Haute couture

Haute couture is high-end fashion that is constructed by hand from start to finish, made from high-quality, expensive, often unusual fabric and sewn with extreme attention to detail and finished by the most experienced and capable sewers—often using time-consuming, hand-executed techniques. Couture translates literally from French as "dressmaking", sewing, or needlework and is also used as a common abbreviation of haute couture and refers to the same thing in spirit. Hautetranslates literally to "high". An haute couture garment is always made for an individual client, tailored specifically for the wearer's measurements and body stance and only in Paris. Considering the amount of time, money, and skill allotted to each completed piece, haute couture garments are also described as having no price tag: budget is not relevant. In modern France, haute couture is a protected name that may not be used except by firms that meet certain well-defined standards.