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2022: Creating a Lexicon of Future
B is for Bespoke
The word bespoke has evolved from a verb meaning ‘to speak for something’, to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective bespoke described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned to a particular specification (altered or tailored to the customs, tastes, or usage of an individual purchaser). In contemporary usage, bespoke has become a general marketing and branding concept implying exclusivity and limited runs. ~ Wikipedia
For much of the last century, bespoke referred almost exclusively to men’s tailored suits, a practice idealized by the fine, and pricey, craftsmen and women of Savile Row in London.
The word itself, which dates from 1583, is a past participle of bespeak, chiefly British, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, and is defined as “(of goods, especially clothing) made to order.”
After the Industrial Revolution, Mr. Quinion said, it became a descriptor of specially commissioned products distinct from the mass-produced, ready-made kind.
Though the term began in Britain, Americans have savored its snob appeal. “Americans associate it with the British upper class,” said Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University.
At the same time, she said…
