fancy dressn.
1. A costume arranged according to the wearer's fancy, usually representing some fictitious or historical character. Also attributive in fancy dress ball. Also figurative.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > other
disguise1340
disguisingc1386
shiftc1570
French cut1606
knaverya1616
small clothes1625
small storesa1643
nugging-dress1699
kilting1721
fancy dress1770
under-habit1772
man-millinery1790
sheen1802
costume1818
ingubu1833
bedizenment1837
tat1839
extravaganza1860
rational dress1873
rubber1876
pearly1890
new look1920
collection1921
Daks1933
smart casual1943
separates1945
trapeze1958
Carnaby Street1965
haute boutique1966
kinderwhore1994
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > hiding, concealing from view > means of concealment > dress, garb > [noun]
disguising1485
disguisementa1586
disguise1596
fancy dress1770
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > other
smalleOE
lightc1230
round1402
side-necked1430
wanton1489
Spanish1530
tucked1530
lustya1555
civil1582
open-breasted1598
full1601
everlasting1607
sheeten1611
nothinga1616
burly1651
pin-up1677
slouching1691
double-breasted1701
negligée1718
translated1727
uniform1746
undress1777
single-breasted1796
unworn1798
mamalone1799
costumic1801
safeguard1822
Tom and Jerry1830
lightweight1837
fancy dress1844
wrap-1845
hen-skin1846
Mary Stuart1846
well-cut1849
mousquetaire1851
empire1852
costumary1853
solid1859
spring weight1869
Henri II1870
western1881
hard-boiled1882
man-of-war1883
Henley1886
demi-season1890
Gretchen1890
toreador1892
crossover1893
French cut1896
drifty1897
boxy1898
Buster Brown1902
Romney1903
modistic1907
Peter Pan1908
classic1909
Fauntleroy1911
baby doll1912
flared1928
flare1929
tuck-in1929
unpressed1932
Edwardian1934
swingy1937
topless1937
wraparound1937
dressed-down1939
cover-up1942
Sun Yat-sen1942
utility1942
non-utility1948
sudsable1951
off-the-shoulder1953
peasant1953
flareless1954
A-line1955
matador1955
stretch1956
wash-and-wear1959
layered1962
Tom Jones1964
Carnaby Street1965
Action Man1966
Mao-style1967
wear-dated1968
thermal1970
bondage1980
swaggery1980
hoochie1990
mitumba1990
kinderwhore1994
society > leisure > dancing > ball or dance > [noun] > fancy dress
fancy ball1800
bal costumé1826
fancy dress ball1882
1770 F. Burney Early Jrnls. & Lett. (1988) I. 101 I was soon found out by Miss Lalause who..had on a fancy Dress..much in the style of mine.
1808 Monthly Pantheon 1 76 Bending branches press In many folds blithe nature's fancy dress.
a1831 T. B. Macaulay Life & Lett. (1883) I. 225 The fancy-dresses were worn almost exclusively by the young ladies.
1844 G. W. Kendall Narr. Santa Fé Exped. II. 51 Such variety of costume..would put to the blush..any..fancy-dress procession ever invented.
1882 Let. 8 Aug. in A. Nathan Costumes by Nathan (1960) iv. 60 They would be required for a Fancy Dress Ball the week of the 4th September.
1915 A. D. Gillespie Let. 8 June in Lett. from Flanders 187 A fancy dress dance given there by the Germans on Christmas Eve.
1919 D. Ashford Young Visiters vi. 52 Is it a fancy dress party he asked.
1922 C. E. Montague Disenchantment ii. 26 London..was grotesque with a kind of fancy-dress ball of non-combatant khaki.
1938 L. MacNeice Mod. Poetry 39 I realize that this piece [sc. The Lady of Shalott], though dressy, is fancy-dress at its best.
2. A dress with ornamental trimming.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > types of > other
gite13..
long dress1731
Jesuit1767
Brunswick1769
overdress1812
fancy dress1826
agbada1852
stone-bluea1855
low-neck1858
Dolly Varden1872
sundress1875
frump1886
harem dress1911
kimono gowna1922
gina-gina1923
dirndl1937
qipao1955
cheongsam1957
sack dress1957
tent dress1957
gomesi1965
minidress1965
poncho dress1968
longuette1970
anarkali1988
suit dress2017
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey I. i. i. 4 His curly locks, and his fancy dress.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
fancy dressv.
rare—1.
trans. To array or clothe in a fancy dress.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > provide with clothing [verb (transitive)] > in specific way > with specific garments > other
wimple?c1225
pricka1275
clothe1382
addressa1393
haspc1400
to-cloutc1430
shirtc1450
gownc1485
tuft1535
passement1539
kerchief1600
muff1607
inshirt1611
insmock1611
mode1656
costume1802
slop1803
shawl1812
cravat1818
sur-invest1827
frock1828
pinafore1843
smock1847
panoply1851
underclothe1857
upholster1873
fancy dress1878
sleeve1887
to suit up1912
crinoline1915
1878 J. T. Trowbridge Guy Vernon in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 226 Nothing can exceed a woman's tact in fancy-dressing both herself and fact.
Derivatives
fancy dressed adj.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > other
slitteredc1380
tatteredc1380
accoutredc1540
suiteda1592
undressed1605
uniforma1626
full-dressed1731
tucky1748
underdresseda1784
costumed1820
décolleté1831
fancy dressed1836
winter-clad1836
sacked1847
evening-dressed1848
mufti1853
tailor-made1896
swim-suited1955
1836 Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) xv. 153 Never was such ingenious posturing, as his fancy-dressed friends exhibited.
fancy dressing n.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > [noun] > in specific way > with specific clothing > other
hosing1340
swaddlingc1522
veiling1566
hoodingc1575
vesting1648
superinvestiture1681
shawling1815
bonneting1822
cloaking1824
gloving1826
fancy dressing1848
dressing up1861
costuming1886
uniforming1891
1848 Thackeray Vanity Fair lii. 471 Pitt Crawley..reprobated in strong terms the habit of play-acting and fancy dressing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1894; most recently modified version published online December 2013).
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n.1770v.1836