Lesson 2 Passion for Fashion
How Fashion Items Got Their Names
Do you know what a jumpsuit is?
It is usually a single item that covers your whole body, even your arms and legs.
It is easy and quick to put on and to take off.
As the name indicates, the jumpsuit began as clothing for jumping from planes.
Later, designers transformed this functional design into luxurious women’s fashion items seen in fashion shows around the world.
Like the jumpsuit, there are other fashion items with interesting stories about how they got their names.
Sneak Up in Sneakers
You have probably owned a pair of sneakers for everyday activities or sports.
They are a type of athletic shoe designed specifically to be worn for physical activities and sports.
So, why are they called sneakers?
The name “sneakers” is derived from the term “to sneak up.”
Due to the fact that sneakers’ soles are mostly made of rubber, they make little noise when people walk.
This allows people who are wearing them to sneak up on others.
Before rubber, leather was used for the sole of shoes.
Traditional leather shoes make a lot of noise, and it is easier to hear the person wearing them.
However, with sneakers, you can quietly sneak up on your friends and surprise them.
Blue Jeans from Genoa
Whether they are loose fit or slim fit, most of you have at least one pair of blue jeans.
They were named “jeans” because they were made of jean, a sort of tough cotton cloth.
The word jean is a modification of Gênes, the French name of the Italian city of Genoa.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Genoa was a major center for trade.
Sailing merchants from Genoa traded their goods throughout Europe, particularly in England and France.
One of the items that made Genoa famous was a strong cotton cloth, ideally suited to making tough work clothes.
The cloth was most likely colored blue.
French was widely spoken in Europe at that time, so the cloth was called “bleu de Gênes” (the blue of Genoa).
This is how the pants made with “bleu de Gênes” became known as blue jeans in English.
A Man in a Tuxedo in Tuxedo Park
People wear tuxedos when a formal dress code is required, like for the opera, dinner parties, or awards shows.
The tuxedo likely got its name from Tuxedo Park, one of the first gated communities in New York.
In the late 19th century, men usually wore jackets with long tails that reached their knees on formal occasions.
One evening, a man showed up with a short black jacket without tails in Tuxedo Park.
The male guests who stayed there were fascinated by the new jacket and started to wear the same style.
Later, more people asked their tailors to make them a jacket “like the one worn in Tuxedo Park.”
At first, this style of jacket was considered less formal than one with long tails.
As more and more men wore the shorter style, it eventually replaced the longer version.
Now men’s formal wear is the tuxedo.
Isn’t it ironic that the tuxedo was not originally considered very formal, but now it is the most formal clothing men wear?
Flip-flops, Flip-flop
On beaches and at pools, everyone seems to wear simple shoes with a band across the top of the foot and between the big toe and second toe.
Amazingly, they are one of the oldest shoes in history.
Ancient Egyptian paintings show they were worn around 4,000 B.C.
Due to the fact that they have such a long history, they have different names all around the world.
The Japanese call them zories.
New Zealanders call them jandals, which is a shortened form of “Japanese sandals.”
However, in the USA, these shoes are called “flip-flops.”
Just walk around in a pair of them, and you can easily guess why they got this name.
The rubber soles hit the bottom of your feet as you walk, making a flip-flop, flip-flop sound.
The sound became the name of the shoes, flip-flops.
Whatever origins these fashion items have, they are being worn by more and more people in various places around the world.
Why don’t you look for other fashion items that have as interesting name origins as those introduced here?
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