French Vocabulary: Clothes and Footwear

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Last Updated: June 5, 2023

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Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate

Clothes! Fashion! Shoes! Handbags! Shopping! Paris is a haven for fashionable dressing, so it only follows that these words are sure to get mentioned quite a lot when you go on a trip to France. Might as well learn these and incorporate them into your French vocabulary.

Now, that would be très chic, wouldn’t it?

French clothes vocabulary


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GarmentsVêtements
La chemise de nuitNight-dress
La culotteKnickers
La combinaisonSlip
Le juponPetticoat, underskirt
Le collantTights
La jupe plisséePleated skirt
La jupe droiteStraight skirt
Le corsageBlouse
Le chemisierShirt-blouse
La robe chemisierShift, shirt-dress
Le tailleurSuit (for women)
Le costumeSuit (formen)
Le completSuit
Le gilet de laineWool cardigan
Le gilet de corpsVest
Le caleçonPants
Le maillot de bainSwimming trunks
La chemise sportSport shirt
La vesteJacket
Le veston croiséDouble-breasted jacket
Le pardessusOvercoat
L’imperméable (m)Raincoat
Le smokingDinner-jacket
Le nœud papillonBow-tie
Le survêtementtracksuit
Le bleuOveralls, dungarees, boiler-suit
La combinaisonOveralls, boiler-suit
La salopetteOveralls, dungarees (forchildren, women)
Le bonnet de bainSwimming cap
Le chapeau melonBowler hat
La casquetteCap
MettreTo put on
EnfilerTo slip on, to put on
FootwearChaussures
La pointureShoe size
Les bottes de pluie (f)Rain boots
Les bottillons (m)Ankle-boots
L’escarpin (m)Court shoe
Les ballerines (f)Pumps, ballet-shoes
Les mocassins Loafer
Les baskets (f)Sneakers, trainers
La semelleSole
A talons platsFlat-heeled
A talon basLow-heeled
A talon hautsHigh-heeled
A talon aiguilleStiletto-heeled
Se chausserTo put one’s shoes on

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About the author 

Frederic Bibard is the founder of Talk in French, a company that helps french learners to practice and improve their french. Macaron addict. Jacques Audiard fan. You can contact him on Instagram

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