RL Style Guide - Glossary - Style.RalphLauren.com

		Cable knit A knitting pattern in which cables appear to twist around one another.

		Calendered A fabric, such as cotton, that has undergone a special finishing process to appear more lustrous. Because the luster is produced through a finishing process, it may eventually lessen after repeated washings.

		Calfskin Leather made from the skin of the calf.

		Camel hair The hair sheared from the underside of the Bactrian camel. It produces a soft, luxurious fabric, typically used for suits and jackets and often tan in color. Because pure camel-hair fabrics are so expensive, camel hair is often blended with wool.

		Camisole A women’s undergarment consisting of a bodice with thin straps. Dating back to the 1800s, this garment was originally worn under corsets, but now often substitutes for the bra for easy and relaxed foundational dressing.

		Camp shirt A button-down shirt with a notched collar, boxy cut, straight hem and short sleeves that is often made in cotton for casual effect.

		Canvas A heavy, durable plain-weave cotton fabric. Once used in tents, boat sails and other utilitarian products, this fabric became popular for sportswear, sneakers and bags after WWII and now reflects the ultimate in weekend style.

		Cap sleeve A short sleeve popular on women’s blouses and dresses that extends over only the edge of the shoulder to reflect the ultimate in feminine style.

		Capri pant A slim-fitting women’s pant that stops just above the ankle. Named after the Italian vacation island of Capri where the cut became popular in the 1950s, capris continue to offer resort style and relaxed elegance.

		Car coat A three-quarter-length sport coat that was popularized by the suburban stationwagon owner in the 1950s and has been a comfortable dressing option for driving ever since.

		Cardigan A long-sleeved, collarless sweater that buttons down the front. Originally designed by the seventh earl of Cardigan as an extra layer of warmth for his 1854 Crimean War military uniform, the cardigan is now a classic cover-up for both men and women.

		Carding A yarn finishing process in which extraneous fibers are removed, resulting in a smoother yarn.

		Cashmere An extremely soft and lightweight fiber combed from the undercoat of the long-haired Kashmir goat. Because only a few ounces are obtained from each goat, this luxurious fiber is scarce and very costly. It is woven or knit to produce top-quality suits, coats, sweaters, winter accessories and throws.

		Cavalry twill A sturdy wool fabric with a steep, pronounced double twill effect. Originally a staple army fabric, with a clear, hard finish, it is now used in jackets, suits, coats and riding pants.

		Chalk stripe Soft, thin, white or gray, evenly spaced lines woven into woolen fabrics that give garments a classic office elegance. See also pinstripe.

		Chambray A lightweight cotton fabric with a denim look, which combines a colored yarn with an undyed yarn in a plain weave. Chambray was originally the fabric choice for the workingman’s blue shirt, hence the term blue-collar worker. Now chambray shirts are a staple in both men’s and women’s sportswear.

		Chamois A cotton fabric with a soft nap that is meant to imitate a type of sueded leather coming from the chamois goat. This warm, cozy fabric has become a favorite for the men’s winter button-down, the chamois shirt.

		Charmeuse After the French word for “charmer,” charmeuse is a lightweight, lustrous satin fabric with a dull crepe backing that is most often made in silk. Charmeuse is typically used for women’s dresses, skirts, blouses and lingerie for feminine appeal.

		Chesterfield A men’s wool single- or double-breasted dress coat with a straight cut and a velvet collar. The chesterfield was named after the sixth earl of Chesterfield, a trendsetter who made the style popular in the mid-1800s.

		Cheviot A very rough, textured tweed made out of the wool from the Cheviot sheep, native to the hilly border country between England and Scotland. Cheviot tends to resist keeping its shape, giving a cheviot garment a worn-in Highlands outdoorsy appeal. Cheviot can also refer to a shirting fabric, typically cotton, with a twill weave and striped pattern.

		Chevron A pattern characterized by inverted Vs, sometimes forming a zigzag. Chevron came to typify 1820s Art Nouveau design and adorned women’s dresses and men’s ties.

		Chiffon Chiffon is an extremely lightweight, transparent, gauzy fabric with a diaphanous, breezy drape that is most often made in silk, but can also be made in synthetic fibers. Chiffon is typically used for women’s dresses, skirts, blouses, scarves, evening wear and lingerie, providing a distinctly feminine charm, quite contrary to the word’s derivation, the French chiffe or “rag.”

		Chino A durable cotton twill that is woven in several weights and can be finished with a smooth, mercerized or soft, brushed surface. Originally used for summer uniforms by the US Army during their defense of the Chinese in the 1900 Boxer Rebellion, chino gained popularity after WWII, especially for the trouser referred to as chinos, which college men who returned from the war wore to class. Interestingly, the term chino is actually a misnomer. When the twill was shipped to the army, it arrived in freight boxes stamped with the country of origin; however, the imprint read “Chino” rather than “China,” and the name stuck.

		Collar bar A pin or a clip that secures the collar tips beneath the tie knot. Originating in the early 1900s, collar bars now reflect the ultimate in sophisticated men’s dressing.

		Colorfastness A fabric property referring to its ability to maintain its color and not fade, run or crock.

		Combing A yarn finishing process that follows carding, removing additional extraneous fibers and making them more parallel for a stronger, smoother yarn. High-quality cottons and worsted wools are typically combed.

		Convertible collar A type of collar with small lapels. Convertible collars are usually worn open, but can be closed at the neck to resemble a regular shirt collar.

		Cording A soft cord folded into a narrow bias-cut piece of fabric that is stitched into a seam to provide decorative embellishment. See also piping.

		Corduroy A fabric, typically cotton, with distinctive vertical rows of soft pile. These rows, referred to as cords or wales, can vary in width; pinwale is the thinnest and wide wale is the thickest. From the French corde du roi, or “king’s cord,” corduroy once uniformed Louis XIV’s outdoor servants. Today, it is a popular sportswear fabric ideal for pants, shirts and sport coats.

		Corset A women’s bodice reinforced by bone, wood, metal or plastic stays that is worn as a foundation to shape the figure. From the French word corps, or “body,” this garment dates back to the eleventh century. It underwent drastic design modifications for hundreds of years, reaching its most exaggerated manifestation in the Victorian era when women’s waistlines were laced into tiny 20- to 22-inch-diameter corsets, so tight the wearer often fainted; girls were donning corsets as early as four years old, permanently altering their body’s shape. Suffragettes used the corset as a symbol, railing against its use and arguing for dress reform, but it wasn’t until the 1920s that the corset’s popularity for everyday wear began to wane. Some credit the US War Industries Board for the change; in 1917, they called on women to stop buying corsets, freeing up some 28,000 tons of metal, which was enough to build two battleships. Today, corsetry is more of a novelty, but stays are still widely used to provide foundational structure to better evening wear.

		Cotton The soft, fluffy fibers gathered from the seed pods of the cotton plant, or the cloth made from these fibers. First used by the people of India and Egypt 3,000 years ago, cotton is considered to be one of the world’s oldest fabrics. There are several grades of cotton; pima and Sea Island cotton are the best quality.

		Covert A rugged twill fabric, usually wool, that is woven from a twisted yarn, blending two colors—usually black or brown—for a subtly flecked look. From the French word for “to hide,” covert was originally used for hunting jackets, but is now most often used in long-wearing suits and topcoats.

		Cowboy shirt A shirt style, usually with a V-shaped upper yoke in the front and back, snap closures, one or two breastpockets and contrast trimming or fabric accents. Originally worn by cowboys, the cowboy shirt is now a popular sportswear choice reflecting rugged style.

		Cowl neck Typically in women’s sweaters, a neckline in which fabric is attached and drapes in soft folds.

		Cravat Nowadays, cravat loosely describes any style of neckwear. The term used to describe the forerunner of the modern-day necktie, introduced to the French regency in the 1800s by visiting Croatian cavalrymen who tied decorative fabrics about their necks.

		Crepe de chine A tissue-weight, fine fabric, most often silk, that has a pebbly surface. Crepe de chine is primarily used for women’s blouses, dresses and skirts.

		Crepe Said to derive from the French word crispus, or “curled,” crepe is a twisty yarn (or a fabric made from the twisty yarn), which has a dull, pebbly and sometimes dry surface.

		Crewneck A high, round collarless neckline with a rib finishing. Popularized by crew racers, this neckline is now popular in T-shirts and sweaters.

		Crocking An undesirable fabric property in which the dye rubs off due to improper dyeing or finishing.

		Cross-dyeing A dyeing process in which a fabric woven from two or more fibers is immersed in one coloring solution. Because the fibers are different from one another, they react differently to the solution. Cross-dyeing is often relied upon to produce fabrics with an iridescent, striped or checkered effect.

		Cuff link Two linked buttons worn to close a shirt cuff. Coming in all shapes and sizes, from simple to extremely ornate, from knot-shaped to jewel-encrusted, cuff links have come to define sophisticated men’s dressing.

		Cuff Typically refers to the turned-up hem of a trouser or the separate sewn-on extension of a shirt sleeve. Although pant cuffs in some form have likely existed throughout history, their fashionable origins are said to date to the 1860s when members of the Windsor cricket club began rolling up their trousers by hand to protect them from the mud. Tennis players began following suit, rolling up their flannel trousers before hitting the courts. When fashion tastemaker the Prince of Wales showed up to the Ascot races sporting the look, British gentlemen began imitating the style, initially causing quite a controversy. Etiquette mavens disapproved of "roll-ups" or "turn-ups," as they were called, claiming that they collected dirt that would be brought indoors and that men had to take care to turn them down before entering a respectable indoor location. It wasn't until several years later that the roll at the trouser hem began to take on the shape it has today, and it wasn't until the look hit America that it began to be referred to as the cuff.

		Cummerbund A tall waistband often in black or red that a man wears with a tuxedo. This very formal accessory, surprisingly, had its beginnings in the Persian kamarband or loincloth, which the British adapted for use during colonial times. The pleats developed out of practicality. Always facing up, they were used to hold theater tickets.