95 Examples of Apparel

John Spacey, updated on October 10, 2023

Apparel is clothing, footwear and accessories that are worn by a person. This is often used in as a commercial term to describe all clothing sold by the fashion industry. This originates with the Latin "apparare" which means "to prepare" or "to make ready." The following are common examples of apparel.

Arm warmers	Athletic shoes
Athletic wear	Ball gowns
Ballet flats	Bandanas
Belts	Berets
Blazers	Blouses
Bodysuits	Boots
Bow ties	Button-down shirts
Caftans	Camisoles
Capes	Capri pants
Caps	Cardigans
Chinos	Coats
Cocktail dresses	Corsets
Costumes	Coveralls
Cufflinks	Culottes
Cummerbunds	Dancewear
Dresses	Evening gowns
Eyeglasses	Fedoras
Gloves	Hats
Headbands	Heels
Hoodies	Jackets
Jeans	Jumpsuits
Kilts	Kimonos
Leg warmers	Leggings
Loafers	Mittens
Moccasins	Neckties
Onesies	Overalls
Palazzo pants	Pants
Pantyhose	Parkas
Pocket squares	Polo shirts
Ponchos	Rain boots
Raincoats	Robes
Rompers	Running shoes
Safety glasses	Sandals
Scarfs	Scrubs
Shawls	Shorts
Skirts	Sneakers
Snow boots	Snowboarding wear & skiwear
Socks	Suits
Sunglasses	Suspenders
Sweaters	Sweatshirts
T-shirts	Tank tops
Tights	Tops
Track pants	Traditional clothing
Trench coats	Tube top
Tunics	Tuxedos
Uniforms	Vests
Waistcoat vests	Windbreakers
Yoga pants

Apparel is similar to the term fashion but can include unfashionable practical things such as uniforms or sportswear. Another difference is that fashion includes anything that adds to style including items that aren't worn such as a handbag.

Although jewelry is worn it isn't typically considered apparel. This is due to the commercial roots of the term in the fashion industry where apparel is used to describe everything sold by fashion retailers that didn't typically sell jewelry.

In some cases, the word apparel is used in such a way that it appears to exclude footwear. There is little consistency on this such that the two definitions below are required. For example, it is very common for the retail and fashion industries to refer to "apparel & footwear."

Overview: Apparel
Type	Fashion Examples
Definition (1)	Clothing, footwear and accessories that are worn by a person.
Definition (2)	Clothing that is sold in a store.
Related Concepts	Fashion Examples » Fashion Industry »