ruche
Americannoun
noun
Usage
What does ruche mean? A ruche is a strip of material used to finish a dress, as in Paula decided to add lace ruche to the dress’s sleeves. A ruche is a decorative piece of fabric used to finish a dress on the ends. Typically, a ruche is placed on the collar or sleeves of a dress as a way to draw attention to those areas and complete a design. A traditional ruche is made by pleating the fabric already present at the top of the dress or gathering it into small folds, but it can also be made out of pleated fabric that is added on top of the dress fabric. Ruches are often made from lace, net, or muslin but can be made from any material that can be pleated and sewn on the garment’s fabric. To ruche means to gather or pleat fabric into a ruche, as in Franny struggled to ruche the lace for the wedding gown. Example: Vlad used a bright-colored ruche on the dress sleeves to make the dress pop.
Other Word Forms
- ruched adjective
- ruching noun
Etymology
Origin of ruche
1820–30; < French: literally, beehive < Gallo-Romance *rūsca bark, apparently < Gaulish; compare Welsh rhisg ( l ) bark, rind
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Oprah Winfrey made a red carpet appearance in a ruche nude chiffon frock from Vera Wang.
From Forbes • Feb. 22, 2015
One set of blue ones clustered round the hem of her little night-gown, making a thick "ruche," as it were; and then there came two or three thinner rows of yellow, and then blue again.
From The Cuckoo Clock by Kirk, Maria Louise
The basket is ornamented with ruches of red worsted braid; between two box pleats of the ruche a black bugle is fastened.
From Beeton's Book of Needlework by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)
Materials: Deal box; satin ruche; satin ribbon; quilted satin and silk cord; guipure netting.
From Beeton's Book of Needlework by Beeton, Mrs. (Isabella Mary)
The work-bag is trimmed on the outside with a ruche of blue satin ribbon seven-eighths of an inch wide.
From Harper's Young People, May 18, 1880 An Illustrated Weekly by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
