Fashion’s hidden word origins from top of head to stilletto

Threads, clothes, duds, garb, gear, vesture, habiliments. Designer Miuccia Prada once mused, “Fashion is instant language,” and I couldn’t agree more. Let’s slip into something a little more comfortable as we undress words of a sartorial nature.

Starting from the top: from the effortless cool of a baseball cap to the raw exuberance of a 10-gallon Stetson, most of us have chosen to partake at one point or another in accessories that sit atop one’s noggin. Millinery, the design and manufacture of hats, traces its roots to the demonym “Milaner,” meaning “a native or resident of

Grilled Cheese

(Continued from page 8) oche, $12 (when open for lunch). 6667 Hollywood Blvd. 323-467-7788.

Joan’s on Third has an oversized buttery $14.50 version and also a sophisticated fromage d’affinois with apricot glazed ham on a pressed ficelle (skinny baguette), $8.95. 8350 W. Third St. 323655-2285.

The Melt is dedicated to all things cheesy, including a melty macaroni and cheese sandwich, $9.49. 7111 Santa Monica Blvd. 213-344-4906.

Swingers Diner stuffs its grilled cheese with Jack and cheddar cheeses, guacamole, tomatoes and grilled onions on grilled sourdough, $15.95. 8020 Beverly Blvd.

Police Beat

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A couple of suspects entered a victim’s garage at 6:30 a.m. on March 10 and fled with property from the 400 block of North Sycamore Avenue.

Milan.” Now considered one of the “Big Four” fashion capitals of the world (along with New York, London and Paris), the northern Italian city has been a hub of Europe’s fashion industry as far back as the Middle Ages, when it was a famous purveyor of straw works, silks, ribbons and bonnets.

Picture for a moment that our imaginary mannequin is wearing a classic white button-up shirt — long sleeves, button cuffs, relaxed fit and a curved shirttail hem. The shirt gets its crisp, structured appearance from its material — poplin. This simple everyday fabric is tradition-

323-591-0046.

Alas, one must travel to New York City for the grilled cheese that holds the 2019 Guinness World Record for most expensive sandwich.

The $214 Quintessential Grilled Cheese from Serendipity 3 restaurant is made with Dom Perignon bread with 24k gold flakes, white truffle butter, and cheese made from rare Italian Podolica cows that only lactate in May and June. 225 E. 60th St., New York City; 212-838-3531.

Word Café by Mara

Fisher

ally fashioned into blouses and breezy sundresses, but its etymology is steeped in a grander affiliation. The plain weave material originally hails from the town of Avignon in the Provence region of France, which was the pope’s residence from 1309 until 1408. Initially made from silk thread, the fabric was called papalino in the Provençal dialect, meaning “of or belonging to the pope.” What better complement to a timeless poplin button-up than a perfectly worn-in pair of jeans? Though many of us are familiar with the late 19th-century popularization of the utilitarian closet sta- ple in California and beyond, thanks to one Levi Strauss, the sturdy cotton textile from which blue jeans are cut was first produced thousands of miles away in the city of Nîmes, France. Called serge de Nîmes in French, the material’s designation evolved into the English contraction “denim.” In the port city of Genoa, Italy, a similar fabric, dyed blue with indigo traded from India, was being used to outfit dockworkers and the Genoese navy. Exported by the French as “Blue from Genoa,” or bleu de Gênes, they are known to us today simply as “blue jeans” or “jeans.”

Let’s linger in Italy a while as we draw our mind’s eye to the footwear of this outfit. The stiletto heel is as ergonomically flawed as they come, but few can deny its ability to instantly take an outfit from vanilla to va-va-voom. This vertiginous shoe sports a tall, thin heel named for its resem- blance to the Italian stiletto, a knife with a long, slender blade and needle-sharp point dating back to the 15th century. The weapon derives its name from the Latin stilus, a word describing a stylus or pencil used for writing on waxen tablets. If the sword is mighty, and the pen mightier, is it fair to suggest that a pair of vampy heels is mightiest? Whether fashion is what you eat, breathe and sleep, or simply something you participate in to avoid getting arrested when going out in public, it’s worth noting that each of its shapes, colors and textures tells a story. (See Meryl Streep’s infamous lecture on the color cerulean in the 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada” [written for the screen by Windsor Square’s Aline Brosh McKenna].) So next time you throw open those wardrobe doors, scan your racks for ready-to-wear fare that might hold more than meets the eye.