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robe-housse

English translation: sack dress

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:robe-housse
English translation:sack dress
Entered by: Claire Chapman

04:12 Jan 23, 2008
French to English translations [PRO]
Marketing - Textiles / Clothing / Fashion / Women's fashions
French term or phrase: robe-housse
This is supposed to be the replacement for the baby doll dress. It's a short, straight line dress, and evidently usually comes with long sleeves. Here's a site with a description in French:

http://www.tendances-de-mode.com/2007/10/25/484-robe-housse-...

In fact, there are loads and loads of sites featuring those robes-housse: they're supposed to be the hot trend this year. But what are they called in English?
Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 08:57
sack dress
Explanation:
Larousse housse - [de vêtements] suit sack

sack' dress" - a loose, unbelted dress that hangs straight from the shoulder to the hemline.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/sack dress

sack dress - • noun a woman’s loose unwaisted dress, originally fashionable in the 1950s.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/sackdress?view=uk


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2008-01-23 16:22:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Black wool sack dress
Designed by Balenciaga, Paris, 1959-60
Balenciaga began to experiment with the sack dress during the fifties. The simple, loose style was the opposite of the more common nipped-in waist of that era and looked forward to the 1960s shift dress.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1211_sixties/balenc...

Balenciaga
In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress[3] of 1958. Other contributions in the postwar era included the spherical balloon jacket (1953), the high-waisted baby doll dress (1957), the cocoon coat (1957), the balloon skirt (1957), and the **sack dress** (1957).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balenciaga

You may have heard someone, most likely and extremely fashion forward person, mention wearing a "sack" or a "sack dress". It may confuse those who are just hearing about this trend for the first time, but it won't be for long. Sack dresses, shift dresses and shirt dresses are hitting the fashion scene in a big way. The one thing all these dresses have in common is that they're loose, rather shapeless and lack a defined waist. However their silhouettes differ.

The shift dress of today hangs straight to the ground, usually with a slight a line. Shirt dresses are basically a longer version of a button front, woven shirt, and are usually the most fitted of the three. **The sack dress is much looser and often rounded throughout the bodice and skirt.** And to tell the truth, this trend isn't entirely new. Top designers such as Balenciaga and Chloe sent these looks down the runway early last year, as a part of their Spring/Summer 2006 collection, and celebrities such as Nicki Hilton were seen wearing these dresses earlier this year. Slowly, these garments are making their way into the mainstream, but it takes a bit of hunting to find them online.

… **They have a Catharine Malandrino pointelle sweater sack dress, which embodies what a sack dress should perfectly with it's rounded hips. It comes in ivory and gray, and rings up at a steep $325. For those not quite as daring in their fashion choices, Daryl K makes a great black dress which is a cross between a sack and a tunic. It is belted at the waist, which makes it more flattering on a broader range of figures, but it's gathered at the bottom to emphasize the look of a sack.**
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/84696/where_to_buy_...

robe tube – shift dress
Robe droite dont la taille, non coupée, et l’ourlet ont le meme diamètre
Vocabulaire de l’habillement de Céline Dupré et de Françoise Hudon

shift - 5 a straight unwaisted dress. 6 historical a long, loose undergarment
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/shift?view=uk

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2008-01-23 21:01:51 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Yolanda! :-)
Selected response from:

Claire Chapman
Local time: 08:57
Grading comment
I think you've got it! Or at least as close as I'm going to get right now. I've just been comparing photos of sack dresses with those for "Robe-housse." "Robe-housse" is clearly a new style or at least a new name, while the sack dress is one that's been kicking around for a long time, but they do have the same lines, fabrics, length, and predominance of long sleeves.

If I ever run across a consecrated translation of this doggone term, I'll post here. ;-)
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3long-sleeved shift dress
ACOZ (X)
3 +2shift-dress
Angeliki Papadopoulou
4sack dress
Claire Chapman


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
shift-dress


Explanation:
This comes to mind, as it seems to be all the rage, this year.


    Reference: http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2943552?cm_cat=datafeed&cm_pla=d...
Angeliki Papadopoulou
Greece
Local time: 15:57
Native speaker of: Native in GreekGreek, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: I was hoping that "shift" or "shift dress" would work, too, and, in fact, I'd already tried to confirm the term. Problem is, one of the criteria for a "robe-housse" is that it has to have long sleeves, and shifts, traditionally, have been short-sleeved or sleeveless. The pictures of the ones on the Nordstrom site bear that out.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  MatthewLaSon: I think this is it.
27 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  MMFORREST
3 hrs
  -> Thank you!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
long-sleeved shift dress


Explanation:
If your text specifies long sleeves, then you can add it to your description to differentiate this dress from others.

Example sentence(s):
  • Topshop have gone for a stylish long sleeved shift dress as seen all over the catwalks

    Reference: http://uktv.co.uk/style/stepbystep/aid/589136
ACOZ (X)
Australia
Local time: 22:27
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Cervin: Here's a picture see : http://www.thisnext.com/item/ECEE8466/CLU-Long-Sleeve-Baby-D...
1 hr
agree  ormiston: sleeved or sleeve both sound fine
1 hr
agree  Victoria Porter-Burns:
5 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
sack dress


Explanation:
Larousse housse - [de vêtements] suit sack

sack' dress" - a loose, unbelted dress that hangs straight from the shoulder to the hemline.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
http://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/sack dress

sack dress - • noun a woman’s loose unwaisted dress, originally fashionable in the 1950s.
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/sackdress?view=uk


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2008-01-23 16:22:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Black wool sack dress
Designed by Balenciaga, Paris, 1959-60
Balenciaga began to experiment with the sack dress during the fifties. The simple, loose style was the opposite of the more common nipped-in waist of that era and looked forward to the 1960s shift dress.
http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1211_sixties/balenc...

Balenciaga
In 1951, he totally transformed the silhouette, broadening the shoulders and removing the waist. In 1955, he designed the tunic dress, which later developed into the chemise dress[3] of 1958. Other contributions in the postwar era included the spherical balloon jacket (1953), the high-waisted baby doll dress (1957), the cocoon coat (1957), the balloon skirt (1957), and the **sack dress** (1957).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balenciaga

You may have heard someone, most likely and extremely fashion forward person, mention wearing a "sack" or a "sack dress". It may confuse those who are just hearing about this trend for the first time, but it won't be for long. Sack dresses, shift dresses and shirt dresses are hitting the fashion scene in a big way. The one thing all these dresses have in common is that they're loose, rather shapeless and lack a defined waist. However their silhouettes differ.

The shift dress of today hangs straight to the ground, usually with a slight a line. Shirt dresses are basically a longer version of a button front, woven shirt, and are usually the most fitted of the three. **The sack dress is much looser and often rounded throughout the bodice and skirt.** And to tell the truth, this trend isn't entirely new. Top designers such as Balenciaga and Chloe sent these looks down the runway early last year, as a part of their Spring/Summer 2006 collection, and celebrities such as Nicki Hilton were seen wearing these dresses earlier this year. Slowly, these garments are making their way into the mainstream, but it takes a bit of hunting to find them online.

… **They have a Catharine Malandrino pointelle sweater sack dress, which embodies what a sack dress should perfectly with it's rounded hips. It comes in ivory and gray, and rings up at a steep $325. For those not quite as daring in their fashion choices, Daryl K makes a great black dress which is a cross between a sack and a tunic. It is belted at the waist, which makes it more flattering on a broader range of figures, but it's gathered at the bottom to emphasize the look of a sack.**
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/84696/where_to_buy_...

robe tube – shift dress
Robe droite dont la taille, non coupée, et l’ourlet ont le meme diamètre
Vocabulaire de l’habillement de Céline Dupré et de Françoise Hudon

shift - 5 a straight unwaisted dress. 6 historical a long, loose undergarment
http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/shift?view=uk

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 hrs (2008-01-23 21:01:51 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Yolanda! :-)

Claire Chapman
Local time: 08:57
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 331
Grading comment
I think you've got it! Or at least as close as I'm going to get right now. I've just been comparing photos of sack dresses with those for "Robe-housse." "Robe-housse" is clearly a new style or at least a new name, while the sack dress is one that's been kicking around for a long time, but they do have the same lines, fabrics, length, and predominance of long sleeves.

If I ever run across a consecrated translation of this doggone term, I'll post here. ;-)
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