a
  • AFTER DINNER SPLIT -

    the after dinner split designates the V-shaped notch located at the back of the waistband of the pants in order to give ease - in particular during the passage from standing to sitting position

  • ALPAGA -

    domestic variety of the guanaco (ancestor of the llama), bred in the alpine pastures of the Andes (South America) for its long and woolly fleece

  • ANGORA -

    (from Angora, city in Turkey, today Ankara) - rabbit whose hair allows the manufacture of a glossy, very soft and warm yarn - not to be confused with the wool of the angora goat which, after spinning, is called mohair

b
  • BLAKE STITCH CONSTRUCTION -

    the Blake assembly is a single shuttle stitch seam made with a waxed thread to join the upper, the insole and the outsole - "undercut" means that the groove in which the seam is made is then closed to protect the thread of the seam, so it is invisible from the sole

  • BOX PLEAT -

    fold formed by two flat folds facing each other

  • BOX-CALF (BOX) -

    full grain calf leather - chrome tanning - noble, smooth, soft and delicate

c
  • CADY -

    crệpe fabric made with silk or wool yarn - light and fluid

  • CAMEL HAIR -

    undercoat of the "bactrian" camel coming from the deserts of Mongolia, taken by combing during the moult in spring

  • CANVAS -

    the tailor's cloth, placed between the lining and the outer fabric, is a cloth made of vegetable and/or animal materials used as a foundation for the construction of a jacket

  • CARDING -

    preparatory operation for spinning wool to untangle the fibers, clean them and align them before spinning them

  • CASHGORA -

    wool from the cashgora goat, born from the crossing between the cashmere goat and the Angora goat - combines the delicacy of cashmere with the brightness of Angora - also known for its resistance, its whiteness, its elasticity and its insulating power

  • CAVALRY TWILL -

    wool or cotton fabric, tightly woven with fine parallel oblique ribs - relatively elastic and very resistant, from military uniforms - rope texture - used for winter clothing

  • CAVIAR -

    discreet pattern created by the weaving that melts away as soon as you move away from it to form a shaded color also called birdseye

  • CHALKSTRIPE -

    white stripe with blurred contours, as if drawn with chalk

  • CHEST POCKET -

    small front left pocket located at armpit level - on a jacket, often made in the form of a rectangle of fabric on the bias (upper left side) that hides an opening - on husbands jackets, a travetto is present on the upper left corner - the chest pocket can be plated on shirts and some jackets

  • CLAN -

    (English clan, from Gaelic clann) - the clan is the grouping of members of a large family, all descended from a common ancestor, and recognizing the patriarchal authority of the clan leader

  • CLUB TIE -

    striped tie that used to show membership in a group

  • COTTON -

    natural cellulosic textile fiber constituting the seminal hairs that grow on the surface of the seeds of the cotton plant - used according to weight for summer suits or for all-season pants - use a very heavy cotton to reduce wrinkling

  • CUFFED HEM -

    the bottom of a pair of pants arrives unfinished in order to leave the choice of the length of the leg and the hem type - for a cuffed bottom the fabric is folded towards the outside, the wearer can thus choose the height and the width of his cuff - a kick tape (a fairly rigid cotton twill ribbon about 1cm wide, with a border on one side that forms a bead) is sewn flush with the bottom in order to reduce wear

d
  • DENIM -

    (fabric from Nîmes) - very strong cotton fabric, in twill weave with indigo blue warp and ecru weft

  • DOGTOOTH -

    the dogtooth is a dyed woven pattern with geometric shapes reminiscent of hen's foot prints

  • DONEGAL (TWEED) -

    tweed from the county of the same name in the Republic of Ireland - sometimes speckled or multicolored

  • DOUBLE STRIPE -

    variant of the pinstripe with 2 parallel lines very close together

  • DOUBLE-BREASTED JACKET -

    jacket whose two sides overlap when closed - the right side of the jacket goes under the left side and is buttoned on the inside with a button on the left; the left side is buttoned on the right with the upper button (the lower button is not buttoned)

  • DOUBLE-FACE -

    fabric with three elements (two warps and one weft, or two wefts and one warp), showing two different weaves on each side

  • DRAP -

    carded wool fabric in plain weave or twill - resistant fabric, in pure or mixed wool, having undergone the operation of fulling, often followed by a scraping making the surface fluffy and conferring to the fabric great qualities of thermal protection

  • DRILL -

    cotton fabric similar to denim, except that it is plain because it is piece dyed

  • DUFFEL or DUFFLE -

    thick fabric of carded wool whose name comes from a city of Flanders

e
  • ECRU -

    textile materials, yarns or fabrics that have not been washed, bleached or dyed

  • ENGLISH SHOULDER -

    type of sleeve head on a jacket - important padding - the most structured shoulder, from the military uniform

f
  • FELTING -

    fabric obtained by felting hair or wool

  • FLANNEL -

    (English flannel, from Welsh gwlanen, wool) - fabric whipped and scraped to a thick, matte finish with a fluffy appearance - soft to the touch, very comfortable to wear, perfect for fall and winter

  • FLAP POCKET -

    pocket closed by a flap sewn above the opening - sometimes embellished with a button - used for external and internal pockets of coats and jackets, can also be used on some pants - flap shapes can vary: straight, triangular or rounded

  • FRESCO -

    the merino wool yarn is twisted multiple times on itself and twisted with several threads at the same time before being woven - this process gives the fabric the property of not wrinkling - clean fall, dry touch, airy and fresh - ideal for summer suits

  • FULLY FASHIONED -

    knitting process allowing to knit each part of the garment in its final shape

g
  • GABARDINE -

    wool or cotton fabric with a very slanted diagonal rib on the right side - the very tight weave makes it relatively air and waterproof

  • GAUGE -

    unit of measurement qualifying the thickness of a knit, the smallest being the thickest

  • GOODYEAR CONSTRUCTION -

    Blake stitching is a double seam - a first shuttle stitch joins the upper, insole and welt (a strip of thin leather sandwiched between two thicker leathers to form a stronger seam) - a second vertical seam (called Goodyear) joins the welt to the outsole - easier to resole

  • GRAIN -

    said of a fabric whose surface is not smooth

  • GRAIN DE POUDRE -

    wool or wool and mohair fabric used for tuxedos or tails - the fabric has a subtle diagonal structure, produced from a finely combed yarn, woven in several weaves - very fine grain

  • GRÈGE -

    color of a silk thread as it comes out of the cocoon

  • GUNCLUB -

    small check pattern formed by a succession of colored stripes in one direction, while in the other direction there is either a similar pattern or a pattern of a single color stripe - another, different and larger tangle of checks is often superimposed on the main pattern - this pattern was adopted by an American shooting club in 1874, hence its name

  • GUSSETED POCKET -

    (patch pocket) derived from the patch pocket with folding sides (the gusset) in the center or on the sides of the pocket - also called cargo pocket - found on boyscout shirts

h
  • HEM GUSSET -

    strip of fabric linking the front and back sides at the bottom of a shirt to improve its strength by preventing the fabric from tearing at the seams

  • HERRINGBONE -

    V-shaped decorative pattern obtained by reproducing, after inversion, weaves of twill or derivatives of twill weave - this zigzag effect recalls the backbone of a herring - hence its name herringbone in English

  • HOPSACK -

    plain weave variation - light and airy fabric ideal for summer jackets

  • HOUNDSTOOTH -

    large dogtooth pattern

i
  • INCLINED POCKET -

    derived from the flap pocket, slanted instead of horizontal - historically reserved for riding jackets

j
  • JACQUARD -

    loom invented by Joseph-Marie Jacquard at the beginning of the 19th century which allows the individual control of the warp threads - by an individual selection of the needles, it is possible to obtain Jacquard designs of several colors per weaving

  • JEAN TICKET POCKET -

    small patch pocket sewn inside the right pocket of a pair of jeans which was used at the time to store a pocket watch

  • JERSEY -

    knitted fabric made up of fine stitches conferring an elasticity to the garment

k
  • KASHMERE (or CASHMERE) -

    fabric made with the very fine hair collected on the back of Kashmir goats, used either pure or mixed with wool

  • KNIT TIE -

    tie made of wool, cashmere or silk threads which are twisted before being knitted, giving it its solidity and thickness - a slight ribbed edge finishes the knitted tie - if it ends in a point, it means that the material has been woven (and not knitted): it is then called grenadine - if the grenadine (silk) is very fine, it is called silk cheesecloth

l
  • LAIZE -

    width of a fabric roll

  • LAMB'S WOOL -

    soft and elastic wool obtained from the first shearing of 7 to 8 months old lambs

  • LINEN -

    natural vegetable fiber of great solidity resulting from the stem of an annual plant - very light material, very flexible but very crumpled - the Irish linen is on the other hand heavier and its fibers are longer: it crumples less and its touch is less rough - the mixtures with silk and wool can also give more behaviour to the clothing

  • LINING -

    fabric that is used inside a garment

  • LODEN -

    woolen fabric on which the uniformly laid pile provides a natural waterproofing

  • LUSTERED -

    shiny aspect of wool obtained by brushing the fibers

m
  • MARTINGALE -

    strip of fabric or leather positioned horizontally, at the level of the waist in the back, in order to thin the waist of the garment

  • MERINO (WOOL) -

    fine white wool from the merino sheep - light, wrinkle-free, soft, good insulator, with natural antimicrobial properties, moisture wicking, antistatic

  • MILANAISE -

    buttonhole on the lapel of a handmade jacket

  • MOCK LENO -

    plain weave fabric that takes on the appearance of gauze - light and airy fabric ideal for summer jackets

  • MOHAIR -

    fine and silky textile material from the hair of the angora goat

  • MOLESKINE -

    from the English "mole skin", heavy and resistant shaved cotton fabric

n
  • NAPA (LEATHER) -

    generic term for particularly fine smooth leathers - full grain leather (densest part of the hide) pigmented - absence of grain, soft and delicate touch

  • NEAPOLITAN SHOULDER -

    type of sleeve head on a jacket - absence of padding - the jacket follows the shape of the wearer's shoulder

  • NERVOSITY -

    said of a material that returns to its original shape after deformation

  • NOTCH LAPEL -

    V-shaped notch in the lapel

o
  • OVERDYE -

    application of a dye on the finished product, the fabric itself having already been dyed before assembly - this is the case of the straight black jeans: by patinating, the black over-dye of the jeans offers more depth to the denim and reveals nuances of bluish

  • OXFORD -

    grained fabric with colored warp and white weft - durable, breathable and soft

p
  • PAGODA SHOULDER -

    type of sleeve head on a jacket - structured padding - the shoulder takes a concave line similar to the roof of a pagoda - also called shoulder con rollino

  • PAISLEY (PATTERN) -

    oriental pattern in the shape of a water drop or leaf, usually still decorated with abstract shapes - traditionally, paisley was embroidered in red tones

  • PARISIAN LAPEL -

    variation of the notch lapel which looks like the mouth of a fish, hence its name: fish-mouth lapel

  • PEACH SKIN -

    said of a fabric with a fluffy appearance and a soft touch

  • PEAK LAPEL -

    the backhand forms a point upwards

  • PIECE DYEING -

    said of a fabric dyed after weaving

  • PINSTRIPES -

    stripe made of a single thread, which, intersected by horizontal threads, forms an effect of dots that follow one another

  • PIPED POCKET -

    (inlaid pocket) pocket sewn through a slit in the fabric, and bordered with a double piping (narrow strip of fabric or leather that borders certain parts of a garment) - used for external and internal pockets of coats and jackets, can also be used on some pants - complex realization

  • PLAIN WEAVE -

    simple and solid weave on which a weft thread passes alternately above and below the warp threads - the front and back are identical

  • POPELINE -

    poplin is a fabric that has a fine, tight ribbing; it is absorbent, soft and slightly silky - the term is a distortion of papeline, as the fabric was created in the papal city of Avignon, France

  • PRESSING CLOTH -

    wet cloth placed between the iron and the fabric to be ironed for steam ironing - used to mark the crease of a pair of tailor pants

  • PRINCE OF WALES -

    Glen Urquhart tile pattern overlaid with a window tile pattern that can be blue, green, red or black - it also includes houndstooth armor tiles formed at each corner - these tiles are connected by vertical and horizontal stripes representing dummy armor

r
  • RAGLAN (SLEEVE) -

    armhole wider than the classic armhole - instead of being attached to the shoulder, it goes up to the neckline

  • RAGLAN POCKET -

    (inlaid pocket) a more functional derivative of welt pockets - usually cut on the bias, with simple welt - used on coats

  • ROMAN SHOULDER -

    type of sleeve head on a jacket - light padding - the jacket does not follow the line of the shoulder but creates a new, straighter one - halfway between the Neapolitan shoulder and the English shoulder

s
  • SATIN (WEAVING) -

    (Arabic zaytūni, from Zaytūn, the Arabic name for a Chinese city) - a weave where one weft thread covers at least 4 warp threads then creating a smooth, shiny appearance on one side of the fabric - can be silk, cotton or wool

  • SEA ISLAND COTTON -

    a cotton variety with a particularly long and fine fiber, grown on the island of Barbados in the West Indies - limited production and certified by the West Indian Sea Island Cotton Association

  • SEERSUCKER -

    (from Indian Shirushaker, wrinkled) cotton fabric with alternating smooth blue and embossed white lines, obtained by exerting different tensions on the loom, formerly imported from India

  • SELVEDGE (DENIM) -

    (contraction of self edge, shortened from self-finished edge) tighter, denser and stronger weave than conventional denim thanks to the use of a single weft thread - longer and more expensive manufacturing process than conventional denim

  • SHANTUNG -

    wild silk fabric with an irregular weave, whose name comes from the Chinese province of Chan Tung - simple weave, irregular appearance, grainy texture, containing thick and tight knotted threads

  • SHAVED -

    effect of sharpness of a fabric of which one shaved the protruding fibres

  • SIDE ADJUSTERS -

    located on the sides of the waistband, they allow to adapt the size of the pants to the evolution of its morphology

  • SIDE SLANT POCKET -

    (inlaid pocket) side pocket sewn at an angle from the waistband to the seam on the side of the pants

  • SILK -

    flexible and resistant thread produced by the larva of various butterflies, in particular the mulberry bombyx, and which is used to weave its cocoon

  • SIMPLE HEM -

    the bottom of a pair of pants arrives unfinished in order to leave the choice of the length of the leg and the hem type - for a simple hem the fabric is folded inwards and then sewn with an invisible stitch - a kick tape (a fairly rigid cotton twill ribbon about 1cm wide, with a border on one side that forms a bead) is sewn flush with the bottom in order to reduce wear

  • SINGLE-BREASTED JACKET -

    jacket whose two sides button in the middle - the lowest button is never buttoned

  • SOLARO -

    woolen fabric formed by the weaving of red warp threads and olive weft threads - this contrast gives the material an iridescent appearance, oscillating between green, beige and red depending on the light, particularly enhanced when woven in a wide herringbone pattern

  • SPLIT YOKE -

    two-piece yoke on the back of a shirt at the shoulders, just below the collar - it allows the shirtmaker to cut the front of the shirt and the shoulders at a different angle in the weave - the front of a shirt will always be cut on the bias, to give it more flexibility and fit - but if the shoulder is also cut on the bias, the two will be aligned and the shoulder seam, connecting the two, will be weaker, causing the material to stretch and eventually break - when the yoke is split, it can be cut at a different angle, reinforcing that seam

  • STONEWASHED -

    in the 70's, the first stone washing technique appeared: the company Marithé + François Girbaud wanted to make the raw denim fabric, then very rigid, more supple - it is by washing the jeans with pumice stones (very porous and light volcanic stones) that the fabric took on a faded, worn and aged appearance

  • STRIPES -

    line or band more or less wide that marks a fabric

  • SUPER 'S -

    classification system of pure wools according to their thickness - Super 100's; Super 130's; Super 200's; etc. qualify the fineness of the wool fiber where each value corresponds to a fiber diameter expressed in micrometers (µm) - the higher the number of Super's, the finer the wool fiber (however, do not confuse fineness with wool quality)

t
  • TARTAN -

    a colored plaid of varying sizes typical of the Celtic peoples - in Scotland, it has become one of the symbols with which clans identify and distinguish themselves

  • TICKET POCKET -

    small piped pocket with flap above the right pocket of a jacket, about half the length of the normal size - also called English pocket by tailors because it was invented in England

  • TRAVETTO -

    handmade stitch, to reinforce junctions

  • TRIPLURE -

    fabric in plain weave used as reinforcement for certain parts of the garment

  • TUBULAR -

    woven or knitted fabric in the shape of a tube

  • TWEED -

    woolen fabric, more or less rustic, woven with multicolored threads composed of strands of different colors twisted together - matte appearance and rough touch - the name comes from the river separating England and Scotland

  • TWILL -

    fabric with diagonal ribs and grooves of varying widths - one of the most important weaves of the classic wardrobe giving their structure to many fabrics: gabardine, tweed, cavalry twill or denim

  • TWILL -

    twill weave fabric with lines or edges on both sides

  • TWILL (WEAVING) -

    weave forming a diagonal visible only on the right side of the fabric, generally inclined at 45°.

v
  • VELVET -

    cotton fabric with a complex weave, it is composed of a simple weave (its basic structure), on which is fixed an additional thread, called pile thread - this pile thread is cut to give its velvety aspect to the fabric - when it presents ribs (woven in serge weave), we speak about corduroy - when these ribs are very fine, we speak about milleraie velvet

  • VISCOSE -

    artificial textile material invented in Great Britain by Cross and Bevan, and the same year in the United States by Arthur Little

w
  • WAFFLE -

    fabric whose surface is regularly deformed by a technique which consists in gathering a fabric at the same time in the direction of the width and the height

  • WARP -

    all the parallel threads, regularly spaced, arranged in the direction of the length of a piece of fabric (parallel to the edges of a fabric), as opposed to the weft which is perpendicular - the number of threads forming the warp is very variable

  • WASHED -

    aspect of a fabric having undergone one or more washes to give it an aged appearance

  • WATER REPELLENT -

    treatment of a fabric so that water slides off without entering

  • WATERPROOF -

    which by nature or by treatment is not permeable, cannot be penetrated, impregnated by water or by a fluid

  • WEAVING -

    the way in which the warp and weft threads of a fabric are interwoven to form a visible pattern on its surface - in knitting, this is called binding

  • WEFT -

    all the threads stretched on the loom and passing transversally between the warp threads, to constitute a fabric

  • WHIPCORD -

    tightly woven woolen fabric with fine vertical parallel ribs, family of gabardines - made with very strong twisted yarns - rope texture - used for winter clothing

  • WOOL -

    continuous growth fiber of animal origin (alpaca, camel, Kashmir goat, guanaco, llama, angora rabbit, mohair goat, sheep, vicuña, yak) and used as textile material

  • WORSTED WOOL -

    wool passed through increasingly fine combs in order to eliminate the shortest fibers and the last impurities left by carding

y
  • YARN DYE or WEAVING DYE -

    is said of a fabric whose threads have been dyed before weaving

  • YARN TO YARNA -

    wool or cotton fabric in which the " false solid " effect is obtained by successively warping and wefting a light thread, a dark thread, etc.

0
    Your Cart close
    Your cart is emptyReturn to Shop