The cut or style of a neckline on a garment, especially one that is fashionably low and exposes the neck, chest, and upper shoulders.
From French 'décolletage,' derived from 'décolleter' (to bare the neck), combining 'de-' (remove) and 'collet' (neck), from Latin 'collum.' Adopted into English in the 18th century from French fashion terminology.
The history of necklines reveals cultural anxieties: in Victorian times, showing even a collarbone was provocative, but by the 1920s, fashion suddenly embraced exposed skin as a symbol of modern female liberation — clothing is literally a history of social change!
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