Glossary - YouLookFab Forum

I've definitely noticed that people on this forum have their preferred descriptive words. (Angie: killer, Shiny: snappy etc.) So I thought I'd start a thread to keep track of the glossary. What words do you use to describe how you feel in an outfit or what you think of others' outfits? If you like, you can share a ranking system. (Can we or can't we all be "killer" all the time?)

My terms:

"I feel like a movie star" = like Angie's killer
gorgeous - superlative for physically beautiful
epatante - sophisticated and understated; French fab. I get this word from my father who is always taking French or Spanish words and claiming they are English too. I don't really have a meaning for it except to say that I know exactly what it means, based on what I was wearing at the time.
fab - a step less than killer
fantastic - for a whole ensemble, step less than fab. For one particular piece of clothing, superlative.
cute - cutesy. I often get told that I look cute. I accept this as a compliment but I have never felt cute in my life. I connote this as a kitten, puppy or child is cute. Maybe I get this because I am short.

To answer my parenthetical question. I don't think I want to feel like a movie star all the time because then it wouldn't be as special. But the minimum is definitely fantastic.

17 years ago

Anonymous

Good for you for setting peramiters for where you want to be. Maybe I should do the same and that would keep me from wearing the t-shirts and cargo shorts and flip flops.
Hmm. I'm thinking about the word 'cute'. I know I've used it alot and I hope it wasn't offensive. I didn't think of it as being childish. I suppose I just try to mix it up and not use the same words for every outfit. Cute is just a part of my vocabulary. In fact now that I am thinking about it I use that word a lot in real life. Does it offend people?

Nicole

Veteran

Well since I'm from MA...everything nice is "wicked awesome". I actually have caught myself saying those two words together. <cringe> My bf is from Upstate NY and she teases me mercilessly when I talk like a character from a bad Boston movie.

Tanya

I have to admit that I don't have such a refined feel for various degrees of looking nice. I use ( almost) all of those words in an almost interchangeable way, or close! Than again English is not my native language.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Another super thread, Patience. Love that word “epatante”.

Tanya, I am continually amazed at how well you converse in English, and we’d be none the wiser that English was not a first language!

I adore words and choose adjectives with care so that they convey subtle differences. I use “killer” to describe the best that it can be. “Stunning” comes a close second. My P-word comes out very occasionally. The P-word is “ phenomenal” and ranks as high as killer but you need to be face to face with me for that to come out. It is not a word I write on paper. “Perfect” ranks below killer, stunning and the P-word.

“Wicked” ranks the same as killer but is reserved for blokes only. This word does not come out for lasses.

“Fabulous”, “gorgeous” , “incredible” and “beautiful” are next on the list and below that is a whole slew of words that convey the same tone: “ fantastic”, “ wonderful”, “lovely” , “adorable” , “great” , “sweet” and “pretty” .

I do not use the word ““awesome” because I am not use to saying it. I also do not use the word “cute” in the American sense. I equate the word “cute” with a child or baby animal; not with someone or something that is good looking. Does that make sense? But I understand the use of the word in American English and that’s actually quite cute!

Oh my, you certainly put some extra effort into answering this question, Angie.

Now I'm embarrassed by my cheeky answer! OK, not really.

Patience

The reason I started the thread is because like Angie I have special associations for particular words. It is related to not wanting to say nice all of the time. I want to actually mean something by choosing a particular word as opposed to overusing words till they have less value. You may not guess it from my presence here, but in real life I am not one to gush compliments (except with my kids) but when I do give them, they are very thoughtful and sincere as I can be. I hope that makes them valuable.

San, I am not offended by the compliment "cute"-- it is intended as a compliment and I know what people mean. It's just that my personal meaning for that word is not the same. When I think about how I would describe how I feel, the word cute just does not apply.

Nicole, as long as you did not tell everyone all the time that they looked wicked awesome, I would definitely appreciate it. Not being from New England, those words don't have any negative associations for me. This is exactly what I think is interesting-- that each of us knows the meaning of the words but our personal dictionaries are slightly different.

Thank you, Angie, for indulging me!

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