# gilet in BrE for sleeveless fleece jacket?



## susanna76

Hi,

The dictionary gives gilet in BrE for a "sleeveless padded jacket" but what if it's a sleeveless fleece jacket? Would it still be a gilet?

Thank you!


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## heypresto

It seems that they are generally padded, but some places, (here, for instance) also list 'fleece gilets'.

It's not a word you'll come across very often. I'd never come across it till 5 minutes ago.


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## london calling

I've never come across it before in English.


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## Hermione Golightly

I don't know how exactly I know it, because I don't wear them and don't know any of the type that does, Princess Ann and her daughter for example. It's French for waistcoat. I think of them as padded rather than fleece.


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## velisarius

In BE I've only seen the word used in connection with skiing and riding.

In both cases, they are quilted and/or padded.


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## Packard

In the USA:  Insulated vest or fleece vest.


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## Loob

I tend to think of a gilet as padded.  But there's at least one more UK store (in addition to the one in heypresto's link) that calls this a "fleece gilet":


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## Tegs

There was a phase a year or two ago when gilets were really popular where I live and it seemed every second person had one. They are the padded type jackets you see in Hermione's photo in #4 (the blue jacket not the green one), and they're not made of fleece.

If you want to specify it is made from a fleece material you would have to qualify it as "fleece gilet".


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## se16teddy

I think it is known in Britain, and I am not aware of any other term. This gem from the Daily Mash came to me via Facebook only the other day, even though it is nearly a year old. Gilet wearer admits his arms have been cold for years


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## Uncle Jack

Gilet is a term well known and used in the traditional "outdoor" community in Britain, the sort of people who go huntin', shootin' and fishin', or maybe who just ride horses. Since I don't belong to that set, I couldn't tell you what the exact definition is, and for me these are all "body warmers" or "sleeveless jackets", whether padded or fleece-lined.


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## Packard

In the USA I never heard of this before this thread.  I don't even know how to pronounce it.


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## Greyfriar

Hi, it is pronounced as 'jee-lay' but the 'j' is soft, as in the French 'je'.


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## heypresto

I think it's pronounced more or less the French pronunciation: _zheelay_.

But I would pronounce it 'sleeveless padded jacket' or 'body-warmer'.


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## Greyfriar

gilet Pronunciation in English


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## PaulQ

Greyfriar said:


> Hi, it is pronounced as 'jee-lay' but the 'j' is soft, as in the French 'je'.





heypresto said:


> I think it's pronounced more or less the French pronunciation: _zheelay_.


Well, that's saved me some embarrassment - I would have said "jillet". 

OED (1899)  In dressmaking: A bodice shaped like, or in imitation of, a man's waistcoat.
Draft additions June 2016:  Originally: a waistcoat. Later: any of various types of sleeveless jacket; spec. a light sleeveless padded jacket.


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## velisarius

PaulQ said:


> I would have said "jillet".



This image shows a Barbour _gilet_ -  or "Barber Gilette" if you prefer, Paul..


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## Packard

Thanks for the pronunciation guides, hey and Grey.

(Hey and Grey teach how to pronounce gilet...there's a limerick hiding in there somewhere, I just can't find it.)


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## susanna76

Thank you all!


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## Edinburgher

Uncle Jack said:


> the sort of people who go huntin', shootin' and fishin', or maybe who just ride horses.


We sailors don't like to be lumped in with the huntin' shootin' and fishin' brigade, but it's nevertheless also an "outdoorsy" activity.
I've come across "gilet" in clothing sections of catalogues related to sailing, but I've never heard an actual sailor use the term in real life.
I've a feeling it's a jargon term that the industry wants to encourage, but I can't think why.
Perhaps they think "sleeveless jacket" sounds too clumsy and "bodywarmer" is either too downmarket or sounds like gangster-slang for a crematorium furnace.


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## Barque

Packard said:


> (Hey and Grey teach how to pronounce gilet...there's a limerick hiding in there somewhere, I just can't find it.)


There're two men here called Hey and Grey 
who know just how to pronounce _gilet_
We're glad, since that word
is one that we've heard
for the very first time today.


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## Tegs

Great effort there Barque! Hehe! Waxing lyrical!

I have to say, I’m surprised about the hunting/fishing categorization of ‘gilet’. For me this isn’t an unfamiliar term or a jacket only worn by toffs and hunting types. I’m not in either set and am well used to this word. Having said that, I’ve heard it as meaning a trendy padded jacket without sleeves - not those ugly green waistcoat type things like in #16 (which I would agree is a hunting/fishing item of clothing, but until today did not realize was also termed a gilet).


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## Loob

I agree with Tegs.

My favourite gilet is pink.


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## Packard

Barque said:


> There're two men here called Hey and Grey
> who know just how to pronounce _gilet_
> We're glad, since that word
> is one that we've heard
> for the very first time today.


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## london calling

heypresto said:


> But I would pronounce it 'sleeveless padded jacket' or 'body-warmer'.


 So would l. I use it all the time in Italian (it's a French loan word, obviously) but it would sound so pretentious to me in English.


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## Greyfriar

Thank you for the gilet limerick, Barque. Excellent!


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## Loob

london calling said:


> So would l. I use it all the time in Italian (it's a French loan word, obviously) but it would sound so pretentious to me in English.


You might be right, l_c. It all depends on context, I suppose.

In a shop: "Have you got any padded gilets?"
To a friend: "I really like that chestwarmer!"

In a shop: "Have you got any fleece gilets?"
To a friend: "I really like that fleece top!"


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## Packard

Eddie Bauer, a major retailer of fleece garments refers to these as *MEN'S CLOUD LAYER PRO VEST.
*
L.L. Bean, another major retailer of fleece garments refers to these as *Men's Mountain Classic Fleece Vest.
*
A request for a "gilet" would simply not be understood at an American retail shop.


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## Loob

Gosh ... what a good thing susanna was asking about BrE.


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## Packard

Loob said:


> Gosh ... what a good thing susanna was asking about BrE.


There is always the risk that some Brit will cross the Atlantic.

For example Gordon Ramsey, Piers Morgan, David Beckham, New Castle Brown Ale, Emma Watson.  Do they wear gilets or do they wear insulated vests?

Yes, even the beer gets a fleece vest:  https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/619iRhYiw+L._UX679_.jpg

Addendum:  I missed the note about "in BrE".


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## heypresto

Somewhat spookily, the topic came up on Mock the Week last night. 'Gill-ette' vs 'Zhilay'.


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## london calling

heypresto said:


> Somewhat spookily, the topic came up on Mock the Week last night. 'Gill-ette' vs 'Zhilay'.


Flippin' 'eck.

Who were they mocking? Those who pronounce it correctly or those who think it's a French make of razorblades? Or those who use the word 'gilet' in English?


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## heypresto

I can't remember why, but Dara Ó Briain happened mention it and pronounced it 'Gillette' (with a hard G and a stress on the first syllable) and the others pounced on him, saying it should be 'zhilay'. He refused to say it in the poncey/affected French way . . . and so it went on . . .


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## Packard

heypresto said:


> I can't remember why, but Dara Ó Briain happened mention it and pronounced it 'Gillette' (with a hard G and a stress on the first syllable) and the others pounced on him, saying it should be 'zhilay'. He refused to say it in the poncey/affected French way . . . and so it went on . . .


 
I, and I imagine it’s most Americans are not familiar with this show.  I did find this episode online (Mock the Week, series 17, episode 8, about 5 minutes into the show).

They were ridiculing a metaphor that a politician had used about wearing a suicide vest and then handing the detonator to someone else.  It was pointed out that, in the interest of accuracy that once the detonator was handed off, it was no longer a suicide vest.  Then one of the commentators wondered if terrorists wearing vests get cold.  At that point “gilet” in all of its various pronunciations was investigated.

I didn’t get much of the humor as it related to British politicians.  But some of it was quite amusing.


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## ewie

Loob said:


> I agree with Tegs.


I agree with Tegs too.  The word strikes me as wholly unremarkable.


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## Cenzontle

Yesterday there was a discussion of terms for a padded vest, which introduced me to the word "gilet".
But today I couldn't find it, so I'm appending this to a 2018 discussion of the same word.
I thought you all would be interested to know that _Webster's Third New International Dictionary_
defines "gilet" as "a garment worn by slaves in Algeria".


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## Packard

I googled "gilet" [images] and all I see are a bunch of vests:  gilet - Google Search


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## Chasint

Packard said:


> I googled "gilet" [images] and all I see are a bunch of vests:  gilet - Google Search


Ah, but in Britain, those are waistcoats. For us, a vest is underwear and looks like this.


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## Packard

OK.  Language distinction AE vs BE.  Got it.


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## Tegs

Chasint said:


> Ah, but in Britain, those are waistcoats.


Gilets and waistcoats aren't the same thing though. Waistcoats are usually worn as part of a smart suit, over the shirt and below the jacket. Gilets are puffy jackets with no sleeves, suitable for wearing outdoors, with no other coat on top.


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## Packard

The linked google page [images] in post #36 shows both.  I guess they were trying to be inclusive.


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## Tegs

Packard said:


> The linked google page [images] in post #36 shows both.  I guess they were trying to be inclusive.


Are both items classed as vests in AE, out of interest?


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## Packard

Ref. #41.

No.  Some of the women's sweaters I would call cardigans.  Those images have sleeves and probably got displayed in error.

This is definitely not a vest, though the description says it is.  It may be a French/English translation error.


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## kentix

You might call that a down vest in the U.S. even if it doesn't have any real down in it. It's in that style of a down jacket frequently seen in the northern U.S., which might also have no real down in it.

I might also call it a sleeveless jacket.

down vest - Google Search


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