2,179 articles
Spanish influence on Filipino culture
Spanish influence on Filipino culture: the religious, linguistic, culinary, and artistic legacy of Spanish colonial rule (1565–1898), including Catholicism, Chabacano, baro't saya, fiestas, and galleon-borne Mexican influences.
Spanx
Spanx: American shapewear and apparel company founded by Sara Blakely in Atlanta on February 15, 2000 with $5,000; invented footless body-shaping pantyhose; Blackstone bought a majority stake in 2021 at a $1.2 billion valuation.
Spats (footwear)
Spats are buttoned shoe coverings, short for spatterdashes, that keep shoes and ankles clean; they were a fashionable men's accessory from about 1910 to the mid-1930s.
Speedo
Speedo is an Australian-founded swimwear brand, created 1914 as Fortitude by Alexander MacRae and named Speedo in 1928, now owned by Britain's Pentland Group and known for Endurance+ fabric, the Fastskin and LZR Racer racing suits, and Olympic swimwear history.
Spencer Gifts
Spencer Gifts, branded Spencer's, is an American mall novelty retailer founded 1947, owned by Spencer Spirit Holdings with Spirit Halloween; 600+ stores, 18–25 target, adult back-of-store section.
Spindle (textiles)
Spindle (textiles): a shaft with a whorl for hand-spinning fiber into yarn; drop and supported types; used since the Neolithic, replaced by the spinning wheel in the late Middle Ages.
Spinning jenny
The spinning jenny is a hand-powered multi-spindle spinning machine invented in the 1760s by the Lancashire weaver James Hargreaves, letting one operator spin eight threads at once.
Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device that turns drafted fibers into yarn faster and more consistently than a drop spindle, using a drive wheel turned by hand or foot.
Spinster
Spinster: originally a 14th-century occupational term for a woman who spins yarn, later the legal title for an unmarried woman in English records until the 20th century, now pejorative but reclaimed by contemporary textile artists.
Spitalfields silk
Spitalfields silk is the silk woven from the late 17th to the 19th century in Spitalfields, northeast of the City of London, largely by French Huguenot refugee weavers.
Sporran
Sporran (Gaelic sporan, purse): pouch worn in front of the kilt in Scottish Highland dress, replacing the kilt's absent pockets. Types are day (leather), semi-dress, and dress (fur, metal cantle); horsehair forms are military.
Sportswear
Sportswear: clothing engineered for sports and exercise using specialized fibres, knit structures, and finishes for moisture and heat management; also covers athleisure. Key facts: polyester dominance, USD 500 billion market by 2030, DIN SPEC 4868 compression standard.
Stacy London
Stacy London, American fashion stylist and TV personality, co-host of TLC's What Not to Wear for 10 years, senior fashion editor at Mademoiselle, author of The Truth About Style, and founder of State of Menopause.
Stage costume designer
A stage costume designer creates the clothing, accessories, wigs, and make-up worn in live theater, opera, and dance, designing garments that endure repeated performances and quick changes.
Stalking Cat
Stalking Cat, born Dennis Avner (1958–2012), was a US Navy veteran and programmer known as Catman, who underwent extensive body modification by Steve Haworth to resemble a tigress, claiming Huron spiritual motivation, and died in Tonopah, Nevada.
Stamp collecting
Stamp collecting, or philately, is the hobby of gathering and studying postage stamps and postal history. Covers origins after the 1840 Penny Black, condition grading, topical collecting, valuation, and the digital tools reshaping the hobby.
Star Surf & Skate
Star Surf & Skate (Star Surf + Skate) is a Mandurah, Western Australia surf shop founded by Dave Kennedy in Perth in March 1980, owned by Ian 'Wooly' Macpherson since 2006, and SBIA Australian Single Store Retailer of the Year 2019 and 2022.
Stefano Gabbana
Stefano Gabbana, Italian fashion designer born 1962 in Milan, co-founded Dolce & Gabbana with Domenico Dolce in 1985; resigned as chairman in 2026 while keeping his creative role.
Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney, British fashion designer and daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney; founder of the eponymous luxury house (2001) that has never used leather, fur, feathers, or skins; former Chloé creative director; independent again after buying back LVMH's stake in 2025.
Stella Tennant
Stella Tennant (1970-2020) was a Scottish-born British model and designer, granddaughter of the 11th Duke of Devonshire and Deborah Mitford, discovered by Steven Meisel in 1993 and the face of Chanel under Karl Lagerfeld from 1996.
Stephen James (model)
Stephen James (Stephen James Hendry), British tattooed male model born 1990 in London and former footballer (QPR youth, Nea Salamis Famagusta, Scotland U-18). Scouted by Elite in Barcelona 2012; known for Calvin Klein, Philipp Plein, Diesel campaigns, and Instagram @whoiselijah.
Stereotypes of Americans
Stereotypes of Americans covers both national-character stereotypes of the typical American held worldwide (hardworking, greedy, inaccurate against measured personality) and internal U.S. racial, ethnic, and regional caricatures such as Mammy, model minority, and redneck.
Stetson
Stetson, the American hat brand founded by John B. Stetson in Philadelphia in 1865, created the Boss of the Plains, the original cowboy hat. Now Hatco-owned and made in Garland, Texas alongside Resistol, with proprietary X ratings and the Open Road as its signature model.
Stiff upper lip
Stiff upper lip: idiom for unemotional self-control, stereotypically British. American phrase first recorded 1811, adopted in Britain after the 1870s, heyday 1870 to 1965, tied to empire, public schools, and wartime stoicism, now fading.
Stiletto heel
The stiletto heel, named after the Italian dagger, is a tall, very slender high heel first described in the 1930s and realized in the 1950s with steel-reinforced construction, credited to Vivier, Ferragamo, or Perugia.
Stitch London
Stitch London, also known as Stitch 'n Bitch London, was a knitting group that met weekly in central London venues from 2005 to 2013 and taught thousands to knit for free.
Stocking
Stockings, also called hose, are close-fitting leg coverings worn since the Middle Ages. Key facts: William Lee's 1589 stocking frame, English hand-knitting trade of 1595, and the 1939–1940 nylon debut distinguish the garment's history.
Stone Island
Stone Island: Italian luxury sportswear brand founded 1982 by Massimo Osti in Ravarino; known for Tela Stella fabric, garment dyeing, the compass sleeve badge, football casual culture, and Moncler ownership since 2021.
Straitjacket
Straitjacket (camisole, strait-waistcoat): a restraint garment with overlong sleeves crossed and buckled behind the back, invented in France around 1770 for psychiatric restraint, later an escapology staple and cultural symbol of insanity.
Streetwear
Streetwear is casual, culture-driven fashion built around hoodies, graphic T-shirts, and sneakers, which grew out of 1980s and 1990s youth subcultures including hip-hop, skateboarding, surf, punk, and graffiti.