How the French Describe Clothing Shape and Texture

How the French Describe Clothing Shape and Texture The French are specialists in great clothing  and  shoes. They differentiate them endlessly according to shape, texture and more. As a result, there are plenty of adjectives and expressions that are used every day to describe the attributes of clothing. Before using all these adjectives, it is an opportune moment  to review the basic rules of adjectives, what an adjective is and its grammatical behavior in French. Basic Rules for French Adjectives These terms  must follow the  basic rules of agreement for French adjectives. For example, if an adjective ends in a consonant, add an  e  to make it feminine, a silent  s  to make it plural. Adjectives are usually placed after the noun in French. Plus, the final consonant of adjectives is silent. It is pronounced only in the feminine when followed by a silent e. To modify fashion adjectives, the French commonly use the adverbs trop (too), pas assez (not enough) and vraiment (truly). The adjectives and expressions here are worth knowing, chiefly because theyll be incredibly useful in everyday life. Ironically, fashion is  the field where students lack vocabulary the most, even though it is a major theme in French conversations.   To remedy this lack, here are French adjectives and expressions commonly used to describe clothes. In every case, the masculine form is listed; the feminine form follows in parentheses only if the adjective  is irregular. La forme (the shape) Droit straightPlissà © pleatedFendu with a splitSerrà © tightMoulant clingyAmple largeÉvasà © flareDà ©colletà ©   low cutCache-coeur crossed/wrapped over the chest Laspect et la texture (the appearance  and the texture) Doux (douce) softRugueux (rugueuse) roughÉpais (à ©paisse) thickFluide fluidFin thinChaud warmun pull qui gratte   a sweater that itches (there is no French term for itchy)Confortable  Ã‚  comfortable (note the  n in French)Transparent   see-through Le look (the look) Chic  (the same in feminine) stylishÉlà ©gant   elegant la mode   fashionable  Dà ©modà ©Ã‚   old-fashionedBranchà ©Ã‚   trendyCool   hip, coolSympa   niceJoli   prettyBeau  (belle) beautifulMagnifique   gorgeousPas mal   not badLaid   uglyMoche   ugly (slang)Uni   plainChargà ©Ã‚   busySobre   understatedVoyant   gaudyVulgaire   vulgarSexy   sexyUni  Ã‚  plain  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Imprimà ©Ã‚  Ã‚  printed  Ã‚  Rayà ©Ã‚  Ã‚  striped La taille (the size) Grand  Ã‚  big  Large  Ã‚  broad, wide, largeLong  (longue)   longCourt  Ã‚  shortÉtroit  Ã‚  tight Le Prix  (the price) Cher  (chà ¨re)   expensiveHors de  prix  Ã‚  super expensivePas  cher  Ã‚  inexpensive, cheap  (inexpensive is  literally  bon  marchà ©,  but thats never used)Soldà ©Ã‚  Ã‚  marked down Expressions Cette robe... this dress... ...tombe  bien  sur  toi  Ã‚  falls nicely on you...te  va  bien  Ã‚  fits you nicely (we use an indirect object pronoun and the verb  aller)...tamincit  Ã‚  makes you look thinner Ce  pantalon... this pair of pants... ...ne  te  va  pas du tout  Ã‚  doesnt fit you at all...te  grossis  Ã‚  makes you look fat...me  gratte  Ã‚  is itchy / itches   Now that you know how to describe many kinds of clothing, you may want to know how to say their colors, too.  Study how to say  various colors in French  and the very strict rules you must follow when using them.