trousseau

Imagine a time when marriage was a major life change and a new household had to be prepared in advance. A trousseau (pronounced troo-so) was the set of clothes, linens, and other personal items a bride brought with her when she married. It was not the same as wedding gifts from guests. Instead, it showed that she was ready to begin married life, and in some families it also reflected money, care, and social standing. The word is still closely tied to weddings and is sometimes also used for a baby's first set of clothes and linens.

The word trousseau carries the scent of lavender and the rustle of fine linen, bringing to mind careful wedding preparations from earlier times. Borrowed from French, it refers to the clothes, linens, and other personal belongings a bride traditionally gathered for marriage and took with her into her new home. A trousseau might include dresses, nightwear, underclothes, sheets, towels, and sometimes jewelry or other household items. It was not simply a practical bundle of things. In many families, it also stood as a sign of readiness, care, and family means, and it was often stored or collected over time in a hope chest.

The word still belongs mainly to the world of marriage, and that is how most readers will understand it. In modern writing, you may see it in discussions of traditional weddings, family customs, or lists of things a bride prepares before the ceremony. There is also a secondary use: in some contexts, trousseau can mean a baby's first wardrobe and linens. That use is less common, but it is established.

Even now, the word has a formal, old-fashioned tone. It suggests items chosen with thought and kept together for an important beginning, especially marriage. When you use trousseau, you are usually not talking about just any collection of belongings, but about a traditional set prepared for a bride, or sometimes for a baby.