As someone who lacks formal fashion training, what little I know about the subject I learned from shopping (this accounts for most of it), fashion journals, Wikipedia entries, and the occasional search through online library catalogs.
To me, terminology is perhaps the most impenetrable, since some product descriptions are probably written by fashion laymen (or intentionally imprecise for marketing purposes) so inconsistencies are abundant when you look close enough. And I didn’t used to know many people well versed in fashion to pose questions to (this blog has changed that; now I have many people with whom I can quibble over obscure fashion-related things).
Bouclé and tweed in particular caused me a great deal of confusion early on, as they are often used indiscriminately and interchangeably depending on whom you asked. Bouclé itself describes both a yarn and the fabric made with bouclé yarn. And tweed is a type of fabric and also describes a specific twilled weave. It doesn’t help that some dictionary definitions of tweed require that wool be an ingredient. If that were the case, the “tweed” dress that I am wearing in this post is not actually tweed at all (its material composition is 93% cotton and 7% polyester). But you can’t deny that “tweed dress with layered skirt” has a certain cachet, especially when compared to “dress in twill fabric.”
So while “bouclé-tweed jacket” looks logical to me, I would trip over “belted tweed bouclé coat” (it’s important to note that the latter syntax is used overwhelmingly in the press). And I am embarrassed to admit that I still don’t understand why this makes sense in the world of inherent adjective order.
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| J. Crew Maple Tweed Dress (past season; size 00P) | Zara Tweed Dress with Layered Skirt (from Summer 2016; size XS) | Ann Taylor Pearlized Crystal Statement Necklace | Michael Kors Runway Watch | Kate Spade Idiom Heart of Gold Bangle (also here and here) | Louis Vuitton Mon Monogram Neverfull Tote | Zara Court Shoes (similar here and here) |
(Spending hours at work struggling with paint samples and swatches will drive a person mad. But I was able to find some beautiful tweed pieces online to share below.)
Some fall tweed picks: Tory Burch Norfolk Tweed A-Line Dress (also here), Rebecca Minkoff Bouclé Tweed Jacket, MIU MIU Organza-trimmed Tweed Dress, Sandra Weil Ilan Rose Tweed Peplum Bustier, Étoile Isabel Marant Flenn Stretch Cotton-blend Tweed Jacket, Miu Miu Wool-blend Tweed Skirt, and Ann Taylor Tweed Flounce Dress.
