When did story stop meaning a tale (as in storybook) and start meaning outfit (as in fashion)

You can't look at a clothes catalogue (and I don't often) without seeing "a story in soft grey" or any concoction of clothes described as a story. Has anyone else noticed this. is it just the latest marketing-speak.

maybe we should blame Rod Stewart for this...

("Every Picture Tells a Story")

8-)

The fashion use seems to be marketspeak, as you say.

But another more established use is just as puzzling to me... When did it start referring to a level of a building (as in "The office is two stories up.")?

[P.]

every picture tells a story! (who knew?)

from American Heritage Dictionary (AHD):
1. A complete horizontal division of a building, constituting the area between two adjacent levels. 2. The set of rooms on the same level of a building. [Middle English storie, story, from Medieval Latin historia, picture, story (probably from painted windows or sculpture on the front of buildings)


http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/

Interestingly, for us non-Americans, this word is spelled with an extra 'e', as in single-storeyed building. Anyone know when or why? My Shorter Oxford just notes 'story' in this sense as 'earlier'.

Cheers
Paul Bywater

> maybe we should blame Rod Stewart for this...

well Maggie may

Dear jmh: I am amazed that the style writes could be satisfied with such a pedestrian word as "story" when the could have called it a "symphony" "a poem" "a statement" except that all of those have already been worn out. Figuratively that is.

Gosh Bill, this was well buried, I'd forgotten the discussion. you are quite right, story is such a dull word to use, I'm sure that they could do better.

Dear jmh: I didn't resurrect this thread. What I know about fashion reporting you could comfortably put in your eye. It had no reply, so fool that I am, I rushed in.