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The Meaning of Headlines: 'wear it out' - fashion



The Irish Times published an article on September 23, 2015, with the headline ‘Wear it out: Take a tip from a student and get wrapped up.’ What does ‘wear it out’ mean?

When I read the headline I had three thoughts: (1) I will be informed about clothes that I can wear for such a long time that I would eventually wear them out – that is, wear them until they are threadbare (i.e. full of holes), (2) I will be informed about clothes to wear out – maybe somewhere posh or a formal outing, or (3) I will be informed about clothes to wear outside. From the image and the rest of the headline, the article appeared to be about warm clothes. But I still didn’t know which meaning was the one the author intended.

So I read the article. A student provides readers with ideas for ‘musthaves’ (items you must have) for this autumn/winter. However, nowhere in the article is the phrase ‘wear it out’ or ‘wear out’ – it was only in the headline.

There are three items of women’s clothes listed in the article: (1) a blanket scarf (‘it can double as a scarf/blanket/shield from the cold’), (2) a jacket (a winter coat), and (3) boots ‘like wellies but not ugly.’ Actually the blanket doesn’t double as a scarf/blanket/shield – it triples as a scarf/blanket/shield. Double means two and triple means three. But who’s counting?

Furthermore, the article provides the brands and the prices for the three items of clothing. And they certainly are good tips for winter. They are also smart enough to wear somewhere posh – to wear out. An emphasis on out used to mean ‘to get decked out’ or ‘to get dressed up’ in best clothes to go somewhere formal – i.e. to a formal outing. However, the Free Dictionary defines ‘wear out’ as ‘to make unusable through long or heavy use’ or ‘to exhaust’ or ‘to tire out’ or ‘to consume gradually.’

Although the article does not provide clarity about the meaning of the phrase, due to the mention of cold, winter, and blanket-scarves, readers can assume that the implied meaning of ‘wear it out’ is to wear it outside.

Scorecard for The Irish Times headline is 90% - that’s 30% for each of the triple uses for the blanket scarf. It is not uncommon to say ‘wear it out’ when meaning ‘wear it outside’ because most people will generally assume so, especially when referring to winter clothes. The article could also intend the double entendre (double interpretation) whereby readers can wear the items over and over again throughout the season. So if you wear the blanket scarf outside many times or for many winter seasons, you might wear it out.




https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/fashion/wear-it-out-take-a-tip-from-a-student-and-get-wrapped-up-1.2364925
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