You may also notice that la mode pudique (modest fashion) is becoming more recognized and catered to by clothing brands. Trust me on this. 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! This doesn’t mean you won’t see some people wearing them, but one thing you will for sure never see is a person walking around with messy hair, in pajamas, sloppy sweats, or gym clothes. You’ll often see one of these phrases on reviews or descriptions of clothes you can buy online. Outdoor clothing. There are different types of clothes, like tops, which include blouses and shirts. There are a number of French idioms, proverbs, and phrases related to clothes. Tops are used for the upper part of the body and bottoms, like jeans and skirts, are used on the lower part. In more formal contexts, or when speaking to an older person, as well as on websites that specialize in various different kinds of shoes adapted to different sports, chaussures de sport is used. ), La vendeuse: Pas de problème. ), Michel: Pourquoi est-ce que c’est ton favori? For example: -Tu vas porter quelle tenue ce soir ? There are lots of vintage (sometimes overpriced) and secondhand shops, in France, too. un tailleur – a women’s suit. It’s time to get abuzz with excitement over these spring fashion words! Keep the French fashion beat with this song from Roland and Etienne Bibeau, “En vogue et à la mode” (“In fashion and in style”). Michel: Où vas-tu, Sylvie? les fringues (f)– clothes (slang) Être fringué – to be dressed (slang). Tank tops are commonly called le marcel after Marcel Eisenberg, who ran a hosiery shop. ), Geneviève: Eh, non, je ne peux pas supporter les lainages qui gratte! You might also hear this garment referred to as des thermolactyls, which is a brand name for thermal clothing made by the French company Damart. In addition to geeking out over slender vowels, interrogative particles and phonemes, Michelle is a freelance content writer and education blogger. ), Marie-Claire: Donc, peut-être, tu porterais une écharpe tricotée—et des thermolactyls sous un pull épais en coton. Le grand homme qui porte un costume gris en laine avec un gilet rouge? une fashion victim – someone who loves and follows fashion. “Yellow Vests” in French is “Les Gilets Jaunes”. For example, une robe de soirée is a more precise way to say “evening gown”. FluentU is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 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 … Or you’ll stay on the cutting edge of fashion news and keep up with designs from les marques émergentes (the up-and-coming brands). Alone, this word is used for glasses you use to see. KS3 French learning resources for adults, children, parents and teachers organised by topic. In French, a fashion victim is someone who’s a slave to fashion, in a good way – they’re always wearing the latest trends and wearing them well. Now, let’s celebrate French clothes with one of my favorite traditional French children’s songs – Promenons-nous dans les bois. FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons. But even then, they probably won’t pull out a winter sweater. (Because they have the best maxi-dresses, the prettiest capri pants and also the softest light sweaters. Check the next word for how to say “vest” in French. (Throw on your damn pants and let’s go – we’re going to be late!). ), être bien habillé(e) – to be well-dressed. – My cowboy outfit! (Market studies show that plus size clothing sells very well.). (I have nothing to wear.). If you want to say something is custom-made without using this phrase as an adjective, you can put du in front of it. As you study, FluentU tracks the vocabulary that you’re learning and uses this information to give you a 100% personalized experience. Listen closely to the pronunciation and practice saying these items of clothing in French. Each time, the wolf answers that he’s putting on a different item of clothing. faire du shopping – to go shopping. That’s why it’s so important to learn how to talk about clothes in French. un hoodie/un sweat à capuche – a hoodie (hooded sweatshirt). But the average French person doesn’t always se mettre sur son 31 or wear perfectly tailored clothes. Practice your French clothing words with these exercises and games. Although they’re becoming more popular, shoes like flip-flops and UGGs are generally frowned upon by the mainstream French population, as well. Alain LeLait’s mellow melody, “Les vêtements” (“Clothing”), contains lots of useful clothing vocabulary. Whether we like it or not, our clothing is one of our most defining features. I think it’s because, in the past, stockings were often put on separately. Clothes are an aspect of everyday life, and with that comes a lot of flexibility and function. Develop a French shopping vocabulary to gain a new cultural experience when traveling. (It seems to me that they don’t have any outfits for me there. How To: Talk about "les couleurs" in French How To: Talk about "les animaux" or animals in French How To: Talk about "les animaux" in French How To: Talk about "la nourriture" in French How To: Talk about "la brocante" in French How To: Say the names of sports in French How To: Tell the story of "Emperor's New Clothes" in French J’y vais chaque avril. You may see some other terms for this in French-English dictionary, but currently in France, as well as on French websites, the most common term for women’s flats is this one. Dapper gentlemen, look no further than the fashion reporting in GQ. une culotte – women’s underwear (panties/knickers).Historically, culottes were short pants. If you’re an English speaker, it might seem familiar to you. Learn some cool french vocabulary about clothes and footwear. Les mitaines aren’t to be confused with “mittens” in English… except in Québec, where they do mean the same as “mittens” in English. If you REALLY want to look like a Frenchman, if the weather is drafty, you can add a scarf (you can find tutorials for how to tie them online, as well as under the definition for foulard in the vocabulary section of this article). We also talk extensively about how to live in France and about French culture. This is used specifically for clothes shopping. To make things easy for you, we’ve collected a whole wardrobe of words for talking about clothes in French, and sorted them by season. ), {Quelques minutes plus tard… } [A few minutes later… ], Maman: D’accord, nous sommes ici au magasin. la robe – a dress or gown. This word is plural in English, but—like le short—is singular in French. le pyjama – pajamas/pyjamas. Here’s another word that’s plural in English and singular in French. New world meets old in the name for this garment. Find out more at stellawriting.com. ), Maman: Quand même, il faut que tu portes l’uniforme. A maillot une-pièce is a one-piece swimsuit, while a maillot deux-pièces is a two-piece swimsuit or bikini. When it comes to putting on clothes, you’ll most often hear this in the imperative – for example, Fous ton pantalon et on y va – on va être en retard! une veste – a jacket. ). la cagoule – a balaclava (knit head and neck covering that leaves the eyes and mouth exposed). ), check out this interesting article. That’s all fine and good, you might be thinking, but what if you’re on a budget? (What outfit are you going to wear tonight? Whether you wear boots or sneakers, make sure your shoes are impeccably clean. Vois-tu ce type là-bas? It’s 20 degrees outside (about 70 degrees Fahrenheit), but French people will still wear heavy coats, sweaters, and general winterwear. Selon des études de marché, les vêtements grande taille se vendent très bien. Interestingly – and frustratingly – les tennis can apparently be either masculine or feminine. Le collant d’homme are leggings, as in Shakespearian hose or tights for men. Clothes or Garments. (Do you like my suit? The song is about little people (in this version, animals), who are happy to be in the forest since the wolf isn’t there and won’t eat them. Remember chemise en lin from earlier? This ladies’ shopping guide from Marie Claire will outfit you with classics and novelties of fashion. Our friends in Québec use espadrilles to mean running shoes. (Download). In that case, you can say un sweat à capuche (a hooded sweatshirt). Be sure to pronounce the gilet with a soft “g.”. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe, Sign up for our weekly blog newsletter for a chance to win a free FluentU Plus subscription (value $240), Get regular language learning tips, resources and updates, starting with the "Complete Guide to Foreign Language Immersion" e-book. 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