Part 16

=Mercerized=—a term applied to cotton fabrics of which the yarn is chemically treated and the fabric finisht by a combined chemical-mechanical process described below; also applied to woolen fabrics containing an admixture of mercerized cotton. See Manipulated and Cotton cheat.

=Mercerizing=—the process of subjecting cotton yarns or cloth to the action of caustic soda and other chemicals, under stretching tension, with various subsequent finishing operations, resulting in threads or fabrics softer, silkier and stronger than before treatment; named from John Mercer, an English calico printer, the original discoverer but not the perfecter of the process.

=Merchant=—one who buys and sells commercial commodities; specifically, a retailer.

=Merchant tailor=—a clothier who combines tailoring with readymade. Compare Custom t.

=Merino=—(1) a thin woolen fabric made of the fine wool of the m. sheep, generally used for women’s dress wear; (2) also a knitted underwear fabric containing more or less cotton intermixt; (3) hosiery and underwear of wool-and-cotton.

=Merino=—the wool of a variety of sheep raised principally for their wool, which is of fine quality, long staple and of unequaled felting properties. See Wool.

=Merveilleux=—a fine, diagonal-twilled silk fabric with a satiny face, largely used for linings.

=Mess dress=—(=navy=) a uniform to be worn on ordinary social occasions in the evening, to which officers are invited in their official capacity, and where hot weather or other circumstances make it appropriate, also at dinner on board vessels other than those of the fourth rate, by officers for whom the mess jacket is prescribed, when the uniform of the day has been white, or, at discretion of commanding officer, instead of “evening dress B”. Consists of, for all commissioned officers (except chief boatswains, chief gunners, chief carpenters and chief sailmakers) and for midshipmen: mess jacket, white evening dress waistcoat, undress trousers (white or full dress trousers, may be prescribed), shoulder marks, white cap, black tie.

=Mess dress=—(=marine corps=) worn by all officers on mess occasions, and may be worn on social occasions to which officers are invited in their official capacity, or when evening dress B. is prescribed for officers of the navy. Consists of mess jacket (blue), evening dress trousers and waistcoat, shoulder knots, white standing collar, black silk tie, full dress cap, black shoes (white waistcoat if prescribed); in summer, white mess jacket, white or evening dress trousers, white waistcoat, blue or white undress cap, black or white shoes; otherwise the same.

=Mess jacket=—(=army=) a short j. of dark blue cloth, cut like the body of an evening dress coat, descending to the hips, slightly curved to a point behind and in front, 3 regulation buttons, sleeves ornamented same as full dress coat, with other decorations as adopted by the corps to which the wearers belong, and as prescribed by regulation.

=Mess jacket=—(=navy=) a short coat of white linen duck or similar material, cut similar to body of evening dress coat but descending only to the hips and slightly roached over the hips with a peak behind; 2 buttons on each side below the lapels and worn with two buttons connected by a ring from the first buttonhole; appropriate shoulder marks according to regulations. For chaplains: same with white buttons.

=Mess jacket=—(=marine corps=) a round j. of dark blue cloth lined with scarlet silk to edges, in length reaching to point of the hips at sides and curving to points in front and rear, 16 small marine corps buttons on right side, with buttonholes to match on left side, standing collar, and with trimmings for rank as per regulations; to be worn unbuttoned. Also a white j. of similar style, for wear, as prescribed. Worn by major general commandant and all other officers.

=Mess uniform=—(=army=) officers of staff corps and departments, of artillery, cavalry and infantry are authorized to adopt a mess jacket distinctiv of their corps, department or regiment, for social evening occasions; with it are worn a waistcoat of the color of the coat (or white) and full dress trousers, altho in warm weather or in the tropics, white trousers may be worn; black shoes.

=Messenger’s suit=—usually a four-button, double-breasted sack s., of plain cloth, with regular peakt lapel collar, with or without braid trimming, trousers to match. Or, military blouse with three diverging rows of buttons closing with hooks and eyes.

=Metric system=—better than ours: look it up.

=Mexican fiber=—Istle (qv).

=Mi-fine=—half f. See Fine.

=Middlesex=—general term for standard uniform cloths made by the Middlesex Co., Lowell, Mass.

=Middling=—see Cotton classification.

=Middling fair=—see Cotton classification.

=Middy suit=—a s. for small boys, consisting of a sailor blouse and long trousers with wide mouths. Compare Sailor s.

=Midshipman’s uniform=—see Special full dress, Full dress, Dress, Service dress, Evening dress, Mess dress, Undress. Also variants.

=Milan=—a fine, pliable white straw for hats.

=Milan braid=—a variety of flat mohair braid used for trimming and binding.

=Military=—term for garments affecting military uniforms in fit or detail of finish; also military garments per se.

=Military back=—close-fitting; shaped.

=Military braid=—a name sometimes given to hercules b. and soutache b.

=Military brushes=—twin hair b. of oval shape, without handle, used two at a time.

=Military cloths=—general term for woolen fabrics intended for uniform purposes, such as kersey.

=Military coat=—trade name for short sack c. of 1899, having a close-fitting back.

=Military collar=—a plain, straight standing coat c. without turn over, of prescribed hights, fastening in front with hooks and eyes.

=Military hair-brushes=—see M. brushes.

=Military overcoat=—see Army o.

=Military uniforms=—see Army u.

=Mill=—(1) a place where fabrics are woven; (2) an occasion where two gentlemen endeavor to smash the padding out of a peculiar sort of gloves over each other’s face and solar plexus.

=Mill ends=—trade term referring to short lengths, remnants, seconds, damaged pieces, etc., that accumulate in mills and are usually sold at a nominal price.

=Mill finish=—a beautiful appearance given to cloths, fabrics, etc., which provokes the question, “How will it look after it is sponged or laundered”?

=Mill-gang=—that part of a loom-warp made by a rising and falling course of the threads around old-style warping-mills.

=Mill wrinkles=—see Cockling.

=Milliner=—a shopkeeper to whom much of hubby’s money goes.

=Milling=—the process of fulling or thickening cloth. See an encyclopedia.

=Millwright frock=—something worn about 1825, but not identified.

=Miner’s coat=—a rubber overcoat of generous size, having reinforced sleeves, shoulders, etc., and usually elastic inside sleeves or dust shields.

=Minister’s=—affectionate abbreviation for standard fashion plates publisht in London by a firm of that name, and subscribed for over here for the purpose of awing customers into a higher respect for their tailors.

=Mink=—an amphibious musteline carnivore of the genus Putorious, the pelt of which is an important article of fur garment manufacture.

=Mirror=—glass with one side so backt or coated as to form a nearly perfect reflecting surface.

=Misericorde=—a “dagger of mercy” carried by European soldiery of 15th century for the final dispatch of fallen foes.

=Misfit=—the term is a terror to tailors.

=Misfit shop=—a merchandising lie.

=Mitchell’s=—familiar term for standard American fashion plates publisht by a concern of that name in New York city, and which, like all other fashion plates, make a most impressiv show.

=Miter=—a headdress worn in solemn services by bishops and certain abbots; a tall, tongue-shape cap, terminating in a two-fold point, the whole richly ornamented. (=Mitre.=)

=Mitten=—an unwelcome gift from a woman.

=Mittens=—a covering or protection for the hands, of leather or knitted wool, the thumb only being fashioned, the rest of the fingers covered by a single sack or the larger part of the mitten. (Almost always used plural).

=Mixing picker=—a machine for disentangling wool fibers and thoroly mixing them before carding.

=Mixing willey=—same as M. picker.

=Mixture=—trade term for fabrics woven of dyed yarns, the warp and weft being of different shades, or either or both of twisted yarns of different colors; any melange weave or effect.

=Moccasin=—a foot covering or shoe, without built-up heels, of buckskin or other soft leather, worn by American Indians, hunters, and others.

=Moccasin shoe=—a light, pliable shoe of stout leather, without heel, somewhat resembling a m.

=Mocha=—general term for sheep or goatskin glove leather, of soft, velvety appearance and very durable quality.

=Moche=—a package of spun silk as received in import.

=Mock gold=—an alloy of copper, zinc and platinum.

=Mock seam=—(glove term) a row or rows of stitching in imitation of a s.

=Mock velvet=—see Mockado.

=Mock welt=—in shoemaking, an imitation of the Goodyear process of sole sewing. See Welt sole, Goodyear welt, McKay sewed, etc.

=Mockado=—a sort of velvet with a very deep pile, the better grades being of silk, the cheaper of wool, used in 16th and 17th centuries. Also called Mock velvet.

=Mode=—the prevailing fashion or custom.

=Mode=—a sort of tan shade; ecru.

=Modelers=—workmen who try garments on human models.

=Models=—persons employed by some clothing manufacturers and upon whom the various garments are fitted for approval; representing types of the section where the garments are to be marketed.

=Mohair=—(1) the fine, silky hair of the Angora goat; (2) a glistening, light-weight, plain-woven fabric of cotton warp and filling of mohair, enormously durable, used for summer coats, linings, etc.; also twill woven. See Angora.

=Mohair braid=—a woven b. of mohair, coarser than silk b. of various widths, used principally for military, society and livery uniforms, known variously, according to weave, as hercules b., soutache b., etc.

=Mohair button=—a b. made on a mold covered with braided mohair threads, worn on dress coats, overcoats, waistcoats, etc.

=Mohair corsican=—a light-weight fabric for summer suitings, woven of Australian wool and fine mohair carded together, with a finish lacking the usual sheen or luster of mohair, and warranted by the makers not to cockle, wrinkle or be affected by damp weather. (Proprietary name).

=Mohair serge=—a stout, twill woven lining material of cotton warp and m. weft.

=Moire=—(1) a wavy or watered effect produced on silks and other fabrics by means of passage thru suitably engraved rollers with brushlike attachments for disturbing and shifting the warp threads, the process embracing dampening, great pressure and ironing; (2) general name for silk (and other fabrics) so treated; also called Watered (silk).

=Moire antique=—an all-over m. effect. See Moire.

=Moire francaise=—a striped or banded m. effect. See Moire.

=Molded counter=—in shoemaking, a c. made of shoddy or imitation leather.

=Moleskin=—a heavy, stout, flexible, close twilled cotton cloth, piece dyed and finisht with a scant nap on the back, used for hunting and sporting clothes; usually tan or slate-colored. An imitation thereof, known by the same name, but lighter, and with a printed surface, is used for laborer’s trousers, etc.

=Moleskins=—colloquial for football clothes.

=Mollie=—reverse of tomboy.

=Mollycoddle=—sissified males, usually distinguishable by the omnipresent cigaret, also by inflammable neckwear and protesting clothes generally, and characterised by incurable lassitude, complicated by chronic ogling of pretty girls.

=Momie=—general term for fabrics characterised by rough, uneven weave produced by the threads crossing at irregular intervals or by warp and weft threads of various sizes. (Fr mummy).

=Money-belt=—a device for containing money, worn around the waist under the clothes, commonly of oiled silk or chamois leather—usually excess luggage.

=Monk bag=—a small purse which sailors wear strung around the neck, containing their money and other valuables.

=Monkey-jacket=—a short j. cut in sack form, fitting close to the waist and flaring out at the bottom. Worn by sailors in cold weather.

=Monmouth cap=—a c. worn about 1600, largely by sailors.

=Monocle=—an eye-glass for one eye; English, y’ know.

=Montagnac=—a variety of chinchilla overcoating (qv), having a surface composed of small loops, part of which are cut and brusht into a flowing nap producing, with the uncut part, a rough, shaggy effect. Name from Montagnac Fils, Sedan, France, the original weavers.

=Montero cap=—a horseman’s knitted or cloth c. with a simple round crown and a flap around the back and sides that could be worn down for protection; worn from 1600 until late in 1800. Also called Mountier c.

=Mooding=—cutlery term for the rough shapening of blades at the first heat.

=Mopusses=—nautical slang for money in general.

=Mordant=—dyeing term for any metallic salt used as a connecting bond between dye and fabric.

=Morice-dancing dress=—a curious garment of fawn-colored silk, made in the form of a tunic, with slasht sleeves and trappings of red and green satin, worn by members of the ancient guild of Glovers at their entertainments, in which dance they had a remarkable proficiency. Accompanying the garment were 252 small circular bells, arranged in 21 sets of 12 bells each, upon strips of leather, and fastened on various parts of the dancer’s body, such sets of bells being perfectly attuned in regular musical intervals.

=Morion=—a pointed oval iron helmet with a curved rim, bent down over the ears, worn by French arquebusiers of the 16th century.

=Morning coat=—a single-breasted cutaway frock c., properly of black or quiet patterned goods, with or without hip pockets.

=Morning livery=—for house footmen, usually plain black tuxedo suit; for club and hotel waiters, black, blue or green tuxedo coat and trousers, with fancy vest.

=Morse=—a clasp used to fasten the cope (qv).

=Mortarboard=—a college cap of soft, black material, made to fit the head like a skull cap, surmounted by a square of cardboard or stiffened canvas (about 12 × 12 inches), also covered with black cloth and with a loose silk tassel about 10 inches long attacht to a button placed where the diagonals of the square would intersect.

=Morts=—in the old Irish glove trade, a name given to skins of unborn calves, taken from cows that had died. Compare Slinks.

=Moschettos=—garments very similar to pantaloons (qv) continued to the small of the leg, with a slight spring when the top of the shoe is reacht, having an opening with a gaiter tongue and closing with buttons, forming a combination of pantaloons and gaiters; worn early in last century.

=Moscow=—an overcoating cloth with a heavy nap, similar to Shetland (qv).

=Mosey=—an under-jacket, usually made of baize or flannel, and worn instead of an undershirt but over the shirt in cold weather, and as an outside garment in moderate or warm weather; also called a “wammus” (qv).

=Mosquito netting=—a square mesh, open-woven, cotton fabric, employed for bed canopies, tent-opening covers, helmet aprons, etc.

=Moth balls=—aromatic substances used to disguise the odor of goods that have been carried over from one season to another.

=Mother of pearl=—see Nacre.

=Moths=—pests that make business for the clothier or tailor, or disaster, according to where they work.

=Motley=—“the only wear” for fools.

=Motor shawl=—a light, woolen wrap or neckpiece for motoring and outdoor use generally.

=Motorman’s uniform=—usually same as conductor’s u., which see.

=Mouchoir=—handkerchief.

=Moule cloth=—a soft, velvety overcoating of good thickness but of comparativly light-weight, tho very warm.

=Mountaineer’s boot=—same as hunting b., with an extra outside counter of sole leather protecting the heel.

=Mountaineer’s coat=—a bifurcated overcoat, usually of rubber or other waterproof material, buttoning around each leg and closing snugly around neck and wrists by means of straps or tabs.

=Mountier cap=—see Montero-c.

=Mourning=—symptoms of real or simulated grief.

=Mourning badge=—(=navy=) for officers a crepe band about 3 inches wide and about 20 inches long, knotted upon the sword hilt, and a crepe band 3 inches wide worn on the left arm above the elbow; (=army=) a knot of black crepe worn on the saber hilt for a period not exceeding 30 days.

=Mourning band=—a broad b. or brassard of black crepe fastened on the left arm of a coat, as a makeshift symbol of customary grief. Originally worn on English army officers’ caps, which, being too low to display both b. and decorations or insignia, enforced the dropping to the sleeve; next adopted by coachmen and footmen as recognition of death in the master’s family; afterward by costermongers because of its cheapness (and showiness), the cost of new black clothes being a grave consideration. Finally pickt up by ignorant Americans because of a fancied “smartness”—like the nouveau riche who invents a coat of arms, bearing a bend sinister.

=Mourning colors=—black thruout Europe and America, with a tendency to purple in combination; yellow, Egypt and Burmah; brown, Persia, Ethiopia and Abyssinia; white, China; blue, China; violet, Turkey.

=Mourning crepe=—see Crepe.

=Mourning handkerchief=—black bordered.

=Mourning jewelry=—usually lockets made of a lock of the hair of the dear departed, sometimes encircling a portrait or miniature, emblematic of g-r-i-e-f!

=Mourning periods=—see Appendix.

=Mourning ring=—a finger r. worn in memory of a dead person, who may have bequeathed it or the money to purchase it; once upon a time en regle at a funeral and awhile after; often enameled black and bearing lugubrious moral mottos.

=Moustache curler=—see Curling iron.

=Moustache paste=—a sort of pomade used by actors, in making up, for the purpose of hiding or flattening their own upper-lip adornments.

=Moustache trainer=—a device for giving a fierce, amiable, freakish, languid, important or asinine appearance to one’s labial adornment.

=Muckender=—colonial for handkerchief.

=Mozetta=—a short cape covering the shoulders, a part of the state dress of bishops when not pontificating, worn with the rochet.

=Mud scows=—slang for overshoes.

=Muff=—a cylindrical fur pillow or cushion into which the hands are thrust to keep them warm, nowadays carried only by women, but once upon a time men, too, wore them.

=Muffetees=—colonial for wristlets.

=Muffler=—a piece of silk, wool or other material, usually square, used for warmth and protection of the throat in cold weather.

=Muffler=—a name once given to boxing gloves.

=Mufflet=—proprietary name for a knitted throat band, buttoning in the back, with a small apron in front covering the coat opening.

=Mufti=—(1) citizen’s dress worn by military or naval officers off duty; (2) ordinary dress as distinguisht from full dress or dress for state occasions.

=Mule=—a slipper without heel or heel-counter; a slip-on.

=Mule=—a spinning machine delivering rovings from drawing-rolls to spindles on a carriage that recedes from the rolls as the threads are twisted and returns to them as the thread is wound, performing the operations of drawing, stretching and twisting simultaneously.

=Muleskin=—a leather of obvious derivation used for heavy working gloves and mittens.

=Mullet=—the rowel of a spur.

=Mungo=—the waste produced in a woolen mill from hardspun or felted cloth, and which is used in connection with wool, cotton or better grades of waste in the manufacture of backing yarns or cheap cloth. Compare Shoddy and Garnetting.

=Murry=—reddish purple; in olden time “a favorit color for the garments of respectable elderly gentlemen”.

=Mushy=—clerks’ term for loosely rolled bolts of cloth.

=Musician’s uniform=—(=navy=) see Full dress u., Dress u., White u., Service u., Fatigue u. Also variants.

=Musk=—a perfume distilled from a secretion found in a sac in the stomach of the m. deer and other animals; the strongest and most durable of all perfumes, almost ineradicable when used in the pure state, and for which negroes have an extraordinary fondness. Musk forms the basis of many compounded scents.

=Muskrat=—a common marsh animal yielding a valuable fur, used as an imitation of sealskin and other costly furs; also used by hat manufacturers.

=Muslin=—a light, commonly plain-woven cotton cloth of various classes and names, as bleacht, unbleacht, twilled, cambric, longcloth, shirting, sheeting, silesia, and a number of others; used for shirts, night robes, etc., and in tailoring as linings and interlinings.

=Mutton chops=—side whiskers shaped like mutton chops, moderately trimmed.

N

=Nacre=—(1) mother of pearl; (2) an iridescent effect in silk weaving.

=Nail=—2¼ inches.

=Nail=—an emergency fastening when a suspender button gives way.

=Nail clipper=—a mechanical device for putting saw edges on one’s fingernails.

=Nail file=—an instrument of toilet torture.

=Nail heads=—name for small, rounded, covered buttons used decorativly.

=Nainsook=—a stout, glossy muslin, striped, barred or plain.

=Naked=—in need of clothes (?).

=Name tag=—a leather or metal adjunct to traveling luggage, carrying name and address of the owner for the information of confidence men.

=Name web=—a strip of cotton webbing with name of manufacturer or dealer woven therein, as shoe pulls, etc.

=Nankeen=—properly a peculiar fabric of a pale, dull orange color, woven out of the fibrous tissue which lies between the epidermis and the sapwood of a tree or shrub which grows in the East Indies and especially in China. The name is derived from the imperial city of Nankin or from the tree or shrub which yields the tissue. An imitation is made out of cotton and colored with aleutta. The genuine nankeen is never more than 18 or 20 inches wide, and is used mostly for light summer trousers, riding breeches, and children’s clothing.

=Nap=—the projecting and inclined fibers of warp and filling thread on the surface of flannel, silk-hat material and various cloths, forming a soft surface, lying smoothly in one direction, particularly if of uniform length or texture, but feeling rough or bristly if rubbed the wrong way or against the nap.

=Napa=—light, tough, goatskin glove leather.

=Nape=—the starting point from which the length and the shoulder-measures are taken for a coat. A vertebral protuberance located in the back central part of the neck at its junction with the thorax or trunk.

=Naphtha=—an inflammable petroleum distillate used as a cleansing agent.

=Napier cloth=—a once popular, double-face c. for cloaks and wraps, one side wool, the other of hair.

=Napoleon leg=—a boot-l. with a “wave” top, high in front, receding sides and low back.

=Napping machine=—an apparatus for producing a nap on cloth, etc., particularly the modern form having fine steel wires rotating on rollers, to take the place of teasels, thus distinguisht from the older gigging machine.

=Nappy=—having a nap; shaggy.

=Napt=—having a nap, of course. (=Napped.=)

=Narrow=—trade term for goods not up to stated width. Compare N. goods.

=Narrow-bound=—in tailoring, an edge finish obtained by the use of a narrow braid applied half-and-half. Compare Medium-b. and Broad-b.

=Narrow falls=—trade name for front fall trousers in which the front flap or fall begins at about the center of each leg and is made with a smaller fall-bearer than is required in broadfalls (qv). Also called Split f.

=Narrow goods=—trade term for fabrics less than 29 inches wide; wider cloths called broad.

=Nasal filter=—a device having a screen or double screens of fine gauze or bolting cloth intended for wear when motoring, etc., to exclude dust.