SKIP TO CONTENT

Keeping Up Appearances: Finishing Touches: Words for Accessories

A fabulous accessory can make your whole outfit shine, and the perfect word will do the same for your vocabulary. So put on your best baubles, and make a fashion statement with this season's must-have words!
14 words 669 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Full list of words from this list:

  1. ascot
    a tie with wide square ends
    Like some of the guests, he wore striped trousers and a swallow-tail coat with black-braided lapels topped by a rich ascot tie. Invisible Man
    Ascot is a village in England that's home to a fancy horserace. Posh accessories worn to the race, including this wide men's scarf tied somewhat like a necktie, are described with the adjective ascot. In this country, the ascot tie is simply called an ascot. It's still very much a signifier of wealth and social stature, and an easy way to look like you own a racehorse or a yacht, even if you don't.
  2. bangle
    jewelry worn around the wrist for decoration
    She put the finishing touches to Aurelia’s appearance, fastening a diadem across her forehead, a jeweled pendant round her neck, and gold bangles on her wrists. Tiger, Tiger
  3. bauble
    cheap showy jewelry or ornament
    They stop to admire baubles and necklaces, then enter a dress shop. The Belles
    A bauble, like gewgaw below, is a piece of inexpensive jewelry or a small object designed to look as flashy as possible. It comes from the Old French babel or baubel, meaning "trinket" or "child's toy."
  4. brooch
    a decorative pin
    Today he wore white velvet, and his snowy cloak was fastened with a lion brooch. A Game of Thrones
  5. clog
    footwear usually with wooden soles
    The wooden clogs I wore were terrible for crossing icy patches and clomping through snowdrifts, but I was still better off than those who had lost their shoes, or never had any to begin with. Prisoner B-3087
    A clog in your toilet is no fun, but clog can also refer to a shoe made partly or entirely from wood. Some companies now also make comfortable rubber clogs for chefs. There's even a form of folk dance called clogging, and there's probably some smart-aleck plumber somewhere who does a dance he calls un-clogging.
  6. clutch
    a woman's strapless purse that is carried in the hand
    Last October, Balenciaga—in partnership with Frito-Lay—debuted its $1,500 clutch that resembles a crumpled, discarded bag of Lay's potato chips. Salon
    The verb clutch means to grab tightly. As a noun, clutch can also refer to a small purse that is frequently with no handle or strap, so that it must be held in the hand. Usually petite and on the dressier side, a clutch is often beaded or sequined to make it an eye-catching fashion statement.
  7. cravat
    a scarf or band of cloth worn around the neck
    Just then, Nemo walked in, wearing an Edwardian waistcoat, pleated black pants, a starched white shirt, and a cravat patterned in blue and gray. The 57 Bus
    Croatian mercenaries in 17th century France wore distinctive neckerchiefs; the French named them after their version of "Croat," i.e. someone from Croatia, which was cravat. In several languages cravat is the word for necktie. In American English it more often refers to a neck-borne scarf, neckerchief, or bandana-type situation (as opposed to a tie). An ascot could be described as a type of cravat.
  8. espadrille
    a cloth sandal with a sole made of rope
    Their feet are shod in clogs, sabots, backless loafers, espadrilles with crushable heels and various other iterations of shoes with a covered toe and open back. New York Times
  9. gewgaw
    cheap showy jewelry, ornament, or decoration
    All his energy goes into making the prizes for the contest, truly awful hats constructed from Dollar Store gewgaws. Washington Post
    Gewgaw likely originates in the root of give, so that it means a pretty gift of little value. Alternatively, it may come from gaw, an obsolete word that's the source of gawk. In either case, the meaning is dismissive or mildly insulting: something a child would find pretty, but which is worthless.
  10. parasol
    a handheld collapsible source of shade
    Intricate hats cover the ladies' hair; some clutch dainty parasols and oilpaper umbrellas, or cool themselves with patterned fans. The Belles
    A small umbrella often made from paper, parasol is from Latin, via French, and literally means "protection from the sun." You can see this clearly in the French word for umbrella, parapluie, where pluie is rain and the prefix para once again means "protection from." The word umbrella also comes from Latin, from the word umbra, meaning "shade."
  11. spat
    a cloth covering that covers the instep and ankles
    Men wore top hats and decorative military helmets, cutaways and spats, while my great-grandmother looked chic in a fur-trimmed coat, standing between the Duke and the United States’ ambassador to Spain. New York Times
  12. spectacles
    eyeglasses
    As he put on his spectacles, he was quite pleased at the prospect of a whole winter of reading travel books, with no work to interrupt him. Mr. Popper's Penguins
    Spectare means "to look" in Latin, so it makes sense that spectacles is another word for eyeglasses. Glasses, while necessary for some people to see clearly, are also a popular accessory, especially in their tinted versions. After all, everyone from Snoopy to ZZ Top knows that sunglasses make you look cooler.
  13. tiara
    a jeweled, semicircular band worn on the head
    A silver tiara studded with crystal rhinestones crowns my hair, which is pulled tightly back in a thick bun. Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina
    Tiara comes from Greek, where it referred to royal Persian headdresses. It's a partial circle of jewels worn on the head, often by pageant winners and princesses. If you have a complete circle of jewels on your head, that's known as a crown, or, using another Greek word, a diadem.
  14. veil
    a garment that covers the head and face
    She put a heavy veil on his head and tied it around his face so that it covered all except his eyes. Bless Me, Ultima
Created on Tue Oct 22 13:01:23 EDT 2019 (updated Wed May 24 15:08:38 EDT 2023)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.