Cope thru Debutante – from The Language of Fashion

Yay! The end of the fashion terms beginning with the letter “C” and on to the letter “D”!

In this set of scans from The Language of Fashion dictionary, we finally wrap up the long parade of “C” words—everything from corset covers and cuffs to curves, cross stitching, culottes, cottons and more. It’s such a fun section, because you can really see how thoroughly this 1930s fashion dictionary tried to name and organize every little detail of dress and sewing, right down to specific stitches and garment parts that most people barely think about today.

These pages come from The Language of Fashion by Mary Brooks Picken, a fashion dictionary first published in 1939. I’ve been slowly scanning and sharing the entire book, page by page, as part of an ongoing project to make this slice of late‑1930s fashion language easier to browse and enjoy. If you’ve seen earlier installments—like the scans that cover everything from “aal through blotch,” or the pages that define “carcanet thru cloth yard”—you’ll know how methodical (and massive!) this dictionary really is. There are still around 200 pages in total to work through, and when I’m finished, full‑resolution scans will be available for purchase for anyone who wants every tiny detail.

The tail‑end of the “C” section in this batch is a neat cross‑section of everyday fashion life as it was organized on paper in 1939. You get practical undergarment terms like corset covers, the very specific finishing touches of cuffs, and the idea of curves as something you could literally design and cut into fabric, not just talk about in abstract body‑shape terms. Cross stitching brings in the handwork and needlecraft angle, while culottes and cottons speak to how garments moved and what they were made of—one a clever hybrid between skirt and shorts, the other a whole world of fabrics that would have been central to wardrobes at the time. Together, they show how a “simple” letter of the alphabet can hold everything from construction details to silhouettes and textiles.

After that, these scans move us into the “D” terms—starting with the very socially loaded word debutante. It’s a great reminder that this dictionary isn’t only about seams, hems, and fabric types; it also captures the social roles and occasions that shaped how people dressed. The inclusion of “debutante” right after all those practical “C” terms hints at the way clothes, ceremonies, and social status were tightly linked, and how fashion language had to cover both the garments themselves and the people and rituals they were made for.

If you’re enjoying this installment, you might also like the related scans where I share other stretches of the alphabet, such as the pages defining robe d’intrenieur (a hostess gown), ruche, rumba costume, saque, different types of sashes, and the many varieties of satin. All of these posts fit together into one big, nerdy tour through The Language of Fashion—a 1930s fashion dictionary that’s as much a snapshot of its era’s vocabulary as it is a reference book.

As I keep scanning and posting sections like this—wrapping up “C” and moving into “D” with debutantes—each set of pages adds another layer to the picture of how fashion was talked about in 1939. It’s a slow but satisfying process: preserving the old paper, turning it into clear digital images, and sharing the quirky, precise, and sometimes surprisingly poetic terms that defined clothing back then.