In this article, we’re going to look at the French words needed to talk about clothing. We’ll cover everyday clothing vocabulary, accessories, materials, and basic terminology.

You also have access to my flashcard set on Quizlet, where you can test yourself on the following vocabulary list. We present both the English-French and French-English word lists to help you master the French clothing vocabulary.

Masculine nouns are in red, feminine nouns are in blue and plurals are in green.

Related: How to increase my French Vocabulary.

Everyday Articles of Clothing

We’ll start this vocabulary list with “everyday clothing.” Things that you’ll wear everyday, from shoes and socks to shorts and underwear.

des vêtements – clothing (m.)
un tee-shirt – a t-shirt
une chemise – a button-down shirt
un pull – a sweater
une robe – a dress
une (mini) jupe – a skirt / a mini-skirt
un short – a pair of shorts
un pantalon – pants
un jean – jeans
un pyjama – pajamas

les chaussures – shoes (f.)
les chaussettes – socks (f.)
les baskets – sneakers (f.)
les sandales – sandals (f.)
les talons – high-heels (m.)
les bottes – boots (f.)

un blouson – a jacket / windbreaker (outwear sort of jacket)
une veste – a vest / blazer
une veste d’hiver – a winter jacket
une veste polaire – a fleece jacket
un imper(méable) – a raincoat / trenchcoat (m.)

des sous-vêtements – underwear (m.)
un slip – briefs
un caleçon – boxers (single pair)
une culotte – panties (single pair)
des culottes – panties (multiple pairs)
un soutien-gorge – a bra
un collant – tights / pantyhose

Clothing Accessories in French

These are things that you would wear to enhance your wardrobe or add a bit of pizzaz to it.

un chapeau – a hat
un bonnet – a beanie / winter hat
des gants – gloves (m.)
une écharpe – a scarf
une ceinture – a belt

des bijoux – jewelry (m.)
une montre – a watch
un bracelet – a bracelet
un collier – a necklace
des boucles d’oreilles – earrings

More Specific Articles of Clothing

These articles of clothing are a bit more specific – depending on the time of year, an occasion, an event, or while doing a specific activity.

un maillot de bain – a swimsuit / bathing suit
– maillot de bain deux-pièce – a two-piece bikini
un bikini – a bikini
un maillot – a uniform or sports jersey
un peignoir (de bain) – a (bath)robe
un cardigan – a cardigan
un casque – a helmet

Materials of Clothing

le coton – cotton
le cuir – leather
la laine –  wool
le nylon – nylon
le tissu – the fabric / cloth

General clothing Vocabulary & Descriptors

court(e) – short
long(ue) – long
petit(e) – small
large – large

Example sentence: Mes vêtements sont trop longs (my clothes are too long).

chic – chic
confortable – comfortable
élégant(e) – elegant
moderne – modern
sale – dirty
neuf / neuve – new

Je vais me changer – I’m going to go change
Je m’habille(e) – I’ll go get dressed
enlever – to take off (for example, take off one specific article of clothing)
s’habiller – to get dressed
se déshabiller – to undress

Check out our vocabulary archive for more French vocabulary lists. Or make a comment below if you think I missed something important!

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