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bordeaux sur bordeaux

English translation: Burgundy tone-on-tone effect

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:bordeaux sur bordeaux
English translation:Burgundy tone-on-tone effect
Entered by: Nina Iordache

08:03 Oct 25, 2015
French to English translations [PRO]
Textiles / Clothing / Fashion / Shoes
French term or phrase: bordeaux sur bordeaux
My context: "Chaque chaussure vient ou sans rien, c'est neutre, minimal, simple, ou avec une pampille,
qui est assortie à la bordure. Là, bordeaux sur bordeaux, ton sur ton. "

It is about ballerina pumps.
Nina Iordache
Romania
Local time: 22:55
Burgundy tone-on-tone effect
Explanation:
Another option:
"with a matching tassel, producing a Burgundy tone-on-tone effect."
Selected response from:

Philippa Smith
Local time: 21:55
Grading comment
Thanks a lot, Philippa!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2Burgundy tone-on-tone effect
Philippa Smith
4 +2claret on claret
Charles Davis
5Burgundy shades
kashew


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Burgundy tone-on-tone effect


Explanation:
Another option:
"with a matching tassel, producing a Burgundy tone-on-tone effect."


Philippa Smith
Local time: 21:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 59
Grading comment
Thanks a lot, Philippa!
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Philippa!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tony M: Though I don't even think the rather clunky 'tone-on-tone effect' is really necessary; just 'with a toning Burgundy tassle', for example; and I wonder if we can be sure if this is in fact still called a tassel when it comes to leatherwork and shoes?
3 hrs
  -> You say clunky, I say classy ;-) But yes, a shortened version would work well. And if you look up tassel pumps/shoes/loafers etc. you can see tassel still seems hugely used.
agree  Yolanda Broad: Burgundy is definitely a color; and "tone-on-tone" is a standard description of that effect.
2 days 3 hrs
  -> Thanks Yolanda!
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40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
claret on claret


Explanation:
Bordeaux must be a colour term here; it's saying that if there is a tassel it is the same colour (assortie à la bordure): a bordeaux shoe will have a bordeaux tassel: bordeaux on bordeaux.

Ballet pumps are available in bordeaux (colour). Here's an example:
http://www.laredoute.fr/ppdp/prod-500004235.aspx

The colour bordeaux is more often called claret in English. Strictly speaking, wine, claret/bordeaux, burgundy and wine dregs are all very slightly different colours:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wine_(color)

In practice, however, these differences are not always systematically reflected in the terms manufacturers use: you can't rely on a shoe colour described as "wine" being distinguishable from one described as "claret":

"Moutarde, Bordeaux et Marine: trois couleurs automnales qui se savourent
[...] ce rouge bordeaux, lie-de-vin, grenat, burgundy whatever.
http://www.uneparisiennesemerveille.com/2012/10/26/couleurs-...

"Wine" is common as a shoe colour. However, "claret" is quite often used too, and sounds classy, and since it literally corresponds to bordeaux I think it might as well be used.

"Peep Toe Ballet Shoes by Dessy in Claret"
http://www.polyvore.com/peep_toe_ballet_shoes_dessy/thing?id...

Also "claret on claret" sounds more convincing to me than "wine on wine", for some reason.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 11 hrs (2015-10-25 19:45:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It's true that "burgundy" is probably the most common term for this kind of dark red wine colour. Personally I don't think the priority is to use the most common term in all circumstances, provided the alternative is idiomatic. But it's certainly not true that burgundy and claret are systematically different colours. In theory claret is a tiny bit darker and burgundy is a tiny bit redder, but in practice both terms cover a wide range of shades and manufacturers use whichever they like the sound of.

Here are examples of claret:
https://www.google.es/search?q="claret" "colour"&num=100&tbm...

And here are examples of burgundy:
https://www.google.es/search?q="burgundy" "colour"&num=100&t...

What are we to make of this?

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 21:55
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 28
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Charles!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Louise TAYLOR: Yes I agree.
1 hr
  -> Thanks, Louise :)
agree  Sheri P: Even though I slightly prefer the sound of "bordeaux on bordeaux" :-). I think "merlot" would work here, too. I've seen it used as a color term quite a lot.
3 hrs
  -> Thanks, Sheri :) Yes, could do... I think you could use any of this set of very similar colours according to taste.
neutral  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: The usual colour term would be "burgundy", in spite of it being a corruption when it comes to wine.
5 hrs
  -> The most common, perhaps, but by no means the only one. I like "claret" and see nothing wrong with it. There are plenty of claret shoes out there. Why do we always have to reduce everything to "the most usual term"? It impoverishes our language.
neutral  Tony M: I agree with Nikki — claret is in fact rather a different colour.
10 hrs
  -> Fair enough, Tony, but I don't think claret is a different colour from bordeaux: on the contrary. And the difference between claret and burgundy (colours) is very small in theory and often non-existent in practice. PS. It is definitely called a tassel.
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1 day 2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Burgundy shades


Explanation:
http://search.iminent.com/fr-FR/search/#q=Burgundy shades&re...

kashew
France
Local time: 21:55
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 40
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