Welt cutter—a machine for notching welts for boots and shoes to make them lie smoothly in position.
Welt leather—any l. fit for making shoe welts; usually the shoulder ends of hides.
Welt machine—a m. for cutting leather into strips to be used as shoe welts.
Welt seam—in tailoring a lapt s. with the top edge turned under thus raising or swelling it; a raised or swelled s.
Welt seam—(glove term) an inseam (qv) with a strip of leather between the join acting as a protector to the stitches, used only on working gloves of very stout leathers.
Welt sole—(1) a name used for designating a particular method of attaching the outer s. to a shoe; that is, the s. is stitcht to a w. and the w. to the inner sole and upper; (2) a shoe made by the w. process. There are various methods of using a w.; Goodyear w. being the best known; Mock w. being an imitation of the Goodyear process; McKay w. being a process where the McKay method of attaching the outer s. is used in connection with a w. in imitation of the Goodyear process.
Welted pocket—a p. without a covering flap finisht with a sewed-on strip or welt and stitcht to match the edges and seams.
Welting—the process in modern shoe making following that of lasting—the surplus leather being trimmed off, the shank tackt in place, the bottom filled with cork (if at all) and the sole put on. See Welt sole.
West-of-England—trade term for extra fine dress worsteds, broadcloths, etc.; properly from woolen manufacturing towns in the west of England. (Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, etc.)
West Point overcoat—one of the many names applied to an ulster-like coat brought out during the winter of 1907–08—both single and double-breasted, buttoning to the throat, with a high Prussian collar.
West Point uniform—see Cadet u.
Western Union messenger’s uniform—see Telegraph m. u.
Wether wool—all clippings subsequent to the first clip from the young sheep. See Lamb’s w.
Weybosset—one of the oldest American woolen mills, at one time famous for its original patterns in cloths, which were in great demand and widely copied.
Whale fin—one of the trade names for whalebone.
Whalebone—a horny substance from the throat of the whale, used as stiffening in corsets, etc.
Whangee—any of several varieties of bamboo (Chinese and Japanese) used for walking sticks.
What-d’ye-call-’ems—colloquial for drawers, breeches, and the like.
Wheel piece—an extra p. patcht on to the plait-side of the skirt of a frock coat, necessitated by inability to cut the pattern whole from narrow width goods, the seam being concealed in the folds or plaits; once a common expedient, but now with double-width goods seldom, if ever, necessary.
Wheeling—a process for indenting a fancy figuring or line around the heel of a shoe or for indenting a conventional figure or line on the bottom of a shoe as one of the finishing processes. See Heel seat w.
Wherewithal—vernacular for the means of purchasing, etc.; money.
Whipcord—a worsted fabric with rounded cords or ribs extending diagonally across the surface; usually dyed in plain colors or woven in mixtures of oxford, tan with white, etc.
Whipping the cat—up to about 50 years ago or thereabout it was the practise of country tailors to go about from house to house and from town to town and cut and make on the premises such clothing as the household needed, usually from the homespun cloth made by the housewives. This was called “whipping the cat”.
Whipstitch—to sew the edge of a fabric or a seam with long, wrapping stitches; to overcast.
Whisk—small, short-handled clothes-broom.
White cap—(army) for officers, of white linen or white duck, conforming to the pattern of the service c., with a band of white braid, and with visor, strap, buttons as prescribed for dress c.; no badge; for enlisted men, same as for officers, omitting the white braid; (marine corps) for all officers, of white duck, of same pattern as undress c., trimmed with white braid, the base of the c. to a depth of one-quarter inch all around to be of dark blue cloth.
White coat—(army) for all officers, a c. of white linen duck or other material, cut and made after the same (general) pattern as the (blue) dress c. (qv), the braid trimming being also white; for enlisted men, a single-breasted sack c. of bleacht cotton duck, of regulation pattern, with collar ornaments as for dress c.
White dress coat—(navy) for chief petty officers, except bandmaster, and for officer’s stewards and officer’s cooks: of bleacht cotton drill of pattern prescribed for blue coats of the several ratings, unlined, with patch pockets without flaps; for bandsmen, the same as for enlisted men of the marine corps.
White evening dress coat—(navy) see Evening d. c.
White gold—an alloy of 5 parts of silver to one of gold.
White goods—general trade term embracing all white cotton and linen fabrics; also staple articles of apparel in white.
White helmet—(marine corps)—for all officers, non-commissioned officers, drummers, trumpeters and privates, same as standard sample in quartermaster’s office; with special full dress and full dress, the spike and spike base will be worn; with undress or field uniforms the ventilator top only. No corps device.
White lapel—nickname for a lieutenant in the English navy, alluding to the w. lapels formerly worn on the coat.
White rose—a perfume sufficiently explained by its name.
White service coat—(navy) for officers, similar in cut and fit to the blue s. c., of white linen duck, bleacht cotton twill, or other suitable material, without braid trimming, and buttoning thru with 5 large, gilt navy buttons (except for chaplains, which are white), and having on each breast a buttoned patch pocket; appropriate shoulder marks per rank.
White service dress—(navy) a uniform to be worn at all times not otherwise provided for, and instead of other uniform in hot weather, on occasions of ceremony, when offense would not thereby be given, if prescribed by the senior officer present. Consists of, for all commissioned officers and midshipmen, w. s. coat, w. trousers, w. cap (or helmet), shoulder marks; for warrant officers, mates and clerks, the same without shoulder marks.
White trousers—(army) for officers, of same material as coat, without stripe, welt or cord; for enlisted men: of bleacht cotton duck without stripes.
White undress coat—(marine corps) see Undress c.
White uniform—(army) worn by all officers, dismounted, when authorized by the commanding officer, but not on occasions of duty with troops; consists of w. coat, w. trousers, w. cap, w. canvas or black leather shoes; for enlisted men, dismounted, worn when prescribed by commanding officer for off-duty wear, but not on dress occasions: w. coat, w. trousers, w. cap, w. canvas or black leather shoes.
White wax—bleacht beeswax.
White working dress—(navy) see Working d.
Whitecaps—a sort of vigilance committee, robed in white with white caps on their nocturnal morality raids.
Whitewings—a piccadilly shirt collar. See Wing collar.
Whitewings—a name given to the white uniformed street cleaners organized in New York by Col. Waring and now copied by many large cities.
Whiting—British for bleaching.
Whitney—(1) a heavy, coarse, sturdy woolen stuff of 18th century, used for coats, breeches, etc.; (2) a soft bodied overcoat cloth, resembling chinchilla but with the face tufted in transverse ridges.
Whitney long—same as Whitney (2) but with the face tufting running longitudinally instead of transversely.
Whole back—tailoring term indicating (1) a coat made with a b. in one piece, without seams, (2) the backpart of a frock coat cut in one piece (without a center seam and not stubbed or cut across), the skirts of which may be open or closed. Compare Frock b., Stubbed b., Step b., False b. Skirt.
Whole falls—see Broad f.
Whole-sole—to put entire new (lower) soles to a worn shoe, boot, etc.
Whole vamp—see Long v.
Wholesale—selling in quantity, to retailers; jobbing.
Whytlaw—general trade term for fine shirting ginghams, madrasses, etc., manufactured by R. A. Whytlaw, Son & Co., Glasgow, Scotland.
Wide-awake—a soft, broad-brimmed, felt hat.
Wide wale—general name for flat-twilled close finisht worsted suitings with warpwise or diagonal wales or flat ribs, often quite wide. Compare Narrow w.
Widower’s weeds—equivocal manifestations of uxorial grief.
Wig—an arrangement of false hair for concealing baldness or for the supposed adornment of the head; origin lost in antiquity. From the time of Louis XIII until nearly the close of the 18th century gentlemen could not or would not appear without one. In those days wigs were of innumerable sizes and shapes and bore descriptiv names, those of England and colonial America being often whimsical and, to us now, grotesque, as: Adonis, allonge, beau peruke, bob, brigadier, campaign, club, cut-w., corded wolf’s paw, Count Saxe’s mode, giddy feathertop, Gregorian, grave full-bottom, Grecian fly, Jansenist, lavant, lawyer’s long tail, fox-tail, full-bottom, feathertop, macaroni toupee, major, minor, neck lock, scratch, spinach seed, she-dragon, snail back, Ramillies, tie, twist, royal bird, tuck, wild boar’s back, vallancy, dalmahoy, rhinoceros, Tyburn, cauliflower, curley roys, minister’s bob, airy levants, etc. Wigs are still worn on the English bench and by the speaker of the House of Commons.
Wigan—a very stiff, open, canvas interlining material used by tailors for stiffening and giving shape to flies, cuffs, vest-fronts, collars, etc. Also spelt wiggin, wigging, etc.
Willeying—a mechanical process for untangling and cleaning wool fleece. (Fr. name of the inventor.)
Willie—too good to live.
Willow pattern—an effect in straw hat braids, so woven as to resemble a willow basket in texture, tho much finer, of course.
Willowing—see Willeying.
Willowing machine—a machine for cleaning and opening textil fibers and wools preparatory to the spinning processes. Also called opening m. and devil.
Wilsonia magnetic hat—a h. that had a tremendous vogue during the third quarter (?) of the last century because supposed to be infallible as a cure for headache, neuralgia, etc., owing to small strips of magnetised steel sewed to a cloth band which was attacht to the h. inside the leather sweat-lining. (Name from that of the manufacturer?)
Wincey—a cloth, plain or twilled, usually with a cotton warp and wool filling.
Wind muff—see W. shield.
Wind shield—a silk or light rubber part sewed to the lining of a coat sleeve near the cuff, with an elastic or drawing cord to make it fit snugly to the wrist for the purpose of excluding wind while automobiling, etc.
Window garments—generally speaking, g. that are much better than the g. actually delivered to the customer; a favorit device of the “cheap tailor” for attracting trade, being made almost invariably by highly paid journeymen tailors, and representing in the case of coats a cost from $8 to $15 for making alone, against say $2.50 to $5 that it would cost the tailor himself to produce in his own shops; naturally such coats are not for sale, except at the end of the season, and then for as much as they will bring; the readymade clothier also occasionally indulges in this practice—the really fashionable tailor almost never, as he seldom has show windows and as seldom advertises; besides his everyday g. are as good in workmanship and usually superior in style.
Window of the sole—proprietary term for a paper label attacht by its edges to the center of a shoe s., on the outside, the space beneath not being stained, while the rest of the s. is both stained and polisht; removal of the “window” covering exposing and attesting the quality of the leather; a trade mark of the Regal Shoe Co.
Window trimmer—a man who generally understands the psychology of attracting attention.
Windsor cap—a fur c. with a high, full, round crown and a wide, rolling band, high at rear and sloping to a short, rolled peak in front.
Windsor leather—a straight-grained, stampt l. used for hand luggage.
Windsor tie—affected by would-be bohemians and forced upon helpless children such as would-be little Lords Fauntleroy.
Wine stiff—trade term for felt hats stiffened by a preparation of alcohol. See Water s.
Wing collar—a standing shirt c. with triangular, turned back points or wings; also known as Piccadilly and “white wings”.
Wing tip—an ornamental tip on a shoe, which instead of being cut off at right angles or in a straight line as ordinary tips, is carried back along the sides.
Wining—in hat making the act or process of putting a solution of shellac upon the edge of a brim to re-enforce or harden same.
Winter mink—m. caught in the cold winter months; the finest quality. Compare Spring m.
Winter tan—any extra stout t. leather used for heavy footwear, particularly storm boots.
Winter weight—in the woolens trades suitings of 16 to 20 ounces and overcoatings of 24 to 30 ounces to the yard are so known. Compare Spring w., Fall w., Summer w., Tropical w.
Wipe—a handkerchief.
Wiping in—the process of shaping the toe or other parts of a shoe by means of iron wipers or grippers.
Witch—the shed motion of a loom. See Dobbie.
Witney—a heavy cloth. See Whitney.
Woad—(1) an herb of the mustard family (esatis tinctoria), used by the ancient Britons for staining their bodies and later by dyers as a dye and as a ferment; (2) the blue dye obtained from the leaves of the plant but now almost entirely superseded by indigo, with which, however, it is occasionally mixt to promote fermentation.
Woaded—dyed or tattooed with woad.
Wombat—an Australian animal, somewhat like a small bear.
Wood silk—a textil fiber produced by chemical treatment of wood pulp, making yarns of good strength and great brilliancy and softness, permanent except against the action of water. See Artificial s.
Wood yarn—cellulose fiber converted into flat strips of requisit thickness and width and then spun into textil y., sometimes alone and sometimes, for greater strength, around a minute cotton thread, forming the material known as Xylolin (qv). This y. can be woven into almost any fabric or form, such as dress and clothing fabrics, bathing suits, underwear, imitation Panama hats, carpets, bagging, draperies, etc. It is washable and cleanable, and is not especially combustible.
Woof—(1) the threads that cross the warp in weaving; the weft or filling; (2) a term sometimes used to indicate finisht cloth or textures.
Wool—the fleece of sheep; used for textil and similar purposes. In grading the shorn staple the most common practise is to classify it into three grand divisions, to wit: (1) carding or clothing w. (also called “short staple” [2 to 4 inches long]), such as merino, having special felting properties; (2) combing w. (also called “long staple” [4 to 10 inches long]), in which length of staple is first consideration and felting properties are not desired, being appropriate for hardspun worsted yarns; (3) miscellaneous, a grouping of long, strong, coarse w. suitable for blankets, carpets (sometimes known by these and other names), coarse clothing, etc. These, again, are subdivided into the following grades:
Short staple wools are also known as picklock (finest), prime, choice, super, head, seconds, abb and breech or livery; long staple or worsted wools are also classed as fine, blue, neat, brown, breach, downright, seconds, abb. Wools are further graded according to the parts of the body from which sheared, the physical condition of the fleece (as common hair, dead, kemp, crossbreed, ½ blood, ¼ blood, etc.), the country where produced (as Australian, territory, Oregon, Ohio), etc. The manufacturer in turn makes from fifteen to twenty or more sorts, according to the kind of yarn and goods he produces, and each mill has its own standard and nomenclature. Short staple wools are the finest and long staple the coarsest. The value of combing hair increases with every inch of length, other conditions being equal. The scope of this work does not permit an extended treatis (which the subject merits)—so you had better consult some authoritativ book on wools and weaving, or some good encyclopedia.
Wool backt—a worsted fabric, of typical worsted face, but with a backing of w., the pattern not going thru; plated. See Thru-and-thru. (W. backed.)
Wool clip—one season’s c. or shearing of w.
Wool dyed—d. in the w. before making into cloth. Compare Ingrain dye.
Wool extract—see Extract w.
Wool felt—hatter’s term for felts (and hats thereof) made from sheep’s w. The process said to have been discovered by St. Clement, who, while on a pilgrimage, pluckt a handful of w. from a sheep by the wayside and placed it in his sandals; the action of walking and heat from his feet formed the w. into a compact mass.
Wool-in-the-grease—(1) uncleaned w.; (2) a clip.
Wool seal—a heavier and more hairy pelt than the fur s., used for less expensiv garments. Also the hide of this species of seal furnishes the leather and fur pocketbooks, belts, bags, etc. Compare Fur s.
Wool shears—a tool very much like lawn (grass) shears.
Wool sorter’s disease—a kind of blood poisoning from infected w., probably anthrax.
Woolenet—a light-weight woolen fabric.
Woolens—general name for cloths made of carded wool in contradistinction to worsteds (of combed w.); usually soft woven.
Work-in—see Hold in.
Working coat—(1) a weatherproof sack c., either single or double-breasted, worn in place of both suit-coat and overcoat; usually of leather, canvas, corduroy, etc., (2) a jumper.
Working dress—(navy) attire prescribed to be worn by details of men or others engaged in work for which it may be necessary. For all but ordinary enlisted men, both blue and white w. d. is the same as blue and white undress, but the w. d. prescribed for “all other enlisted men” may be drawn and worn during work such as requires it; for all other enlisted men: blue w. d., blue w. jumper, blue cloth or flannel trousers, blue cap, no neckerchief nor knife lanyard. White w. d.: same as white undress, but old clothes may be worn.
Working jumper—(navy) same as undress j. (qv), but made of dark blue flannel.
Working shoe—any stout s. of coarse leather, usually on the brogan order.
World-beater—term of real or assumed enthusiasm employed by some salespeople, advertisement writers, et al., in commendation of really or fictionally exceptional values or merchandising “events”.
Worumbo—general term for men’s wear fabrics, especially chinchilla overcoatings, made by the Worumbo Mfg. Co., Lisbon Falls, Me.
Worsteds—general name for fabrics constructed of combed wool; usually hard woven and variously finisht.
Wrap—a sort of hold-all in which various kinds of luggage may be packt or wrapt.
Wrap-rascal—a close-buttoned jocky coat with large metal buttons. See also Joseph.
Wrapper—(1) any loose flowing outer garment, as a dressing gown (term now almost entirely confined to women’s wear); (2) an infant’s undershirt of the button-down-the-front variety.
Wrappers—leggings.
Wrapping stitch—a loose s. binding edges and seams; an overcast s.; a whip s.
Wrinkle—a pucker or crease; sign of bad tailoring or careless wear.
Wrist support—a leather band with strap to prevent spraining the w., worn by baseball players, draymen, etc.
Wristband—(1) specifically, the narrow band that terminates a shirt sleeve; (2) a short or narrow cuff.
Wristfall—a falling band or ruff once worn about the wrist.
Wristler—a knitted band worn on the wrist for warmth.
Wristlet—same as Wristler.
X
Xylolin—a new textil material made in Saxony, consisting of narrow strips of light paper and cotton or wool spun and woven into a cream-colored cloth fabric. So cheap that a complete plain suit of men’s clothes may be produced from it for as little as three dollars. It is claimed that this fabric can be washt repeatedly without injury to the surface.
Y
Yacht cloth—a light, fine twill woven woolen cloth, finisht with a roughish surface and dyed in plain colors; a sort of heavy flannel.
Yacht hat—see Boater.
Yachting cap—a style of cloth c. with a full crown and a small peak or visor.
Yachting shoe—commonly, a low-cut leather or canvas s. with wedge heels and rubber soles.
Yankee cap—a cloth c. having a flat or round crown and a closely sticht brim turned straight up behind and down in front (tho the back may be dropt for storm wear); devised for automobiling.
Yankee notions—small labor saving contrivances, toilet or dress adjuncts, etc.; anything you can think of; term more used in England than here.
Yard-and-a-quarter-stick—very useful in the clothing and tailoring trades.
Yard stick—if full length, 36 inches long.
Yard-wide—36 inches, of course.
Yarn—thread for knitting or weaving.
Yarn-dyed—see Skein dyes.
Ylang ylang—“flower of flowers”; a perfume derived from or in imitation of the flowers of a Malayan tree of the custard-apple family.
Yoke—a band or cross-piece to which other parts of a garment are attacht.
Yoke coat—a coat made with a yoke back or front, or both.
Yolk—the fatty or greasy matter contained in wool; also called suint.
Z
Zanella—a variety of cotton-warp worsted serge used for coat linings, umbrella coverings, etc.
Zebra stripes—one of 1907’s foolishnesses in men’s wear woolens—simply, any stark, staring stripe.
Zerape—see Serape.
Zero collar—proprietary name for a very deep variety of ulster c.
Zouave cap—a sort of fez.
Zouave jacket—a short j. or blouse reaching about to the waist, and cut away in front.
Zouave trousers—bloomers!
Zouave uniform—you’ve just read it!
Zuchetta—a small, round, clerical skull cap of silk or velvet, covering the tonsure, and of color suited to the wearer’s rank.