fashion

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

Prevailing mode

Nouns

1. fashion, style, [bon] ton, society; good society, polite society; drawing room, civilized life, civilization; town; haut or beau monde, high life, court; world; haute couture, high fashion or style; fashionable world; Vanity Fair; show, ostentation.

2. manners, breeding, politeness (see courtesy); air, demeanor, appearance; savoir faire; gentlemanliness, gentility, suavity; decorum, propriety, convention, conventionality, punctilio; form, formality; etiquette, social usage, custom, habit; mode, vogue, go, rage, furor, fad, craze, chic, taste, distinction, wave of the future; dress (see clothing). Slang, the last word, le dernier cri, flavor of the month, radical chic.

3. man or woman of fashion, man or woman of the world; height of fashion; fashion plate; leader of fashion, socialite; arbiter; upper ten thousand, beautiful people (see nobility); elite. Informal, upper crust, the four hundred; jet set, smart set, café society. Slang, studley, teenybopper.

Verbs — be fashionable, be the rage; follow the fashion, conform to the fashion, get on the bandwagon, go with the stream (see conformity); keep up appearances, behave oneself (see conduct); set the style or fashion; bring into style or fashion, come in. Informal, be in the swim.

Adjectives

1. fashionable, in fashion, modish, chic, dressy, formal, stylish, smart, chichi, all the rage, sharp [as a tack]; recherché; newfangled, à la mode, comme il faut; presentable; conventional, customary, genteel, continental; well-bred, well-mannered, well-behaved, well-spoken; gentle-manly, ladylike; civil, polite, courteous (see courtesy); polished, refined, thoroughbred, courtly; distingué; dégagé, suave, jaunty, switched-on; dashing, fast. Informal, in, natty, snappy, trendy, gussied up. Slang, piss-elegant.

2. out of fashion, démodé (see oldness).

Adverbs — fashionably, stylishly, smartly, nattily, à la mode.

Phrases — fingers were made before forks; better be out of the world than out of the fashion.

Quotations — It is not only fine feathers that make fine birds (Aesop), Men should not care too much for good looks; neglect is becoming (Ovid), It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible (Oscar Wilde), In matters of great importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing (Oscar Wilde), Fashion is something barbarous, for it produces innovation without reason and imitation without benefit (George Santayana).

Antonyms, see vulgarity, unconformity.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [Form]

Syn. make, shape, manner, mode; see form 1 , method 2 .

2. [Prevailing mode of dress, behavior, etc.]

Syn. style, vogue, mode, trend, look, taste, custom, way, convention, etiquette, tendency, trend, form, formality, formula, procedure, practice, precedent, prevalence, usage, observance, wont, order, usual run of things, prescription, guise, New look, modus operandi (Latin), mores, high fashion, haute couture (French), stylishness, smartness, chic, ton, bon ton (both French).

3. [Whatever is temporarily in vogue]

Syn. fad, craze, rage, cry; see fad .

• after or [m1]• in a fashion,

Syn. somewhat, to some extent, in a way; see moderately .

• in fashion,

Syn. stylish, modish, à la mode; see fashionable , popular 1 .

Syn.- fashion is the prevailing custom in dress, manners, speech, etc. of a particular place or time, esp. as established by the dominant section of society or the leaders in the fields of art, literature, design, advertising, etc.; style , often a close synonym for fashion [ the latest fashion or style] , may also suggest a distinctive fashion, esp. the way of dressing or living that distinguishes persons with money and taste [ eating in style] ; mode , the French word expressing this idea, suggests the height of fashion in dress, behavior, etc. at any particular time; vogue stresses the general acceptance or Great popularity of a certain fashion [ white gloves are back in vogue] ; fad stresses the impulsive enthusiasm with which a fashion is taken up for a short time; rage and craze both stress an intense, sometimes irrational enthusiasm for a passing fashion [ skiing was all the rage , the tulip craze of the 17th century ] v.

1. [To mold]

Syn. model, shape, form, construct; see create 2 , form 1 .

2. [To adapt]

Syn. adjust, accommodate, fit; see accommodate 2 .

See Synonym Study at make .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

style, mode, vogue, rage, dernier cri, trend, look, taste, fad, *latest thing, furor, way, craze, manner, design, cut. ''What one wears himself; what is unfashionable is what other people wear.''—Oscar Wilde. ''Something that goes out of style as soon as most people have one.''—Sylvia Bremer. ''Beautiful things which always become ugly with time.''—Jean Cocteau. ''A despot whom the wise ridicule and obey.''—Ambrose Bierce.

WORD FIND

• calico dresses with long sleeves: prairie look

• cowboy shirts, jeans, string ties, tooledleather belts, Stetson: cowboy look

• dashikis, selosos, bubas, Afros: AfricanAmerican

• 1890-1910: leg-o-mutton sleeves, choker

• collars, pompadour hair: Gibson Girl

• full skirts, hoop earrings, shawls: gypsy

• historical fashion brought back: retro, vintage

• Ivy League, upper-crust sweaters, chinos, cords, oxfords, loafers: preppy look

• long torso dresses, ropes of pearls, 1920s: flapper look

• male and female combined: androgynous

• mod 1960s, miniskirts, polka dot shirts with white collars, bell-bottoms: Carnaby

• mod 1960s, platform shoes, newsboy hats, faded dresses: funky

• mohawks, spiked hair, black leather jackets, slitted skirts, safety pins, torn clothes: punk

• nation, of a: ethnic ruffled necks, wrists for both sexes, 1960s and 1970s: dandy

• Scottish kilt like skirts, knee-socks, tam-o-shanter: kiltie look

• tailored business or professional’s clothes: Brooks Brothers

• uncoordinated 1970s look, baggy pants, challis skirts: Annie Hall look

• unkempt, long hair, tank tops, tie-dyed shirts, jeans, miniskirts, love beads: hippie, Grateful Dead look

II

v.

make, form, shape, create, devise, contrive, construct, forge, sculpt, *throw together, *slap together, fabricate, mold. see clothing, dress

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I noun 1. The current custom: craze, fad, furor, mode, rage, style, trend, vogue. Informal: thing. Idioms: the in thing, the last word, the latest thing. See STYLE, USUAL. 2. The approach used to do something: manner, method, mode, modus operandi, style, system, way, wise2. See MEANS. 3. A distinctive way of expressing oneself: manner, mode, style, tone, vein. See STYLE. II verb 1. To create by forming, combining, or altering materials: assemble, build, construct, fabricate, forge1, frame, make, manufacture, mold, produce, put together, shape. See MAKE. 2. To make or become suitable to a particular situation or use: acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, adapt, adjust, conform, fit1, reconcile, square, suit, tailor. See CHANGE.