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Lace
A delicate hand- or machine-made decorative fabric created by looping, interlacing or knitting thread in an open weblike pattern. Dating back to the fifteenth century, lace-making developed out of embroidery, becoming an art on its own, out of which many distinctive techniques and patterns evolved. Today, lace is most often mass-produced, but fine handmade lace can fetch hundreds of dollars per yard. Used in everything from tablecloths to couture wedding gowns, it reflects the utmost in dainty embellishment.
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Lamé
A brocade fabric woven with metallic threads, often of gold or silver, to form either the background or the pattern. Developed in the 1930s, lamé yarns used to tarnish and become black. Today, a polyester film ensures that the lustrous evening fabric continues to glitter.
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Lambskin
A leather made from the skin of a young sheep. This soft leather is used for a wide variety of men’s and women’s clothing and accessories.
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Lambswool
A soft, resilient wool yarn. Gathered from the first shearing of a sheep, which occurs before it is eight months old, it is the best-quality sheep yarn. It offers cozy warmth for luxurious wintertime sweaters, knit accessories and clothing.
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Lapels
The turned-back front section of a jacket or coat that connects to the collar and forms a V where the jacket or coat closes. See also notched collar and peaked lapel.
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Lawn
A sheer, lightweight, high-count, calendered cotton fabric. Originally a fine linen fabric made in Laon, France, lawn is most often used for handkerchiefs and girls’ and women’s blouses and dresses.
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Layette
Clothing and bedding for a newborn child.
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Leather
The skin or hide of an animal with the hair removed. It is often dyed and finished by glazing, buffing, embossing or sueding. Leather has found a permanent place in today’s fashion, working its way into everything from shoes and handbags to outerwear and skirts and pants.
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Leggings
Pants, usually in a knit fabric, that adhere closely to the leg. Leggings were originally a men’s woven garment that covered the calf and ankle, buttoning up the side and slipping over a shoe with a stirrup strap. The modern style developed for use in childrenswear and, with the invention of stretch, for women’s sport clothes.
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Length
The measurement of a garment, based on where its hem falls.
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Linen
The strong, coarse, absorbent, cool fibers gathered from the flax plant, or the cloth made from these fibers. Worn by Egyptian, Greek and Jewish priests as a symbol of purity, linen has prestigious, ancient roots. Today, its breathable qualities make it the ideal easy summertime look.
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Lingerie
A collective term for women’s underwear. From the French word linge, meaning “linen,” lingerie originally referred to the linen undergarments worn by women as early as the fifteenth century. Today, lingerie includes bras, panties, slips and nightgowns and is made in everything from silk to cotton to innovative stretch blends.
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Lining
A layer of fabric on the inside of a garment. This extra layer can help to retain the shape of the garment, give it a neat, finished appearance, prevent it from clinging or add extra warmth.
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Lisle
A hard-spun, two-ply cotton yarn made from long-staple fibers and treated to remove all short fuzzy ends for a smooth finish. Originally made in Lisle, France, lisle is now a popular choice for fine men’s knitwear, including tops and hosiery.
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Lizard
A leather from a reptile that has a distinct, granular texture. Often used for accessories and trimmings, lizard is an expensive, elegant skin.
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Loden
A heavy wool fabric woven in the Tyrolean Alps between Austria and Germany that has a deep, forest green color and a natural water repellency due to the greasy wool used in its weaving. Originally used for clothes worn to explore the surrounding region, this fabric is now used for coats and suits and continues to evoke an alpine sensibility.
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Loft
A term used to describe the thickness of a yarn or fabric and its ability to bounce back to that thickness after being compressed.
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Long johns
A one-piece knitted, thermal undergarment that covers the legs and buttons up the front. Introduced in the 1880s, the long john was once called the union suit as it was worn by Civil War soldiers. In the 1940s, the term long johns was adapted from a similarly styled swimming trunk named after the garment that heavyweight boxing champion John L. Sullivan wore. Today the long john is still used for layering and is also a popular style for sleepwear.
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Loom
An apparatus for making thread or yarn into cloth by weaving strands together at right angles.
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Loungewear
Clothing designed to be worn for relaxing, primarily at home.
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Low-slung
A term used to describe pants that sit below the natural waistline and rest on the hip bones.
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Lurex®
A trademark Dow Company metallic fiber or yarn. Invented in the 1940s, Lurex® was coated in aluminum, an invention that prevented the tarnishing that made earlier metallic fibers and yarns difficult to maintain.
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Lycra®
A trademark DuPont fiber that has incredible stretch and recovery. Introduced in 1958, Lycra® is a brand-name spandex that is usually woven with other fibers to provide ease in fabrics. It has a strong presence in contemporary clothing, showing up in everything from underwear and swimwear to sportswear and evening wear.
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