France is well-known for its excellent clothes. Go into any French city and you’ll see a lot of beautiful, stylish people. And while they are not all fashionistas, French women do love fashion a lot. Basic French clothing vocabulary can be very useful to everyone who loves fashion and plans to visit France.
Similar to learning to count, learning the alphabet, and mastering the current tense, you can improve your basic French fashion vocabulary with regular practice and lots of memorization! Here are some important French fashion words to know.
French Clothing Vocabulary
Here are the most common pieces of clothing you should know how to say in French!
- A top – un haut
- A bottom – un bas
- Shirt – un chemisier
- Jacket – une veste
- Coat – un manteau
- Pants – les pantalons
- Shorts – un short
- Skirt – une jupe
- Straight-leg jeans – un jean droit
- Cocktail dress – une robe de cocktail
- Little black dress – une petite robe noire
French Accessories Vocabulary
These are the common French accessories vocabulary you should memorize!
Handbags
- Handbag – un sac à main
- Tote bag – un cabas
Leather Goods
- A belt – une ceinture
- A wallet – une portefeuille
Shoes
- Flats – les ballerines
- Sneakers – les baskets
- Ankle Boots – les bottines
- Knee Boots – les bottes
- Sandals – les sandales
- High Heels – les escarpins
Scarves
- Silk scarf – une écarphe en soie
- Winter Scarf – une écharpe d’hiver
Jewelry
- Jewelry – les bijoux
- Necklace – un collier
- Bracelet – une bracelet
- Earrings – les boucles d’oreille
- Ring – une bague
- Gold – l’or
- Silver – l’argent
- Diamonds – les diamants
French Fashion Words
Here are some important French fashion words to know about clothing and fashion design.
Materials
These are the most common clothing materials you’ll find in France and how to say them.
- Cotton – le coton
- Linen – le lin
- Silk – la soie
- Velvet – le velours
- Cashmere – le cachemire
Patterns
Here is how to say the different patterns you may find on clothing.
- Floral – fleuri
- Gingham – vichy
- Striped – rayé
Shopping in France
Here are some useful phrases to know while shopping in France.
- How much is this? – C’est combien?
- My size is – Je fais la taille
- The brand – la marque
- I would like to buy this – Je voudrais l’acheter
- I don’t wish to buy this – Je ne souhaite pas celle-ci
- VAT tax refund forms – les documents de détaxe