Clothing types in French include categories such as formal wear, casual wear, sportswear, outerwear, and sleepwear. Each category contains specific vocabulary to help you describe different kinds of clothing.

Formal Wear

Formal wear in French is called vêtements de cérémonie or tenue de soirée. These are clothes you wear for special occasions like weddings, parties, or official events.

Examples of Formal Wear in French

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
une robe de soirée	des robes de soirée	an evening gown	evening gowns	Elle porte une robe de soirée élégante.	She is wearing an elegant evening gown.
un smoking	des smokings	a tuxedo	tuxedos	Il a mis un smoking pour le mariage.	He wore a tuxedo for the wedding.
une cravate	des cravates	a tie	ties	Il porte une cravate rouge.	He is wearing a red tie.
un costume	des costumes	a suit	suits	Il a acheté un costume noir.	He bought a black suit.
une chemise habillée	des chemises habillées	a dress shirt	dress shirts	Elle a une chemise habillée blanche.	She has a white dress shirt.
une jupe crayon	des jupes crayons	a pencil skirt	pencil skirts	Elle porte une jupe crayon.	She is wearing a pencil skirt.
des chaussures à talons	—	high-heeled shoes	—	Elle met des chaussures à talons.	She is wearing high-heeled shoes.
un noeud papillon	des noeuds papillon	a bow tie	bow ties	Il porte un noeud papillon noir.	He is wearing a black bow tie.
un gilet de costume	des gilets de costume	a waistcoat	waistcoats	Il porte un gilet de costume gris.	He is wearing a grey waistcoat.
une pochette	des pochettes	a pocket square	pocket squares	La pochette est assortie à la cravate.	The pocket square matches the tie.

Casual Wear

Casual wear in French is vêtements décontractés. These are everyday clothes that are comfortable and easy to wear.

Examples of Casual Wear in French

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
un jean	des jeans	a pair of jeans	pairs of jeans	Je porte un jean bleu.	I am wearing blue jeans.
un t-shirt	des t-shirts	a t-shirt	t-shirts	Il a un t-shirt blanc.	He has a white t-shirt.
un pull	des pulls	a sweater	sweaters	Elle porte un pull en laine.	She is wearing a wool sweater.
une veste	des vestes	a jacket	jackets	J’ai une veste légère.	I have a light jacket.
une chemise	des chemises	a shirt	shirts	Il porte une chemise à carreaux.	He is wearing a plaid shirt.
des baskets	—	sneakers	—	Je mets des baskets confortables.	I’m wearing comfortable sneakers.
un short	des shorts	shorts	shorts	Elle porte un short en été.	She wears shorts in summer.
une robe	des robes	a dress	dresses	Elle a une robe fleurie.	She has a floral dress.
un sweat à capuche	des sweats à capuche	a hoodie	hoodies	Il met un sweat à capuche gris.	He is wearing a grey hoodie.
un débardeur	des débardeurs	a tank top	tank tops	Elle porte un débardeur blanc.	She is wearing a white tank top.

Sportswear

Sportswear in French is called vêtements de sport. These are clothes designed for physical activities.

Examples of Sportswear in French

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
un survêtement	des survêtements	a tracksuit	tracksuits	Il porte un survêtement bleu.	He is wearing a blue tracksuit.
un short de sport	des shorts de sport	sports shorts	sports shorts	Elle a un short de sport noir.	She has black sports shorts.
un maillot	des maillots	a sports jersey	sports jerseys	Il porte le maillot de l’équipe.	He is wearing the team jersey.
des chaussures de sport	—	sports shoes	—	Je mets des chaussures de sport.	I’m wearing sports shoes.
un legging	des leggings	leggings	leggings	Elle porte un legging noir.	She is wearing black leggings.
un t-shirt technique	des t-shirts techniques	a technical t-shirt	technical t-shirts	Il a un t-shirt technique respirant.	He has a breathable technical t-shirt.
un sweat	des sweats	a sweatshirt	sweatshirts	Je mets un sweat confortable.	I’m wearing a comfortable sweatshirt.
un bandeau	des bandeaux	a headband	headbands	Elle porte un bandeau rose.	She is wearing a pink headband.
des gants de sport	—	sports gloves	—	Il utilise des gants de sport.	He uses sports gloves.
une casquette	des casquettes	a cap	caps	Je porte une casquette noire.	I’m wearing a black cap.

Fill in the blank: Il porte un survêtement ______.

gris

bleu

noir

rouge

bleu

'Survêtement bleu' means 'blue tracksuit,' suitable for sportswear.

Outerwear

Outerwear in French is vêtements d’extérieur. These are clothes you wear over other clothes to protect against the weather.

Examples of Outerwear in French

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
un manteau	des manteaux	a coat	coats	Elle porte un manteau rouge.	She is wearing a red coat.
une veste	des vestes	a jacket	jackets	Il a une veste en cuir.	He has a leather jacket.
un blouson	des blousons	a bomber jacket	bomber jackets	Je mets un blouson bleu.	I’m wearing a blue bomber jacket.
un imperméable	des imperméables	a raincoat	raincoats	Il a un imperméable jaune.	He has a yellow raincoat.
un trench	des trenches	a trench coat	trench coats	Elle porte un trench beige.	She is wearing a beige trench coat.
une doudoune	des doudounes	a down jacket	down jackets	Il porte une doudoune chaude.	He is wearing a warm down jacket.
une cape	des capes	a cape	capes	La cape est élégante.	The cape is elegant.
un parka	des parkas	a parka	parkas	J’ai un parka vert.	I have a green parka.
une écharpe	des écharpes	a scarf	scarves	Elle porte une écharpe en laine.	She is wearing a wool scarf.
des gants	—	gloves	—	Il met des gants en cuir.	He is wearing leather gloves.

Fill in the blank: Elle porte un manteau ______.

beige

rouge

bleu

noir

rouge

'Manteau rouge' means 'red coat,' which is the outerwear example given.

Sleepwear

Sleepwear in French is vêtements de nuit or pyjamas. These are clothes you wear to bed.

Examples of Sleepwear in French

French Singular	French Plural	English Singular	English Plural	French Example	English Example
un pyjama	des pyjamas	pajamas	pajamas	Je porte un pyjama confortable.	I’m wearing comfortable pajamas.
une chemise de nuit	des chemises de nuit	a nightgown	nightgowns	Elle a une chemise de nuit rose.	She has a pink nightgown.
un peignoir	des peignoirs	a bathrobe	bathrobes	Je mets mon peignoir après la douche.	I put on my bathrobe after the shower.
un caleçon	des caleçons	a pair of boxer shorts	boxer shorts	Il porte des caleçons en coton.	He wears cotton boxer shorts.
un tee-shirt de nuit	des tee-shirts de nuit	a night t-shirt	night t-shirts	Elle a un tee-shirt de nuit blanc.	She has a white night t-shirt.
des chaussons	—	slippers	—	Je mets des chaussons en hiver.	I wear slippers in winter.
un masque de sommeil	des masques de sommeil	a sleep mask	sleep masks	Elle utilise un masque de sommeil.	She uses a sleep mask.
une couverture	des couvertures	a blanket	blankets	J’aime une couverture douce.	I like a soft blanket.
un short de nuit	des shorts de nuit	night shorts	night shorts	Il porte un short de nuit bleu.	He wears blue night shorts.
un débardeur de nuit	des débardeurs de nuit	a night tank top	night tank tops	Elle porte un débardeur de nuit.	She wears a night tank top.

These are the main categories and examples of clothing types in French. By learning these, you can describe what people are wearing in different situations.

Flashcards (1 of 50)

English Singular: an evening gown
English Plural: evening gowns
English Example: She is wearing an elegant evening gown.

Last updated: Wed Jun 18, 2025

French

Clothing Types