Fashion faux pas
Encyclopedia
A faux pas
is defined as "a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion." More specifically, a fashion faux pas is an unfortunate error in fashion etiquette. Entire decades have been considered a "fashion faux pas". For example, during the 17th century, it was common for men to wear very large lace collars, breeches and stockings, theatrical-looking hats embellished with ostrich plumes, and very long hair which evolved into extravagant, powdered white wigs by the 18th century. Of course, the late 1970s brought to us "high-waisted plaid bell bottoms and pale-blue polyester tuxedos and leisure suits". The 1980s were fraught with creations such as shoulder pads, DayGlo colours, and parachute pants
. However, most instances of fashion faux pas are considered isolated events, as described through such examples as "the wardrobe malfunction", "shrimp cocktail toes" and "mom jeans".
sandals. Gradually over time, "dad's footwear gone wrong" has bloomed into a popular trend.
There are many variations of socks and sandals today, including the pairing of stockings with heels. Thanks to designers such as Christian Dior
, Marni and Burberry
, this faux pas has rapidly taken off. As quoted from The Star, “trend-setting designers are taking dad’s faux pas and putting it on the runway. But does that make it right?”. Celebrities have been spotted sporting socks and sandals, such as Kate Moss
, Chloë Sevigny
, and Kelly Osbourne
. Undeniably, designers and celebrities supporting the trend are the reason for its growth in popularity off the red carpet. Regardless of the number of people who consider socks and sandals to be a fashion faux pas, the fashion statement is readily found on college campuses as well as both rural and urban settings.
Several well-known celebrities have been caught with shrimp cocktail toes such as Katie Holmes
, Oprah Winfrey
, Kim Kardashian
, and Sarah Jessica Parker
.
Some believe that shrimp cocktail toes are one of most reviled fashion faux pas of all, most notably New York fashion stylist Sarah Shirley. She has been quoted as saying that "nothing looks trashier" to ForbesWoman.
Wardrobe malfunction
A wardrobe malfunction is a fashion faux pas which involves the "accidental or supposedly accidental failure of clothing to cover parts of the body intended to be covered" and is "primarily used for referring to the exposure of breasts/areolae, but also acceptable for genitals, buttocks or underwear."
The euphemism
"wardrobe malfunction
" first became popular following the 2004 Super Bowl Half-Time Show, when Justin Timberlake
accidentally exposed Janet Jackson
's breast during a performance seen by over 90 million television viewers.
Since this half-time show controversy
, the term has become part of everyday household language. Occurrences of celebrity wardrobe malfunctions quickly circulate online. A recent example of note involves Katherine Heigl's
broken dress strap at an awards show in March 2010.
Another example recently occurred during a live performance on Fox TV's "So You Think You Can Dance", when a young dancer's dress snapped mid-performance.
The term traces back to Wil Heuser's skit for Saturday Night Live
in the early 2000s. The style and the accompanying term became increasingly popular as celebrities such as Katie Holmes
and, most recently, President Barack Obama
were spotted wearing them. There have been a number of public figures who have promoted, mocked, and been inspired by mom jeans. In August 2007, Cory Kennedy
wrote a fashion article for Nylon Magazine, in which she attempted to create a flattering outfit with the unpopular style. Kim Kardashian
defended the look in a post on her blog in May 2010, after she was spotted wearing an updated version of the style. As well, Jessica Simpson
chose a pair of mom jeans in an attempt to hide her noticeably more-voluptuous-than-usual curves during a public appearance in Pembroke Pines, Florida, in late 2009.
Although mom jeans tend to be regarded as unattractive, they continue to be a popular style today. Many of those who wear mom jeans defend them as being more for the sake of comfort rather than fashion.
(VPL) is a fashion faux pas "where the panties of a woman are visible through the material of lower-body clothing." There are multiple causes of this fashion blunder. First and foremost, VPL can been caused by a woman wearing underwear that is darker than her pants or skirt. It can also be caused by wearing tight bottoms, certain materials such as lace or heavy cotton being worn under a sheer or light garment, and underwear being too small. The most common solutions to this fashion faux pas include wearing nude or light-coloured underwear, or selecting a more sheer fabric than cotton (such as microfiber), which can reduce noticeable lines.
A related faux pas is referred to as "Whale Tails
", where the top of a thong
is exposed over the waistline of pants, resembling the tail of a whale. Whale tails can be intentional for purposes of sexual arousal, or accidental, such as when a woman bends over and her pants slip down below, exposing the undergarment.
The term "muffin top" first originated through the use of Australian Slang in the year of 2003. Since then, it has become extremely popular, even with a television commercial and a website dedicated to the term.
A few celebrities spotted with a muffin top include Britney Spears
, Kerry Katona
, Vanessa Feltz
, and Jessica Simpson
.
This phenomenon is also known as builder's bum in the UK.
While this blunder is typically associated with men, women often commit a similar error in the "Whale tail" as described above in the "Visible Panty Line" section of this article.
Muscle shirts were originally worn by bodybuilders during exercise and then became more popular as a summer option for men. Many celebrities such as rapper Eminem
(Marshall Mathers) and Arnold Schwarzenegger
have been seen wearing muscle shirts in movies and on the red carpet, which have further increased the popularity of this style. Despite the disapproval of muscle shirts offered by many "fashion-forward" critics, such as 'The Fashion Guru’ which lists this as one of the top ten fashion disasters, the muscle shirt continues to be worn by many.
, also known as a "denim sandwich" is a fashion faux pas which occurs when denim jeans and a denim jacket are worn together (i.e. denim-on-denim). Often, each piece of denim has a slightly different wash, and the outfit is sometimes accompanied by a mullet
. The "Texas tuxedo" variant may be accompanied by a denim shirt and bolo tie.
A number of celebrities have been spotted in Canadian tuxedos, including Justin Timberlake
, Emile Hirsch
, Hugh Jackman
, Kiefer Sutherland
, and Jay Leno
.
The Canadian tuxedo has been in and out of acceptable fashion since the rise of denim.
Faux pas
A faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...
is defined as "a slip or blunder in etiquette, manners, or conduct; an embarrassing social blunder or indiscretion." More specifically, a fashion faux pas is an unfortunate error in fashion etiquette. Entire decades have been considered a "fashion faux pas". For example, during the 17th century, it was common for men to wear very large lace collars, breeches and stockings, theatrical-looking hats embellished with ostrich plumes, and very long hair which evolved into extravagant, powdered white wigs by the 18th century. Of course, the late 1970s brought to us "high-waisted plaid bell bottoms and pale-blue polyester tuxedos and leisure suits". The 1980s were fraught with creations such as shoulder pads, DayGlo colours, and parachute pants
Parachute pants
Parachute pants are a style of trousers characterised by the use of nylon, especially ripstop nylon. In the original loose-fitting, extraneously zippered style of the late 70s/early 80s, "parachute" referred to the pants' synthetic nylon material. In the later 80s, "parachute" may have referred to...
. However, most instances of fashion faux pas are considered isolated events, as described through such examples as "the wardrobe malfunction", "shrimp cocktail toes" and "mom jeans".
Socks and sandals
Wearing socks and sandals together has become a common fashion statement in today’s society. This faux pas originally consisted of a pair of men’s socks paired with a pair of BirkenstockBirkenstock
Birkenstock Orthopädie GmbH & Co. KG is a shoe manufacturer headquartered in Vettelschoß, Germany. The company sells Birkenstock, a German brand of sandals and other shoes notable for their contoured cork and rubber footbeds, which conform somewhat to the shape of their wearers' feet...
sandals. Gradually over time, "dad's footwear gone wrong" has bloomed into a popular trend.
There are many variations of socks and sandals today, including the pairing of stockings with heels. Thanks to designers such as Christian Dior
Christian Dior
Christian Dior , was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, also called Christian Dior.-Life:...
, Marni and Burberry
Burberry
Burberry Group plc is a British luxury fashion house, manufacturing clothing, fragrance, and fashion accessories. Its distinctive tartan pattern has become one of its most widely copied trademarks. Burberry is most famous for its iconic trench coat, which was invented by founder Thomas Burberry...
, this faux pas has rapidly taken off. As quoted from The Star, “trend-setting designers are taking dad’s faux pas and putting it on the runway. But does that make it right?”. Celebrities have been spotted sporting socks and sandals, such as Kate Moss
Kate Moss
Kate Moss is an English model. Moss is known for her waifish figure and popularising the heroin chic look in the 1990s. She is also known for her controversial private life, high profile relationships, party lifestyle, and drug use. Moss changed the look of modelling and started a global debate on...
, Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Sevigny
Chloë Stevens Sevigny is an American film actress, fashion designer and former model. Sevigny gained reputation for her eclectic fashion sense and developed a broad career in the fashion industry in the mid 1990s, both for modeling and for her work at New York's Sassy magazine, which labeled her...
, and Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne is an English media personality, television personality, host, judge, fashion designer, singer, and actress, best known for being the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne...
. Undeniably, designers and celebrities supporting the trend are the reason for its growth in popularity off the red carpet. Regardless of the number of people who consider socks and sandals to be a fashion faux pas, the fashion statement is readily found on college campuses as well as both rural and urban settings.
Shrimp cocktail toes
Shrimp cocktail toes are created when a person wears a pair of heels or sandals which are too small for her, causing her toes to extend beyond the edge of the shoe and grip the outer edges of her footwear. This causes her feet to resemble a shrimp cocktail. The origins of this term are unknown.Several well-known celebrities have been caught with shrimp cocktail toes such as Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes
Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have included the blockbuster Batman Begins along with art house films such as The Ice Storm and thrillers...
, Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
, Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...
, and Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sarah Jessica Parker is an American film, television, and theater actress and producer.She is best known for her leading role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City , for which she won four Golden Globe Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Emmy Awards...
.
Some believe that shrimp cocktail toes are one of most reviled fashion faux pas of all, most notably New York fashion stylist Sarah Shirley. She has been quoted as saying that "nothing looks trashier" to ForbesWoman.
Wardrobe malfunctionWardrobe malfunctionA wardrobe malfunction is a euphemism for accidental exposure of intimate parts. It is different from flashing, as the latter implies a deliberate exposure...
A wardrobe malfunction is a fashion faux pas which involves the "accidental or supposedly accidental failure of clothing to cover parts of the body intended to be covered" and is "primarily used for referring to the exposure of breasts/areolae, but also acceptable for genitals, buttocks or underwear."The euphemism
Euphemism
A euphemism is the substitution of a mild, inoffensive, relatively uncontroversial phrase for another more frank expression that might offend or otherwise suggest something unpleasant to the audience...
"wardrobe malfunction
Wardrobe malfunction
A wardrobe malfunction is a euphemism for accidental exposure of intimate parts. It is different from flashing, as the latter implies a deliberate exposure...
" first became popular following the 2004 Super Bowl Half-Time Show, when Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
accidentally exposed Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's breast during a performance seen by over 90 million television viewers.
Since this half-time show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
, the term has become part of everyday household language. Occurrences of celebrity wardrobe malfunctions quickly circulate online. A recent example of note involves Katherine Heigl's
Katherine Heigl
Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
broken dress strap at an awards show in March 2010.
Another example recently occurred during a live performance on Fox TV's "So You Think You Can Dance", when a young dancer's dress snapped mid-performance.
Mom jeans
"Mom jeans" is a slang term that was developed to describe the unflattering fit of high-waisted, tapered-leg pants or slacks, typically made of denim or stretchy denim-like fabric. These pants are often a light or medium shade of blue, and they usually appeal to women who are forty years of age and older (thus, the name mom jeans).The term traces back to Wil Heuser's skit for Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the early 2000s. The style and the accompanying term became increasingly popular as celebrities such as Katie Holmes
Katie Holmes
Katherine Noelle "Katie" Holmes is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have included the blockbuster Batman Begins along with art house films such as The Ice Storm and thrillers...
and, most recently, President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
were spotted wearing them. There have been a number of public figures who have promoted, mocked, and been inspired by mom jeans. In August 2007, Cory Kennedy
Cory Kennedy
Cory Kennedy-Levin is an American model and Internet celebrity.- Story :Kennedy met photographer Mark Hunter at a Blood Brothers concert at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, California in the summer of 2005. He took some photographs of her for his web site and they exchanged phone numbers...
wrote a fashion article for Nylon Magazine, in which she attempted to create a flattering outfit with the unpopular style. Kim Kardashian
Kim Kardashian
Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is an American socialite, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for the E! reality series that she shares with her family—Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York...
defended the look in a post on her blog in May 2010, after she was spotted wearing an updated version of the style. As well, Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
chose a pair of mom jeans in an attempt to hide her noticeably more-voluptuous-than-usual curves during a public appearance in Pembroke Pines, Florida, in late 2009.
Although mom jeans tend to be regarded as unattractive, they continue to be a popular style today. Many of those who wear mom jeans defend them as being more for the sake of comfort rather than fashion.
Visible panty lines (VPL)
Visible Panty LinesPanty line
A visible panty line is the situation when the outline of a person's underwear is visible through the clothing. The underpants may be seen as a ridge or depression in the clothes, or as a result of the clothing material being sufficiently transparent....
(VPL) is a fashion faux pas "where the panties of a woman are visible through the material of lower-body clothing." There are multiple causes of this fashion blunder. First and foremost, VPL can been caused by a woman wearing underwear that is darker than her pants or skirt. It can also be caused by wearing tight bottoms, certain materials such as lace or heavy cotton being worn under a sheer or light garment, and underwear being too small. The most common solutions to this fashion faux pas include wearing nude or light-coloured underwear, or selecting a more sheer fabric than cotton (such as microfiber), which can reduce noticeable lines.
A related faux pas is referred to as "Whale Tails
Whale tail
Whale tail is the Y-shaped waistband of a thong or g-string when visible above the waistline of low-rise jeans, shorts, or a skirt that resembles a whale's tail. Intentionally or unintentionally, a whale tail is exposed above the trousers mostly when sitting or bending, or even while standing...
", where the top of a thong
Thong (clothing)
The thong is a garment generally worn as either underwear or as a swimsuit in many industrialized societies around the world. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions such as sumo wrestling...
is exposed over the waistline of pants, resembling the tail of a whale. Whale tails can be intentional for purposes of sexual arousal, or accidental, such as when a woman bends over and her pants slip down below, exposing the undergarment.
Muffin Top
Muffin Top is a word used to describe a waist-scrunching effect resulting from wearing tightly fit, low-rise pants accompanied by tightly fit tops. The design of "hip huggers" or "hip risers" first became popular during the 1960s and 1970s, but muffin tops have created a great opportunity of an innovative design for larger women, providing a fashionable design without the need to reduce the size of one's waist line. This concept further expanded throughout the 1990s; revised designs worked to lengthen and thin a woman's appearance.The term "muffin top" first originated through the use of Australian Slang in the year of 2003. Since then, it has become extremely popular, even with a television commercial and a website dedicated to the term.
A few celebrities spotted with a muffin top include Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Kerry Katona
Kerry Katona
Kerry Jayne Elizabeth Katona is an English media personality and singer best known for her television work, predominantly in light entertainment and reality shows. She has also been a pop singer with girl group Atomic Kitten, a magazine columnist, an actress, and the author of ghostwritten books...
, Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Feltz
Vanessa Jane Feltz is an English television personality, broadcaster and journalist. She currently presents an early morning radio show on BBC Radio 2, a mid morning phone-in show on BBC London 94.9. In 2011, she started hosting The Vanessa Show on Channel 5. The first series ended on June 24th...
, and Jessica Simpson
Jessica Simpson
Jessica Ann Simpson is an American recording artist, actress, television personality, and fashion designer whose rise to fame began in 1999. Since that time, Simpson has achieved many recording milestones, starred in several television shows, movies, and commercials, launched a line of hair and...
.
Plumber's butt
Plumber's Butt (also referred to as Plumber's Crack) is the inadvertent exposure of one's intergluteal cleft (butt crack) through the wearing of low-riding pants during acts of bending, kneeling or squatting. This term first originated in plumbers who, through the very nature of their work, began exposing themselves inadvertently to their clients.This phenomenon is also known as builder's bum in the UK.
While this blunder is typically associated with men, women often commit a similar error in the "Whale tail" as described above in the "Visible Panty Line" section of this article.
Muscle shirts
Another fashion faux pas made by many men is the wearing of ‘muscle’ shirts. A muscle shirt is a tight-fitting, sleeveless shirt worn to highlight muscles in order to attract attention.Muscle shirts were originally worn by bodybuilders during exercise and then became more popular as a summer option for men. Many celebrities such as rapper Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
(Marshall Mathers) and Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
have been seen wearing muscle shirts in movies and on the red carpet, which have further increased the popularity of this style. Despite the disapproval of muscle shirts offered by many "fashion-forward" critics, such as 'The Fashion Guru’ which lists this as one of the top ten fashion disasters, the muscle shirt continues to be worn by many.
Canadian tuxedo
The Canadian tuxedoTuxedo
A tuxedo is a type of semi-formal dress for men.Tuxedo may also refer to:-Places:Canada* Tuxedo, Winnipeg, Manitoba, a city neighborhood** Tuxedo , a provincial electoral district in Manitoba...
, also known as a "denim sandwich" is a fashion faux pas which occurs when denim jeans and a denim jacket are worn together (i.e. denim-on-denim). Often, each piece of denim has a slightly different wash, and the outfit is sometimes accompanied by a mullet
Mullet (haircut)
The mullet is a hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. . The mullet began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s...
. The "Texas tuxedo" variant may be accompanied by a denim shirt and bolo tie.
A number of celebrities have been spotted in Canadian tuxedos, including Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
, Emile Hirsch
Emile Hirsch
Emile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
, and Jay Leno
Jay Leno
James Douglas Muir "Jay" Leno is an American stand-up comedian and television host.From 1992 to 2009, Leno was the host of NBC's The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Beginning in September 2009, Leno started a primetime talk show, titled The Jay Leno Show, which aired weeknights at 10:00 p.m. ,...
.
The Canadian tuxedo has been in and out of acceptable fashion since the rise of denim.
See also
- FashionFashionFashion, a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, foot wear, or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person...
- Faux pasFaux pasA faux pas is a violation of accepted social norms . Faux pas vary widely from culture to culture, and what is considered good manners in one culture can be considered a faux pas in another...
- EtiquetteEtiquetteEtiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
- Sustainable fashionSustainable fashionSustainable fashion, also called eco fashion, is a part of the growing design philosophy and trend of sustainability, the goal of which is to create a system which can be supported indefinitely in terms of environmentalism and social responsibility...
- Fanny packFanny packA fanny pack , belt pack , belly bag , Buffalo pouch , hip sack , waist bag , hip pack , bum bag , cangurera , banano or moon bag is a small fabric pouch secured with a zipper and worn by use of a strap around the hips or...
- List of fashion topics
- List of fashion designers