# What items of clothing have changed their names over the years? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 6, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011 "2013-04-06T13:33:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/1 "2013-04-06T13:33:38Z")
This morning, as I put on underpants, a brassiere, sweatshirt, sweatpants, and hooded sweatshirt, I reflected that nowadays I am actually wearing panties, a bra, sweatshirt, sweats, and hoodie. And socks and shoes. So what other items have changed? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/2 "2013-04-06T13:47:46Z")
My grandmother wore clam diggers, my mom wore pedal pushers. I wore capris. My grandmother wore culottes, my mom wore split skirts, I wore gauchos. My mom wore bell bottoms, I wore flares. My grandmother wore girdles and a brassiere, my mom eschewed the girdle and burned her bra, I wear shapewear. šŸ˜ƒ There are some small detail differences as fashions change, of course, but I think itā€™s fair to say these garments are more or less the same with new names. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/3 "2013-04-06T13:54:44Z")
my pantaloons now have a zipper. my trousers no longer have a crease. do I have my pants on? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/4 "2013-04-06T13:55:49Z")
All the items in the OP are simply shortened versions of the longer names. Does that really count as having ā€œchanged namesā€? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/5 "2013-04-06T13:59:40Z")
My kids think Iā€™m being quaint when I refer to my ā€œdungareesā€ā€“they profess not even to understand what that word means. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/6 "2013-04-06T16:15:12Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > my pantaloons now have a zipper. my trousers no longer have a crease. > > do I have my pants on? And fashionistas now refer to them as a pant. ---
**Author:** ![Michigander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@Michigander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michigander)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/7 "2013-04-06T16:33:34Z")
Not yet mentioned.\> waistcoat (wescot) =vest. Referring to trousers as ā€œpantā€ is not so new. I was hearing this maybe 40 yrs ago in a nice mens store. ---
**Author:** ![PurpleClogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@PurpleClogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PurpleClogs)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/8 "2013-04-06T16:57:34Z")
Slacks ---
**Author:** ![Gymnopithys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@Gymnopithys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gymnopithys)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/9 "2013-04-06T17:16:54Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > And fashionistas now refer to them as a pant. Same in French. I wouldnā€™t dare go in a store and ask for ā€œdes pantalonsā€. Itā€™s LE pantalon, please. As if it had only one leg :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/10 "2013-04-06T17:35:16Z")
> [@Michigander](#): > > Not yet mentioned.\> waistcoat (wescot) =vest. Thatā€™s the US/British difference, not an age-related one. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/11 "2013-04-06T20:15:54Z")
Thongs used to be footwear. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/12 "2013-04-06T20:45:30Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I wore gauchos. And you admit this why? Braces ā€“\> Suspenders. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/13 "2013-04-06T21:35:21Z")
Interestingly enough, the words ā€œshirtā€ and ā€œskirtā€ are actually cognates. Shirt is a native English word while skirt is from Old Norse, the language of the Vikings. It appears that the meanings diverged once ā€œskirtā€ had entered English usage. English is a West Germanic language and Old Norse (which eventually became Danish, Norwegian, and other languages) was North Germanic. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2013, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/14 "2013-04-06T22:42:07Z")
> [@Michigander](#): > > Not yet mentioned.\> waistcoat (wescot) =vest. Referring to trousers as ā€œpantā€ is not so new. I was hearing this maybe 40 yrs ago in a nice mens store. On the clothing forums I frequent (sf, aaac), these are different items. Vests have 3 or 4 button closure and higher neckline, wasitcoats have one or two buttons and a lower neckline. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/15 "2013-04-07T01:58:06Z")
In groovier times, low-rise pants were known as hip huggers. ---
**Author:** ![VernWinterbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/c67d28/32.png) [@VernWinterbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VernWinterbottom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/16 "2013-04-07T02:01:46Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > On the clothing forums I frequent (sf, aaac), these are different items. Vests have 3 or 4 button closure and higher neckline, wasitcoats have one or two buttons and a lower neckline. Iā€™m a Rev War reenactor. In America, both before and after the war, men wore waistcoats over their shirts. (Shirts were underwear.) The length of the Waistcoat , number of buttons and neck line changed over the years but they didnā€™t become ā€œvestsā€ until the 19th century. From the waist down, we wore breeches, pronounced britches, both knee length and full length. Examples here: [18th century menā€™s clothing from Jas. Townsend & Son](http://jas-townsend.com/index.php?cPath=1_17) Dickies still sells pants they call dungaree jeans, but otherwise dungarees seemed to have become jeans after the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/17 "2013-04-07T05:07:32Z")
NIce site. I donā€™t think I could pull off a tri-corn hat, but I wouldnā€™t mind if frock coats came back. šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/18 "2013-04-07T05:11:01Z")
My mother wore army boots. And you have no idea fat she was. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/19 "2013-04-07T07:17:02Z")
What were _Daisy Dukes_ before Daisy Duke came along? Were they cutoff shorts? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2013, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011/20 "2013-04-07T07:47:56Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > What were _Daisy Dukes_ before Daisy Duke came along? Were they cutoff shorts? [Short shorts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcvjXAtzaMU) Iā€™d guess (denim) short shorts. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-items-of-clothing-have-changed-their-names-over-the-years/655011.md?page=2)