Fashion Lingo: OTK, VPL

13/09/10

OTK, VPL

Fashion-world initialisms.

Discussing fashion’s penchant for abbreviation, Hadley Freeman commented in The Guardian on the latest additions to the style lexicon:

OTK:over the knee, generally applied to boots but can also be used for hemlines
VPL: is well known but there is now also VBL (visible bra line) and VBS (visible bra strap) and then the particularly marvellous TFFF (too fat for fashion.)

published on: Schott's Vocab

Fashion quote

"Shakespeare managed to accurately describe the entire human condition using simple English, so we're certain the fashion industry can do the same to describe a pair of trousers"

"It's now easier to understand Sanskrit than some of the words commonly used by commentators within the fashion industry to describe garments."

(Debenhams spokeswoman Lizzie Singleton)

The lingua franca of the fashion world is „fashionese“ or „fashion speak“. Originally it was the language of the fashion pack - the designers, stylists, journalists and models,- made to keep the little people out.