Fashionable as a French: French Clothing Vocabulary with Audio

How do you describe clothing in French? You’ll need a vocabulary that sounds as chic and stylish as the nation is itself! After all, learning French includes learning a lot about French culture – and what will tell you more about it than French fashion?

Whether you're shopping for new clothes or just trying to describe what you're wearing, the words and phrases we present today will come in handy. So pull out your beret, practice your best Gallic shrug, and read on for a crash course in French fashion terminology.

The Basics

Before you can start learning about specific pieces of clothing, you need to know the basics. Here are some essential French words and phrases for talking about clothes and fashion.

Once you have these down, you'll be ready to dive deeper and move on to more detailed vocabulary.

Les vêtements - Clothing

French Clothing Vocabulary in Detail

Now that you’re familiar with the basics, let’s go deeper and learn some other French fashion words. To make your life easier, we’ve divided them into groups. Learn them one section at a time and remember to practice regularly – and you’ll learn this vocabulary in no time.

Ready? Here they are:

Les hauts – Tops

Les bas – Bottoms

Please note that while in English, the boots are mostly used in plural: “pants,” “shorts,” “leggins,” in French, they are all singular. You can use the French word “des pantalons” to talk about one pair of pants, but it is pretty old-fashioned.

Les vêtements d’extérieur – Outerwear

K-way is a brand that became so popular in French, that it’s now used to describe a very thin plastic jacket that you can fold into a small bag tied around the waist.

If you don’t want to learn all the above words or forget any of them, don’t worry. You can always say “un manteau” – it’s the generic word to describe something warm to wear outside. “Une veste” is also generic for outerwear.

Vêtements de nuit – Nightwear

Vêtements pour femmes – Women's clothing

And women’s underwear:

Vêtements pour hommes – Men's clothing

And men’s underwear:

Vêtements spéciaux – Special clothing

Les chaussures – Shoes

Les accessoires – Accessories

Other Important French Clothing Vocabulary

Now you are familiar with some important French vocabulary related to clothing. However, if you want to go shopping for clothing or talk about high fashion with your friends, you might need to know some additional vocabulary. Here are the other three categories you will find helpful in daily French life: clothing verbs, clothing materials, and clothing idioms.

Let’s check them out:

French Clothing Verbs

French Clothing Materials

To talk about materials or to say that something is made out of a certain material, use the preposition “en” – for example, “un pull en cachemire” (a cashmere sweater).

French Idioms Related to Clothing

Final Thoughts on French Clothing Vocabulary

France is well-known for its fashion designers, from Coco Chanel to Jean Paul Gaultier, who often serve as global trend-setters. All French learners, whether interested or not in haute couture and famous French designers with their latest fashion ideas, need to be aware of the key French clothing vocabulary.

This is not an issue of fashion of wearing clothes à la mode (in style) – it’s the issue of being aware of this huge part of the French culture that clothing and fashion are.

With these phrases at your disposal, you won’t only be able to describe what you're wearing and ask about clothes sizes, but you also get an opportunity to engage in exciting French discussions with native speakers and boost your understanding of both the French language and French society. We hope this vocabulary helps you stay a la mode!