Style Guide

Style Guide | Writing Tips

Style Guide

Here are some style points we use for consistency at FWO. There are also words to avoid, so this also incorporates writing tips.


Seasonal Abbreviations

We Do It Like This

SS17
(abbreviated form is very clean, no spaces)

Spring ’17 or Spring 2017
(try to omit “Summer”)

Forms to Avoid

• F/W 16 (too messy)

• Fall/Winter ’16 (too much punctuation)

• Autumn 2016 (we don’t use “Autumn” except for London)

Spring and Summer follow same guidelines.


Years

We Do It Like This

• 1970s (no apostrophe)

• the ’70s (apostrophe signals omitted century)


Punctuation Guidelines

• Em dash: “We use em dash — like this.” (In Word, two hyphens, with spaces on either side.)


Dictionary of Style


A

appliqué With accent aigu over “e”


C

café With accent aigu over “e”

Champs-Élysées With accents and hyphen


D

décor With accent aigu over “e”


H

Haute Couture Capitalized when referring to a specific collection or season. (“Tomorrow the first looks of Haute Couture Fall 2016 will hit the catwalk.”)

haute couture Lowercase when referring to the generic term. (“We saw a lot of haute couture shows this season.”)


P

Pre-Fall Two words, with hyphen

Pre-Spring Two words, with hyphen

prêt-à-porter With accents


R

Ready-To-Wear Capitalized when referring to a specific collection or season. (“The Versace Fall 2016 Ready-to-Wear collection did not disappoint.”)

ready-to-wear Lowercase when referring to the generic term. (“Valentino’s ready-to-wear and accessories vary widely by season.”)


T

T-shirt Capitalized “T”; not “t-shirt” or “tee shirt.”

tee Can use “tee” if used by itself.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
With love,

FWO