fashion

—fashionless, adj.

/fash"euhn/, n.

1. a prevailing custom or style of dress, etiquette, socializing, etc.: the latest fashion in dresses.

2. conventional usage in dress, manners, etc., esp. of polite society, or conformity to it: the dictates of fashion; to be out of fashion.

3. manner; way; mode: in a warlike fashion.

4. the make or form of anything: He liked the fashion of the simple, sturdy furniture.

5. a kind; sort: All fashions of people make up the world.

6. Obs. workmanship.

7. Obs. act or process of making.

8. after or in a fashion, in some manner or other or to some extent; in a makeshift, unskillful, or unsatisfactory way: He's an artist after a fashion.

v.t.

9. to give a particular shape or form to; make: The cavemen fashioned tools from stones.

10. to accommodate; adjust; adapt: doctrines fashioned to the varying hour.

11. Shipbuilding. to bend (a plate) without preheating.

12. Obs. to contrive; manage.

[1250-1300; ME facioun shape, manner < AF faço(u)n, façun, OF faceon < L faction- (s. of factio) a doing, company. See FACTION]

Syn. 1. mode; fad, rage, craze. FASHION, STYLE, VOGUE imply popularity or widespread acceptance of manners, customs, dress, etc. FASHION is that which characterizes or distinguishes the habits, manners, dress, etc., of a period or group: the fashions of the 18th century.

STYLE is sometimes the equivalent of FASHION, but also denotes conformance to a prevalent standard: to be in style; a chair in the Queen Anne style. VOGUE suggests the temporary popularity of certain fashions: this year's vogue in popular music. 4. shape, cut, pattern, figure. 9. frame, construct, mold. 10. suit, fit.

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Any mode of dressing or adornment that is popular during a particular time or in a particular place (i.e., the current style).

It can change from one period to the next, from generation to generation. It serves as a reflection of social and economic status, a function that explains the popularity of many styles throughout costume history; in the West, courts have been a major source of fashion. In the 19th and 20th centuries, fashion increasingly became an profitable, international industry as a result of the rise of world-renowned fashion houses and fashion magazines. See also dress.

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      in dress and adornment, any mode of dressing that is prevalent during a particular time or in a particular place. See dress.

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