Part 2
=Attar of roses=—the fragrant, volatil, essential oil extracted from the petals of roses; used pure and as a base for many other perfumes.
=Attleborough=—trade term meaning “cheap jewelry”, which is largely made in Attleborough, Mass. See Brummagem.
=Au rigueur=—full ceremonious dress.
=Auction sale=—a merchandising fake, generally; if peripatetic an invariable fraud.
=Aune=—the old French unit of cloth measure (1¼ yards), now superseded by the metric system.
=Australian wool=—a term used commonly in the sense of exceptional quality or excellence and to distinguish Australian w. from that produced elsewhere. See Wool.
=Automatics=—trade term for worsted fabrics woven on automatic looms, in contradistinction to those requiring much personal attendance.
=Automobile cap=—a rain, dust and windproof c. for motor wear, with and without goggles.
=Automobile cape=—a leather or cloth c. for wear in automobiling.
=Automobile coat=—any c., especially an overcoat, designed for automobile wear, of style varying according to taste or requirements, but usually notable for amplitude of skirt, roominess, and the manner in which it is made to protect against wind, rain, cold, dust, etc.
=Autumn weight=—see Fall w.
B
=Baboosh=—a sort of slipper made with sole and vamp only, worn chiefly in Oriental countries.
=Baby flannel=—a light-weight all-wool fabric, usually plain woven, carefully finisht and bleacht white.
=Baby lamb=—see Persian l. and Broadtail.
=Bachelor’s button=—(1) a trouser’s b. with a self-clamping or riveting shank; (2) a flower of the centaurea or ranunculus family, worn in lapels by some exquisites.
=Bachelor’s gown=—a loose, flowing g. of black stuff, with hood and long pointed sleeves, having facings of colored material indicativ of the branch of learning.
=Back=—(1) of a garment, the rear part; (2) of a fabric, the underside. See Back part.
=Back-and-fore stitch=—a combination of back s. and running s., made by making a regular back s., but before withdrawing needle, letting it go thru again and repeat; usually employed when speed is desired, but greater strength needed than is afforded by regular running s. (qv).
=Back fold=—the plaits in the back of a frock or skirted coat.
=Back order=—a memorandum of goods due purchaser on original order, which was shipt in an incomplete state, owing to shortage of some of the items, which are placed on “back order”, to go forward as soon as received.
=Back part=—broadly, the behind part or rear of any garment; in coat making that part which joins the sidebody, as in a frock coat, or the forepart, as in a sack coat.
=Back pockets=—hip p., which garrisoned, are infinit sources of shock and trouble.
=Back shop=—a tailor’s workshop, on the premises.
=Back stitch=—considered the most important s. a tailor employs, made by taking a long s. forward and another of half the length back; a very strong and flexible s., used for sewing waist seams, inseams, sleeves, etc.
=Back strap=—see Heel s.
=Backing=—(1) the under-web of double or faced cloth; (2) the refuse from wool or flax dressing.
=Backt cloth=—technically, a single fabric with a series of threads so woven on the under surface as to form almost a distinct layer of c., yet in close combination with the face fabric, the object being a gain in weight or bulk, or the appearance of it; one series of warp and weft only is employed. Usually worsteds and cheap overcoatings. Loosely called Double c., French back, etc. (qv). Compare Thru-and-thru. (=Backed c.=)
=Badge=—a mark, token or decoration.
=Badger=—an animal of the melinae sub-family, the hide of which is used for robes, etc., the hair for shaving brushes and other brushes.
=Badger whiskers=—a form of facial artistry, prescribed by Hon. Geo. E. Badger, Secretary of the Navy, in 1841, to the effect that no part of a sailor’s beard should be worn long except the whiskers, and that they should not descend more than an inch below the ears and then in a line with the mouth.
=Bag-and-baggage=—all one’s movable Lares and Penates.
=Bag breeches=—knickerbockers (qv) are sometimes so called—tho incorrectly.
=Bag gloves=—see Punching b. g.
=Bag tag=—a t. usually of leather and variously made, for attaching to hand luggage, and which contains the owner’s name, address, etc.
=Bag wig=—a w. with a bag to hold the back hair.
=Baggage=—trunks, valises, bundles, and the like, taken on a journey and containing one’s wardrobe, toilet conveniences, etc.; luggage.
=Baggage examiners’ uniform=—see Custom’s officers’ u.
=Bagged=—tailoring term indicating that the edges of a coat were sewed by machine all around from the wrong side and then turned; also that the lining of a coat was first fitted to the garment in its several parts, then sewed up, after which it and the coat were sewed together inside out, except at the neck, much like a turn-sole shoe, and turned and presst, the neck being finisht by hand.
=Bagged=—distended, bulged, misshapen, thru wear or neglect, as knees of trousers in need of pressing.
=Bags=—slang for trousers.
=Baize=—a plain-worn, plain colored, slightly napt woolen fabric, formerly used for clothing, but now more coarsely woven and used for draperies, etc.
=Balance=—the hang or drape of a coat. Compare Not balanced.
=Balance measure=—tailoring term for a m. taken from the collar seam at back center, running in front of arm to back center at natural waist point. Not much in use at present.
=Balbriggan=—trade term for unbleacht cotton underwear and hosiery; from Balbriggan, Ireland, where first made.
=Baldrick=—a sash or belt, often richly ornamented, usually worn over the shoulder and diagonally across the breast, to support sword, bugle, powder flasks, etc.
=Baldy=—a colloquial vulgarism for a baldheaded man.
=Bale=—a bundle or package.
=Baleine=—whalebone.
=Ball=—the widest part of the foot, or of a shoe, or of the sole thereof; the tread.
=Ballet shirt=—a plainly made, loose white cotton blouse, susceptible of being worn with almost any costume; often made with a wide, turned down collar; a distinctiv garment for members of the chorus, male and female; also called “chorus shirt”.
=Balling=—top making; one of the processes of manufacturing worsted yarn. See Tops.
=Balmoral=—(1) a striped woolen stuff, heavy and durable; (2) a kind of Scotch cap; (3) a shoe lacing in front. See =Laced shoe=.
=Bals=—trade diminutiv for balmoral, or laced shoe.
=Bamboo=—a kind of reed-wood, hollow, and very light, but elastic and tough; used for walking sticks, baskets, etc.
=Band=—a trimming or finishing part of a garment or other article of dress, usually a strip of material sewed into place.
=Band bow=—a readymade bow tie with a band passing around the collar and fastening at some point, usually at the back.
=Band box=—a light paper or wooden b., round, square or oval, used for carrying or storing hats, millinery, etc.; so called because used for bands and ruffs in 17th century.
=Band teck=—a readymade neck scarf for wear with lay-down collar. See Band bow and Teck.
=Band top=—the welted wrist finish of a glove.
=Band uniforms=—(=army=) the general uniforms of their regiments or corps, with allowable ornaments to the dress and full dress uniforms of officers; black lynx-skin shakos with plume and tassel of color of corps or arm of service, with leather chinstraps with brass scales and side-buttons, for drum-majors on full dress occasions; those for cavalry drum-majors being smaller than those for other arms; batons as per pattern, with silk cords and tassels of color of corps or arms of service for dismounted drum-majors only; those with mounted bands carrying sabers; belts, chevrons, stripes, etc., as per regulations.
=Bandage=—a temporary article of attire locally bestowed; a surgical dressing.
=Bandana=—a large, bright-colored handkerchief with spots or figures kept free from dye by local pressure in the dying process, or as in later use freed by chemical extraction or bleaching. Originally a Hindustani mode of dyeing in which hard knots were tied in the cloth before dipping. When opened the fabric has a speckled appearance, the dye having left the tied parts free from color. See Extracted and Batik.
=Bandboxy=—neat, smart, newish.
=Banded turban=—a plain-sided, plain-topt cap with a pull-down-and-roll-up band.
=Banding=—in shirt collar making the process of sewing the b., if there is one, to the collar proper; also applied to sewing of cuffs.
=Bandmaster’s uniform=—(=navy=) see Dress, Undress, Working dress, and variations.
=Bands=—(1) the collars or ruffs of 16th and 17th centuries; (2) the linen strips or tabs pendant from the front of a clerical or academical collar or neckdressing.
=Bandsmen’s full dress coat=—(=navy=) see Full dress c.
=Bandsmen’s helmet=—(=navy=) black, the same as for enlisted men of the marine corps, including spike, spike base and chin strap, with device of the service, etc.
=Bandsmen’s trousers=—(=navy=) for bandmaster, of sky-blue cloth, cut with medium spring, side pockets, with a welted edge stripe of scarlet cloth 1 in. wide down the outer seams; for musicians, the same except with a 3–16 in. welt of scarlet cloth.
=Bandsmen’s uniform=—(=navy=) see Dress, Undress, Working dress; (=marine corps=) Special full dress, Full dress, Undress; (=army=) Full dress, Dress u., White u., Service u., Fatigue u. Also variants.
=Bang up=—first-rate.
=Bangs=—a fringy feminin way of dressing the front hair; Ann Arbor boys once astonisht a respectable nation by their adoption. See also portraits of William Walter Phelps and Elihu Root.
=Banian=—a sailor’s colored frock. Probably a similar garment as described in banyan (qv).
=Bankrupt=—can’t pay.
=Bannockburn=—a sort of tweed (qv) from a town of that name near Glasgow, Scotland; also variously applied to fancy suitings made elsewhere in England and America.
=Banyan=—an oriental style of neglige gown, not unlike a kimono, much affected in colonial days, often very elaborate in material, color and trimmings; a dressing gown.
=Baptismal gown=—a plain g. without collar and with wideopen flowing sleeves, of black serge or cord or waterproof stuff.
=Baptismal pants=—(ought to be called b. trousers) a variety of rubber wading p., (ought to be called w. trousers) with attacht boots, worn just once by those whose faith is in baptism by immersion—but of course oftener by the officiating clerygyman.
=Baptismal sleeves=—of gossamer rubber, for covering and protecting the coat sleeves under the gown.
=Bar end=—trade term for buttonholes finished with a straight tack or bar at right angles to the opening; most used in the collar trade. See below.
=Bar tack=—an ornamental strengthening finish at the ends of pockets, vents, etc. See B. t. stitch and Crowsfoot.
=Bar tack stitch=—in staying the ends of pockets, several long perpendicular stitches are first taken at the ends to be protected; then these are tackt down to the cloth at intervals by crosswise stitches and finally smoothly covered on themselves, by closely laid over-and-under stitches of the thread.
=Barathea=—general name for armure weave silk.
=Barber=—a human talking machine.
=Barber’s coat=—a short jacket worn by barbers while at work; usually of white duck (tho sometimes black venetian or alpaca), commonly single-breasted with gilt buttons.
=Bareface finish=—weaving term indicating that the nap is sheared off completely. Compare dress faced, Scotch f., Velvet f.
=Barefoot sandals=—a name sometimes given to sole leather s. worn by small children, sometimes with stockings, but more properly with barefeet, heelless, fastened with straps and usually having cut-out designs in front. Also called scrappers.
=Bargain=—“at a good bargain pause awhile”, especially in these latter days.
=Bark=—see Tanbark.
=Barker=—a gent who stands outside of cheap clothing shops of the Baxter street type to “persuade” (any way) passers-by to enter and purchase; a type of worker higher toned merchants are endeavoring to suppress.
=Barlow=—the single-bladed jacknife we thought the world of when we were kids.
=Barndoor trousers=—vernacular for front falls (qv).
=Baroque pearl=—an irregular shaped fresh water p.
=Barrackan=—in Mediterranean countries a camels-hair cloth for men’s wear; in England a sort of moleskin; same as barragon (qv).
=Barracks shoes=—(=army=) for enlisted men; of brown cotton duck; worn in barracks only.
=Barragon=—a light-weight corded woolen stuff (of about 1750) originally of camels-hair. Probably same as barrackan (qv).
=Barrel=—the knot of a folded four-in-hand, teck or similar scarf.
=Barrel top=—trade term for trunks made with a convext top.
=Barring=—a method of re-enforcing or strengthening certain points in the upper of a shoe by peculiar stitches inserted where desired by a b. or stitching machine, the b. or re-enforcing stitches being located mostly at the point in the upper where the vamp and top and tongue come together at the so-called throat point of the shoe. The corners of a blucher shoe where they lap onto the vamp are re-enforced by extra stitching called b.; also Oxford shoes at the top of the heel seam are usually re-enforced either by this method or an extra piece of leather.
=Barrow coat=—a garment made for us before we are born—a good example of readymade guess-fits; specifically a square or oblong piece of flannel, gathered at one end into a band, wrapped around an infant’s body below the arms, the loose hanging part being turned up around the feet; also called Pinning blanket.
=B’ar’s grease=—once a popular hair slickener.
=Barvell=—a coarse leather apron used by workmen and fishermen; name practically obsolete.
=Baseball=—a periodical deterrent of attention to business; a summer complaint afflicting the boss quite as seriously as the office boy, who is especially subject to all influences of this sort.
=Baseball gloves=—stout g. of various shapes worn by baseball players.
=Baseball mask=—a sort of birdcage worn by catchers and umpires as a protector of pulchritude.
=Baseball shoes=—soft leather or canvas s., three-quarters high, laced well down to the toes, with low heels and with metal plates, spikes or cleats on soles and heels for safety and surety in running.
=Baseman’s mitt=—a sort of cushioned leather mitten used in playing baseball—of course!
=Basillard=—an old term for a poniard.
=Basket cloth=—c. woven in imitation of interlaced or plaited basket or straw work; an effect produced solely by disposition of warp and weft threads and not by colors of the yarn. See B. weave.
=Basket hilt=—a wide guard or cover continued up the hilt of a cutlas, protecting nearly the whole hand from injury.
=Basket weave=—a plain w. in which two or more threads in both the direction of warp and of filling are found together, giving a coarser appearance of weave as if squared or plaited.
=Bastard=—any fabric woven in imitation of better and more expensiv goods.
=Baste=—to sew loosely together or fasten temporarily in place with long irregular stitches.
=Basting puller=—in clothing manufacture a workman (either gender) who does nothing but draw out threads.
=Basting stitches=—temporary s. holding two or more pieces of material together until the work is done. Usually a long running stitch or a slight side stitch.
=Bastings=—left in a garment are said by the drivelly facetious to mean that you have not paid the maker’s bill.
=Bat (to)=—a process of cleansing soiled linen by beating, and not by rubbing as is usual with most laundresses.
=Bat bag=—a b. of canvas, leather or both, for carrying baseball bats.
=Batavia=—see Armure.
=Bath coating=—“like Mr. Brummel wears”; term not now in use and the particular goods not identified.
=Bath mat=—a rug of heavy cotton terry or rag carpeting for the bather to stand on after emerging from tub.
=Bath mitten=—a m. of knitted wool, terry toweling, etc., for bathing purposes.
=Bath robe=—a long gown for wear between bath-room and dressing room, also for bed-room lounging.
=Bath sheet=—an extra large bath towel used as a towel or as a substitute for the bath robe.
=Bath slipper=—a s. with sole and vamp, but no counter or heel, the vamp usually of material used for bath robes; a mule.
=Bath strap=—see Rubbing s.
=Bath towel=—a large t. of cotton or linen terry.
=Bathing belt=—a b. of canvas or other suitable material with which modestly to sustain one’s bathing trunks.
=Bathing suit=—knee tights and a long sleeveless shirt; also a similar one-piece garment; usually made of knitted cotton or worsted.
=Bathing trunks=—a tight-fitting knitted garment covering the person from the waist to the upper part of the thighs.
=Batik=—name given to results in dyeing by which the pattern or design is in black or of different color or colors than the ground color, achieved in many ways, as (1) mordanting, (2) bleaching, (3) acid treatment, (4) tying and drying, (5) wax overlays, etc. Name properly designates only the primitiv East Indian processes. See Bandana, Crossdye, Extracted, Resist dye, etc.
=Bating=—a process in the preparation of leather following upon that of liming, for the purposes of reducing swellings or thickenings and for cleansing of grease or other impurities, dog’s dung and warm water being the agents mostly employed.
=Batiste=—a fine linen or cotton cloth similar to lawn or cambric.
=Batten=—in weaving the motion of pushing one weft thread up close to that one previously thrown in.
=Batting=—cotton or wool prepared in sheets for quilting or interlining. See Padding.
=Batts=—laced low shoes; term obsolete.
=Batwing=—a shaped tie for wear with high-banded folded collars.
=Baudekin=—a silk and gold fabric of the middle ages.
=Baum wolle=—German for “vegetable wool” or, in plain English, cotton. Fonetically used by irreverent salesmen in cheap clothing establishments and by knowing customers in the sense of “bum wool”.
=Baxter street=—a street in New York city once famous for its small Hebrew clothing shops and their rather peremptory ways of inducing customers to step inside and purchase; a synonym for cheap clothing and disreputable methods.
=Bay rum=—an aromatic toilet water on which the barber makes a corking profit.
=Bayadere=—weaving term for stripes running across the fabric from side to side.
=Beach robe=—a sort of dressing gown for wear over bathing clothes, constructed of light material, usually like an ulster overcoat in style.
=Beachman=—a person on the coast of Africa who acts as interpreter to shipmasters and assists them in conducting trade.
=Beading=—see Heel seat wheeling; also Wheeling.
=Beam=—a horizontal cylindrical bar, in a loom, upon which warp or woven goods are wound.
=Bear=—a large plantigrade ursoid carnivore, especially of the genus Ursus, the pelts of which are used for driving coats, coat linings, gloves, carriage robes, etc.
=Beard=—stubble, toughest in illness.
=Beards=—envied by men who can’t grow them; variously known as Vandyke b., English b., hammer b., cathedral b., mouse eaten b., pique-divant b., Methodist b., spike b., parted b.—but you’d better read Planche, Earle, et al., or see a barber.
=Bearing cloth=—a christening robe, usually richly embroidered.
=Bear’s grease=—hair-slobber stuff.
=Bearskin=—(1) the fur headdress of the footguards of the British army; (2) vernacular for the tall fur cap or shako worn by drum-majors for feminin envy and conquest; (3) a shaggy woolen stuff for outer wear; (4) a coat or robe made of the skin of a bear.
=Beating the booby=—(nautical) swinging the arms from side to side to create a warmth by accelerating the circulation of the blood.
=Beatty cape=—a measuring and drafting device for tailors (from name of inventor). See Measuring c.
=Beau=—a man devoted to the care and adornment of his person and to matters of social etiquet; a dandy, a fop, a lady’s man.
=Beau monde=—the fashionable world.
=Beau peruke=—see Wig.
=Beauty sleep=—such sleep as one can get before midnight.
=Beaver=—a heavy, double-woven, smooth-faced woolen overcoating, woven with two sets of wefts, face and back, the former of the finer wool, fulled, napt and sheared to a high degree, producing a smooth, close, dense surface; the back usually finisht with a loose, soft nap. The range of quality from finest to coarsest is very great. In general, resembling Kersey, tho less firm.
=Beaver=—a sort of flat-lying heavy silk plush used for a chapeaux and formerly for those famous plug hats of “the good old days”.
=Beaver=—nowadays slang for any tall hat of silk or felt; less than 100 years ago a tall hat of heavy napt plush; originally any hat made of beaver fur.
=Beaver=—a movable piece of armor, attacht to the helmet, covering the lower part of the face.
=Beaver=—a casteroid rodent whose pelt is largely used in the manufacture of fur garments, hats, etc.
=Beaverteen=—a heavy twilled solid color cotton fabric, a sort of fustian, napt on the back, shorn after being dyed; used for hunting garments.
=Bed canopy=—a drapery of mosquito netting.
=Bed pocket=—an ornamental bag or pouch for watch, handkerchief, dope, etc., hung at the head of the bed; not in widespread use.
=Bed slippers=—ungainly things of very warm material worn by persons of poor circulation.
=Bed socks=—for cold feet.
=Bedeck=—to cover with ornaments or adorn—oh, vanity!
=Bedford cord=—a worsted fabric with heavy rounded ribs or cords running in the direction of the warp; a favorit cloth for riding trousers, livery wear, etc.
=Beetling=—a mechanical process for soft-finishing certain kinds of cotton and linen goods.
=Beige=—(1) the color of undyed, unbleacht wool; (2) a light-weight, plain fabric of such wool; also called debeige.
=Bell=—see Flare, also Spring.
=Bell=—the side of a cap, especially of uniform style.
=Bell bottoms=—vernacular for sailor’s wide-mouthed trousers.
=Bell-mouth=—flared at the opening, as sailor’s trousers, bell-sleeves, etc.
=Belled=—flared.
=Belled-skirt=—a flaring s.
=Bellows pocket=—an outside or patch p. made with an extension strip or bellows-fold around sides and bottom, making such p. larger and more capacious than the flat patch p., and especially adapted to shooting or hunting jackets. A variety of bellows p. is made by means of an open box plait in the center thereof, permitting stuffing.
=Bellows suit case=—a s. c. (qv) having one or both sides bellowed by means of extendible folds for extra capacity.
=Bellows tongue=—a t. fastened to both sides of the opening in a laced shoe and not left free as ordinary tongues.
=Belly button=—not an article of apparel.
=Belly doublet=—a d. covering the belly.
=Bellyband=—a band of woolen or silk material worn by babies.
=Belongings=—synonym for “property”, in which sense it is a survival of old English usage; often employed as euphemism for “trousers” by the prudishly inclined.
=Belt=—(1) a band or girdle of leather or other material, worn to sustain trousers in place without the aid of suspenders; (2) a b. worn with uniforms in army, navy, police and fire departments, and by various societies, for dress, for carrying sword, club, etc.; (3) a sash or band, more or less ornate, worn by pugilists to awe each other and mark the line between fair and unfair punches. See Championship b.
=Belt loops=—l. or straps sewn at intervals around the waist band of trousers, for the insertion and holding in place of a belt, the object being to sustain the trousers without the use of suspenders.
=Bench=—(=1=) a table that journeymen tailors squat upon while working; (=2=) a small table or stand holding a shoemaker’s tools.
=Bench-made=—a term used to describe “bespoken”, as the English call it, or custom handmade shoes. Before the advent of machinery, when shoes were all made by hand, the workmen sat along on benches and each workman made a complete shoe, performing all the operations. They were, therefore, called b-m. and the term today is used to designate handmade or custom-made shoes as compared with factory or all-machine-made shoes.
=Bend=—leather trade term for the hinder-part of the hide, used especially in connection with sole leather, this particular portion being the firmest, toughest, closest-fibered part.
=Bengaline=—general term for silk and woolen fabrics with a repp or corded effect produced by using a heavy, soft-spun woolen (or cotton) weft closely covered in the weaving with the silk (or wool) warp threads so as not to be exposed when finisht; also woven with wide, irregular or knobby ribs (especially in silk).
=Benjamin=—an overcoat once fashionable in England, invented by a tailor of that name.
=Benny=—slang for overcoat.
=Benzine=—good to eradicate grease spots. See Slob.
=Berretta=—see Biretta.
=Berlin=—trade term for fabric gloves of cotton in contradistinction to gloves of silk, lisle or wool.
=Berlin toe=—in shoemaking one of the many names for a narrow toe.
=Bespoke=—“English” for clothes tailored to order.
=Best seller=—that which makes the most profit for the dealer and, usually, shows the poor taste of his customers.
=Betrothal ring=—a r. that sometimes comes back.
=Betweens=—see Needle.
=Bezel=—a facet of a gem; a seal, as of a ring, fob, etc.; a flat engraved gold seal.
=Bias=—diagonally.
=Bib=—a drizzle shield.
=Bib top=—trade term applied to overalls made with a sort of apron partially covering the breast.