Ever heard the expression'fashion horse'?

[hollydolly]

I googled the origin of "clothes horse" and didn't find an exact explanation of where the term originated. But it does say that the term used to mean a wooden frame used for drying or airing out clothing. Maybe it stood on four legs and sort of resembled a horse. Other useful items were also called horses, such as sawhorse and iron horse (locomotive). A person who works very hard can be called a workhorse. But how the term got translated into somebody who is often elegantly dressed remains obscure.

yes we called it a Clothes horse growing up...and it didn't resemble a horse it was just a simple wooden frame that we had indoors to dry clothes on....

 

[hollydolly]

I've discovered how Clothes horse got it's name....

Clothes-horse (n.) also clothes horse, "upright wooden frame for hanging clothes to dry," 1788, from clothes + horse (n.) in its secondary sense "that upon which something is mounted." Figurative sense of "person whose sole function seems to be to show off clothes" is 1850.

 

[Lewkat]

My mom called people "clothes" horses not fashion horses and this meant they were appearance conscious. Yes, I'm glamorous but also comfortable. People usually like the way I present myself which is simple but tasteful and once in a while, elegant.

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I think clothes horse meant those who had to have a different outfit daily, while a fashion horse meant those who had to have the latest fashion no matter what, like an aunt of mine.

 

[dilettante]

Yeah I think it became used for people who became less important than the clothing they hung upon their frames for their identity.

 

[horseless carriage]

Douglas Fairbanks, Hollywood royalty and style icon. I have a pair of
striped trousers with a turned up hem, I just can't find the photo at
present. What I can find are the shoes, the comments my shoes get
when we are out and about.

They, and I, have been called many things but nothing
equine related.
You might like what I think was the best quip of all.
A lady once remarked: "Those shoes might come back
in fashion when Lord Nelson gets his other eye back!"