trousseaulike

Trouseaulike is an English neologism used in fashion criticism to describe garments, silhouettes, or design elements that resemble trousers in construction or visual impression without being standard trousers themselves. The word blends trouser with the suffix -like, signaling likeness to the traditional two-leg garment while allowing for stylistic deviation.

Usage and scope: In fashion discourse, trousseaulike can refer to silhouettes that echo the line of trousers—such as a defined waist, front opening, or leg-shaped drape—even when the piece uses non-traditional fabrics, lengths, or closures. It can describe pieces that fuse trouser-inspired tailoring with skirt-like or draped elements, or that reinterpret the trouser motif in avant-garde ways. The term is functional as a descriptive shorthand rather than a fixed category, and its meaning can vary with context.

Reception and considerations: Because it is informal and not standardized, trousseaulike may be used to highlight designers' experimentation in tailoring, hybridity, or deconstruction. Critics may debate whether a garment truly qualifies as trousseaulike, or simply evokes pants. As a design descriptor, it sits alongside other silhouette terms such as culotte, pant, or trouser-inspired.

See also: trouser, pant, pantaloon, culotte, garment silhouette