the first time. Go to therealreal.com dress to get your extra $100. That's therealreal.com dressed therealreal.com dressed dress Listeners, do you have a hard to buy for someone on your gift list this holiday season? What about giving them the best gift of all? Memories? With the gift of a Skylight frame, you can send photos right to family members. Frames from your phone in seconds. No apps or subscriptions required. It's a simple way to pop in and stick stay connected with the people you love.

[April Callahan]

You can also preload a Skylight frame with tons of your favorite photos so when the recipient opens it, the frame is already full of special moments. It's personal, it's meaningful, and it's so easy to use that even the least tech savvy person in your family will love it.

[Cassie Zachary]

The Skylight frame's quick one minute setup is easy for all ages or tech skill levels to use. You don't need an app or subscription, and if you aren't happy with your first frame, you can return it within four months for a full refund, no questions asked. Plus, if your device experiences a covered issue within the first three years, Skylight will replace it free of charge.

[April Callahan]

Right now Skylight is offering our listeners $20 off their 10 inch frames by going to myskylight.com dressed go to myskylight.com dressed for $20 off your 10 inch frame. That's my S K Y L I G H T.

[Cassie Zachary]

So no matter what.

[April Callahan]

The time period, it appears people have always always been interested in my next term. And T is for Tarmosend if I said that correctly.

[Cassie Zachary]

You did.

[April Callahan]

Garments that are reversible to be worn on both sides, each with a different appearance, historically apparently were known as tarmesant garments.

[Cassie Zachary]

Well then I am very much looking forward to receiving my Tarmesand dress which I just ordered from past dressed guest Selena Sanders. Awesome shout out girl. In my opinion, I think that reversible collection is your best yet so I can't wait to wear it. Slash them because it's two dresses in one.

[April Callahan]

That's amazing. Yes, huge fans Of Selena, our dress listeners might remember she is a amazing upcycler designer. So our next term, U, is for ugly. I don't mean that as an adjective of the term, but rather a noun because apparently in the middle of the 19th century, Victorian women took to wearing a sort of wired silk shade or veil over their hats to protect their face from the sun. And apparently it was called an ugly. And I'm venturing a guess that this is not a simple veil that's incorporated into the millinery design, which was very intentional and elegant. So it added to the design. This thing sounds rather distracting and perhaps is how we got the term ugly as an adjective. Who knows?

[Cassie Zachary]

Maybe that's another question that we have to delve into one day.

[April Callahan]

Yeah.

[Cassie Zachary]

Okay, for the letter V, we are going to turn to vampe, which is an very early American term for socks. And this kind of makes sense to me because given the fact that the word vamp is a shoe construction term, so if you just add an ay on the end, then all of a sudden vampe becomes shoe adjacent.

[April Callahan]

Yeah. And also shoe adjacent is our term for the letter W, which is wang wah hang with an h. So W, H, A, N, G. And this apparently historically has referenced the leather straps used to make thong sandals.

[Cassie Zachary]

Yeah. So this one is a little tricky. Let me just say this. Well, that was its historical meaning in the context clothing. It also, at that time, apparently could mean leather whip. So I'm not gonna. I don't think we should wander down that pathway on dress today. But if you would like to make your own personal connections to any alternate contemporary usage of the term wang, you know, please feel free to do so. We're just gonna mark that checked and move on.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, two X. And apparently X marks the spot where we could not find a single term even relevant. Interesting, obscure fashion term. None of it that begins with an X. I even was texting some of my Jonathan and David, my dear costumer friends, asking them, like, what is an X term in fashion and costume history? And now I have them on the hunt because we just simply could not find one.

[Cassie Zachary]

We got nothing. But if you guys do, let us know, please. As Cass said. Yeah, and slightly the same case for the letter Y, unless you want to count glass yarn, which obviously begins with a Y. And glass yarn is definitely interesting. Originally made from molten marbles and then sort of spun into filaments, which were then turned into yarn. It was this sort of technological marvel at the time that it was invented during the mid 19th century and kind of like the same case with the sewing machine. The invention of glass fibers or yarns is much debated in terms of who was, quote, unquote, the first. But rather, it was this sort of series of discoveries by different scientists which moved technology forward to the point that today, get this, our fiber optic cables are basically the contemporary legacy of glass Yarn discoveries, nearly 200 years old at this point. Which is exactly why we make this show. Just saying.

[April Callahan]

Yeah, because as we know, I mean, how do we have the modern computer if it were not for the punch card technology that was used in weaving?

[Cassie Zachary]

Jacquard looms.

[April Callahan]

Jacquard looms in the 18th century. So there you go. And why not end our Alphabet game of fashion history with not one, not two, but three Z terms? Obviously, I have a penchant for the letter Z that all refer to the same item of clothing. And in the ancient world, the terms zona, zonar and zoster all referred to a belt. And regional and specific use may differ, but the etymological similarities between the words is quite clear.

[Cassie Zachary]

Duress listeners, I think that completes our A to Z minus X, I guess, of our fun, strange and obscure fashion history terminology. If you were scratching your head a little bit about how we reach research all of these terms, and you also want to tumble down this rabbit hole yourself, there are actually a slew of dictionaries out there of costume, dress and fashion. A couple that I might recommend to you if you want to look at something new that has just more than terms in it, is the Fairchild Books Dictionary of Fashion by Sandra Kaiser and Phyllis Turtura that has a ton of other types of information besides just words. And also a Dictionary of Costume and Fashion Historic and Modern by Mary Brooks Picken, which was originally in the 1950s, but has now been republished several, several times. And Brooks Picken is a fascinating character in terms of, like, the profession of being a fashion historian. She was a leading authority on fashion and the domestic arts during the 20th century. I think she wrote something like 97 publications. And we might just have to do an episode on her one day. Cass. She was one of those kind of seminal early fashion historians that set up our field. I think she also taught fashion courses at.

[April Callahan]

At Columbia.

[Cassie Zachary]

She might or may not have been somebody who helped found the museum that ultimately ended up becoming the Costume Institute. So there's a lot of threads to pull there. We'll do that one day.

[April Callahan]

Well, that does it for us today, dressed listeners, may you consider the A to Z residing in your closet next time you get dressed?

Please head over to restpodcast on Instagram Ordcast without the underscore on Facebook to check out the visual content associated with each week's episodes.

[Cassie Zachary]

Remember, we love hearing from you dressed listeners, so if you'd like to write to us, you can do [e-mail] Dresshistory.com is also our website where you can sign up for our monthly newsletter, our in person tours and online fashion history courses. And there you can also check out whatever else we have up our finely tailored sleeves.

[April Callahan]

We get so many questions from you all about our recommendations for fashion history books, so if you're interested you can always find a link in our show notes to our bookshop.org bookshelf so that address is bookshop.org shop dressed and there you will find over 150 of our favorite fashion history titles.

[Cassie Zachary]

Do you love Dressed but want to skip the ads? We are so excited to now be a part of the Airwave Network and their premium ad ad free History subscription Airwave History plus and this is available on Apple Podcasts and the subscription brings you our podcast as well as 27 other popular history podcasts ad free for 5.99 per month. More information is available at the link in our bio.

[April Callahan]

Thank you as always for tuning in and more dressed coming your way soon. The History of Fashion is a production of Dressed not Media.