About the Author
Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.
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— by Angie
on March 19, 2013
A reader recently asked this question, which I thought could use general clarification. I use the two terms, “outfit” and “ensemble”, throughout YLF. They are often thought of as interchangeable, but over the years we have come to use them to distinguish between two specific things.
An outfit is a complement of clothing, footwear and accessories that ison your body. It is more personal, and the wearer is an integral part of the whole. Their hair, complexion and body all participate in making a great outfit.
An ensemble is a complement of clothing, footwear and accessories that isoff the body.It is less personal and does not include the wearer. When I present an ensemble I might talk about how it would work with different body types and colourings, but that isn’t essential.
Whether it is on me or one of my clients, I like showing outfits because it is a more complete picture. But I like ensembles just as much because I think presenting the items without the wearer leaves more to the imagination.
So wear an ensemble and it becomes an outfit.What you are wearing right now is an outfit! Take it off, assemble it on the bed, and it becomes an ensemble. This isn’t really a strict definition, but it is the way we use the terms at YLF to keep things straight. I hope that all makes sense.
That makes perfect sense, and I hadn’t even thought about it before! An outfit takes into account variable like bookending, where an ensemble wouldn’t.
Thank you – I was sort of wondering, especially since it’s one of the blog categories!
Perfect sense!
Thanks for explaining the difference between the two terms, Angie. I learned something new today. Makes perfect sense!
Makes perfect sense! I think it’s important to remember that we need to wear our clothes after all, so it’s important that ensemble works with one’s personal features to form an outfit. (This is one reason why I love the forum, by the way, because whenever you post an ensemble, people post their outfits using that ensemble on the forum. It’s so helpful for visualization and inspiration.)
Maricel Edwards
(website)
Aha! As an English major, nothing is “just semantics”! Although i, too, use the terms interchangeably on my blog – if only to avoid sounding repetitive – I do acknowledge and agree with your definitions. And now I have a way of explaining to my readers why I prefer finding inspiration from outfits over ensembles – the former is just a lot more personal and immediate, eh?
Well what do you know. I always thought they were interchangeable. I prefer outfits better because I like to see how the clothing interacts with the hair complexion body type etc. Thanks for the info!
Thank you for the claification.
This makes lots of sense Angie, thank you for clarifying it!
It makes sense, Angie. Thanks for clarifying! I love reading about both ensembles and outfits, very inspirational.
Thanks for the clarification Angie!
I have often been hesitant in calling a W.I.W. an ‘outfit’ because it feels so much more than the word implies- but if it does in fact include the whole affect then I am happy to continue with this descriptor.
Diane G
Thank you Angie, it all becomes clearer now. Either way it is interesting to see both when reading your inspirational blogs.
It’s helpful to know the distinction you make between these, Angie. But I think that it’s also useful to understand that these are “Angie definitions” or “YLF definitions” and are not strictly used as such in the world outside YLF.
In the real world it is perfectly correct to say “She’s wearing a ravishing three piece ensemble in shades of blue.”, or “Every evening I lay out the outfit that I plan to wear the next morning.”
We are beginning to almost have our own language here on YLF! We have UWP, and PPL, and RATE, and ALGO, and now our own difference between outfit and ensemble!
Makes sense. I’d never thought of it, but it certainly helps to know. Thanks!
I had noticed you use the terms this way, but I appreciate the explanation. I usually favor outfits over ensembles because I have a hard time visualizing an outfit without the whole package, but maybe I should push myself a bit more. Thanks for the eye opener!
Great explanation. Thanks for all you do
clearlyclaire
Ah, this is why it is so much easier for me to create ensembles than outfits! Proportions, fit and a person’s coloring/personality don’t even factor in. Once the clothes are on a body, things get interesting!
I sussed that out for myself the other day with the two new YLF tabs ‘outfits’ and ‘ensembles.’ I love having both of those categories at my fingertips for quick reference, and it just clicking between the two helped clarify the differences very quickly. (Thanks, Greg and Angie!)
Brilliant! I learned something amazing today through your clear writing and explanation! Right now, I’m sitting in my navy and pink outfit writing this. It feels so good to have a handle on these terms.
I’m glad this made sense!
The bookending aspect is a great addition in outfits. The creative freedom is a great tool in ensembles. Room for both.
Great clarification, thanks!
Mariah
(website)
I’ve always wondered what the difference was. This makes perfect sense! The subtle differences are interesting.
there’s a place for both. the ensemble allows one to project her own self into the picture. with an outfit, seeing the whole package becomes more aspirational–wanting to have the self-confidence/attractiveness/or what have you of the outfit wearer.
as you say, both have their place.
Thankyou, Angie, I love that you show both; ensembles to stir the creative juices and think about possibilities, outfits to fine tune and personalize them.
Mit
Just a question,pls how do you design an ensemble? Is there an app for it? I love the ones I am able to do on Pinterest and I would love to make something like that using my own clothes. I look forward to your reply. Thank you
Zimbili.
Thank you so much. This was very helpful.
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