Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
Have you ever heard the term “clothing horse”? In summary, this refers to a person that has a great deal of clothing — a person who is conspicuously interested in clothes, keeps a large and current wardrobe, and treats dressing as an important part of life. This page defines the clothing horse (also spelled clotheshorse), looks at the term's first use, and links onward to the fashion topics a clothing horse lives by: collections, seasons, fashion week, runway shows and designer profiles.
Clothing Horse - Terms of Interest to the Fashion Industry
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Have you ever heard the term "Clothing Horse"? In summary, this refers to a person that has a great deal of clothing. A person that has closets and dressers over flowing with clothing, footwear, and fashion accessories...
In all honesty, I have absolutely no clue when and where this phrase was developed. As a matter of fact, I am not sure if an actual definition exists. It is very possible that the world has not yet been graced with a formal definition of the term Clothing Horse. Therefore, I am taking it upon myself to create the definition.
Clothing Horse: a human that maintains an excessive inventory of clothing for personal utilization. A clothing horse typically purchases several items of clothing each fashion season. They own and wear the latest fashion trends, but they also hold onto older styles of clothing. Knowing very well that fashion goes in cycles, a true clothing horse will keep clothing on hand from previous years. They will generally store clothing until the items return to fashion (potentially decades).
First Use of the Term Clothing Horse:
In the mid 1800's, in the United States, there was a young girl named Laura Ingles. She enjoyed clothing so much, she developed an extensive collection of bonnets, britches, bloomers, and sun dresses. One day she and her family had to move to a little house on a new prairie across the state. Because she had so many outfits, her father had to use a "Horse" drawn wagon just to carry her clothes to the new house. The rest of the family, was able to combine all of there clothing into one small satchel. Because Laura needed her own horse and wagon to bring along her clothing, her sisters referenced the horse as a Clothing Horse. Later after teasing Laura about her overwhelming amount of clothes, her sisters began to call Laura a Clothing Horse. And that is how the term began...
Note: As mentioned previously on this page, I am not certain the source of the phrase Clothing Horse. The above explanation is strictly from my own imagination... If you think you can do better, create your own article... Actually, if you have other suggestions as to the meaning of the term clothing horse, please let me know. Possibly, we can add your comments to this page.
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Every trade has its devotees, and fashion's are unusually visible, because the product is worn in public. The clothing horse is the consumer end of a chain this directory documents from the other side: designers build collections by season, show them at fashion week and on runways, and depend on buyers — professional and personal — who care enough to follow along. A clothing horse's habits are a small market study in themselves: which designers they watch, which seasons they buy from, and how much of the wardrobe is statement and how much is staple tells you where their taste sits between fashion and clothing.
The term's gentle mockery is worth noticing too. It dates from an era when a very large wardrobe was rare enough to comment on; in a time of inexpensive clothing, the quantity alone no longer distinguishes anyone. What still earns the label is the interest — knowing the designers, the seasons and the differences between one line and the next. By that measure the clothing horse is less a shopper than a follower of the industry, closer to a sports fan than to a hoarder, and the links on this page point exactly where such a follower would go next.
A person with a great deal of clothing who takes a strong, visible interest in fashion — someone whose wardrobe is large, varied and deliberately kept. The term can be affectionate or mildly teasing depending on who says it.
Yes — the one-word spelling names the same person. (A clotheshorse is also, literally, a frame for airing clothes, which is very likely where the figure of speech began: the person becomes a frame perpetually hung with clothes.)
Not in this directory's view. The fashion industry runs on people who care about clothes — the page links from the definition to collections, seasons, fashion week and designer profiles, the working world a clothing horse follows for pleasure.