Here Are 3 Commonly Misused Fashion Words – Smocking, Embellishments, Ombré

Do you want to stay on top of fashion words such that clients or other designers don’t catch you unaware? Would you also like to infuse new and relevant words into your fashion business as an entrepreneur, instead of using the same words repeatedly? Then, welcome to this column in Mauvelli where we churn out a glossary of fashion words to keep you updated!

Previously, we have looked at terms like napping, ensemble, avant-garde, and many more, and how these words can be used and infused seamlessly into an entrepreneur’s fashion business.

So, what does it mean to have a smocked outfit or an ombré one? What do embellishments mean in fashion designing? Let’s get down to it!

Smocking 

Smocking, wrongly pronounced as ‘smoking’ by numerous fashion designers, is a fabric manipulation and embroidery technique that is used to gather fabric so that it can stretch. 

Smocked outfits, like tops and dresses, are becoming quite popular in the fashion scene, therefore designers need to know the right way to use this term.

This technique has been in existence since the 15th century and has been utilized by various designers all around the world. 

Embellishments 

In fashion, embellishments consist of every single thing that enhances the appearance of a piece of fabric such that it adds design interest to the outfit being designed. Embellishments are an important aspect of fashion that every designer needs to be aware of.

Embellishments such as embroidery, bows, beads, appliques, sequins, and zippers have been used to add visual appeal to an outfit for a long time. And depending on the design of the outfit, various embellishments can be used.

Ombré 

Ombré is the blending of one colour shade with another such that it goes from a lighter shade to a darker one. This fashion trend, also utilized in makeup, interior decoration, and hair colouring, has a way of creating tasteful and stylish pieces.

The ombré effect in fashion, therefore, is a textile treatment that is used to produce textiles with graduated colour designs. 

How These Words Should Be Used 

Smocking, not smoking, should only be used when the relevant materials are used to achieve a smocked effect, that is, a gathered stretchy one on an outfit.

If a button is used for an outfit, it is regarded as an embellishment. In tight-lacing also where strings or ribbons are used, such as in a corset, it is also referred to as an embellishment. So any extra piece of material added to the fabric during the design process is known as an embellishment.

Unlike gradient, in fashion, which refers to different colours that blend into each other, either by getting lighter or darker on an outfit, an ombré outfit consists of one colour with different shades that get lighter or darker across different angles.

Those are some of the words that you can utilize in this brand new week to make you look like a pro. Many more are still to come! For other commonly misused fashion words, check here.