Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
This section contains concepts and terms that are of interest to members of the apparel industry, fashion industry or textile industry. The goal of this area is to provide information formatted around key topics of interest to the industry in which we work, as well as to the ultimate consumer of fashion products. On this page, you will find areas of interest that begin with the letter “R”. The R terms range widely: garment construction (raglan sleeve, ringspun fabric, the rise of pants), denim (raw denim and ripped jeans), retail operations (retail math, replenishment programs, return authorizations and reverse logistics), and style and occasion topics such as red carpet fashion, retro fashion, resortwear and gift registries.
This section contains concepts and terms that we feel are of interest to members of the apparel industry, fashion industry or textile industry.
The goal of this area is to provide you with information that is formatted around key topics of interest to the industry in which we work as well as ultimate consumer of fashion products.
On this page, you will find areas of interest that begin with the letter "R".
The twenty R entries fall into a few natural groups. The construction group explains how garments are built: a raglan sleeve extends in one piece to the collar on a diagonal seam, ringspun fabric comes from a ring spinning system that drafts, twists and winds yarn in one continuous process, and the rise of a pant is the measurement from the crotch seam to the top of the waistband that decides where trousers sit on the body. The denim group pairs raw denim — denim never washed after dyeing, which fades according to the wearer's own life — with ripped jeans, whose tears may come from age and wear, from the owner, or deliberately from the manufacturer.
A second large group belongs to retail operations. Retail math covers the calculations behind inventory, pricing and margins, from gross margin to sell-through rate and sales per square foot. Replenishment programs keep stock at the right level using demand forecasting, reorder points, safety stock and economic order quantity. When goods move backward instead of forward, two more terms take over: a return authorization is the seller's permission, usually with a tracking number, that must be secured before merchandise goes back, and reverse logistics is the whole set of operations that moves returned, defective or unsold product back through the supply chain for refurbishing, recycling, resale or disposal. Refurbishing itself has its own page, covering how clothing and footwear are restored to like-new condition for both consumers and the industry.
The remaining R pages are about style, occasions and identification. Red carpet fashion is the scrutinized dressing of award ceremonies and premieres; retro fashion imitates earlier eras without being genuinely old, unlike vintage; resortwear is the vacation collection — also called a cruise collection — built from light, packable fabrics; a registry is the public, retailer-managed wish list that prevents duplicate wedding gifts; redshirting is the practice of holding a student-athlete, or sometimes a kindergartner, back a year to develop; ready-to-wear is factory-made clothing sold finished in standardized sizes; an RN number is the Federal Trade Commission registration number that identifies companies in the garment trade; and the romper, racerback top and ringer tee round out the list as three very different garments united only by their first letter.
The R section covers racerback tops, raglan sleeves, raw denim, ready-to-wear, red carpet fashion, redshirting, refurbishing, registries, replenishment programs, resortwear, retail math, retro fashion, return authorizations, reverse logistics, ringer tees, ringspun fabric, ripped jeans, pant rise, RN number lookup and rompers — each reachable from the term list on this page.
Every R term has its own page with a definition and explanation written for the apparel, fashion and textile industries. The list on this page links to each of them, and the Fashion Terms Directory links onward to the other letter directories.
The terms are written for members of the apparel, fashion and textile industries and for consumers of fashion products who want a plain explanation of an industry concept.