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Why does “lace” describe an ornamental fabric and a string for tying shoes?

The word lace began its route into thirteenth-century English as the Latin word lacere, which means “to entice.” On its way through Spanish and French, lace became a hunting term meaning “rope net,” “snare,” or “noose.” In 1555, because fancy lace reminded someone of a hunting net, the word lace was employed to describe an ornamental netted fabric pattern and, shortly after, as a cord for tying, such as a shoelace. As its use in hunting diminished, lace or “netting” took on the primary meaning of “ornamental trim.”

The expression “to lace a drink” by adding a dash of liquor derived from the new habit of adding sugar to coffee or tea during the seventeenth century, and also meant “ornamental trim.”

The Spanish word for a “hunting lace” or a rope was lazo, which gave cowboys the lasso.

“Laced mutton” was an old expression for a prostitute.

Why do we call women’s underwear “bloomers”?

In the mid-nineteenth century, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822–1911) revolutionized women’s wear by designing and wearing a clothing style that did away with voluminous dresses and tightly laced corsets. She suggested that women wear a jacket and knee-length skirt over a pair of trousers tucked into boots. The cause was taken up by magazine editor and feminist Amelia Jenks Bloomer (1818–1894) and was given a boost by the new pastime of bicycling. There was a lot of resistance before the new dress became acceptable and took the name of its most visible advocate, Amelia Bloomer.

Bloomers soon became applied to just the trousers and eventually to any sort of long underwear.

Why is a light, short overcoat called a “jacket”?

A short coat is called a jacket for the same reason that Jack is used generically to mean any male stranger (“hit the road, Jack”). It was the French who began using Jacques this way as a reference to any common or unsophisticated male. The word took on the meaning of a peasant or ordinary man’s outerwear in France and spread throughout Europe, arriving in England as jacket during the thirteenth century.

As a nickname for John, Jack is used as an endearment like “buddy” or “mate” and has been since the days of Middle English. During this same time, Dicken became popular as the original nickname for Richard until it evolved into Dick, while Robin was an endearment for Robert before it became Rob.

Why do we say that someone well dressed wore his or her best “bib and tucker”?

In the seventeenth century, bibs were introduced to protect men’s clothing from the consequences of their own bad table manners. Women did the same, but their bibs were fancier and were made of lace or muslin with frills to frame their faces. Because these bibs were tucked into the tops of low-cut dresses, they were called tuckers. On special occasions both men and women brought their own bibs and tuckers to the banquet and, just like their clothing, these made a fashion statement.

How did the bowler hat become an English icon?

The caricature of an Englishman used to include an umbrella, a briefcase, and a bowler hat. Although this is an outdated image, it still recalls a class system that defines the British character. The first bowler was designed in the mid-1800s by London hatters James and George Lock as a protective riding hat for Thomas William Coke. The headgear became synonymous with property owners and consequently the gentry or well-to-do. The hat got its name from Thomas and William Bowler, the hat-makers who produced Coke’s prototype.

Americans call this hat a derby, probably because it was so prevalent within the wealthy compound at major horse races.

Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was one of the last of his generation to make the bowler high fashion.

London’s trademark black high-roofed taxicabs were designed so that gentlemen wouldn’t have to remove their bowlers.

Why is a type of woman’s underwear called a “G-string”?

Although our prehistoric ancestors wore leather loincloths that have been excavated from more than 7,000 years ago, underwear as we know it didn’t become “normal” until the thirteenth century when it was tied at the waist and knees. The ancient Greeks didn’t wear underwear, though their slaves sported a kind of loincloth. The G in G-string stands for “groin” and was first used to describe the loincloths worn by North American Natives. As women’s wear, G-strings first appeared in the 1930s when they were the exclusive attire of strippers.