two fashion terms

[Kristen Harkness]

Another two cents: We recently had a discussion about tufli-lodochkoi  
in my department (for Russian and the Czech variant).  We concluded  
that if you are translating for a US audience, not many people know  
what "court shoes" are these days so pumps is the better option.  In  
the US, "pumps" means a dressy woman's shoe with a heel.  They may  
have a sling back rather than a closed back, but a closed back is the  
"classic" variant.

Also, in the US ochki-babochki are more properly "cat eye  
glasses" (sometimes written "cat-eye glasses" or "cat's eye glasses"),  
not "cat eyeglasses."

Kristen Harkness


Kristen Harkness
PhD Candidate
University of Pittsburgh
History of Art and Architecture
104 Frick Fine Arts Building
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
kmhst16 at pitt.edu



On Apr 2, 2008, at 7:16 AM, William Ryan wrote:

> I hesitate to intervene as a mere male, but  'pumps' is a bit  
> ambiguous - in UK this is commonly used for flat shoes, male and  
> female, although I believe increasingly also for ladies' evening  
> dress shoes, perhaps under US influence. Lodochki used to be, and  
> still are as far as I can see from Russian fashion websites, what in  
> the UK are described as classic court shoes, i.e. high heels, solid  
> back, low cut top. And ochki-babochki, as I recall, were known in  
> the  UK as flyaway specs/glasses, or later as Dame Edna specs (from  
> the stage character created by Barrie Humphries).
>
> Will Ryan
>


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                    http://seelangs.home.comcast.net/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------