Definition of "passementerie" [passe•men•terie]

• Ornamental trimming for a garment, as braid, lace, or metallic beads. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "It was there that we first saw extraordinary dressmaker details - edging with beautiful "passementerie," along with beads, buttons, feathers and appliques on linen, velvet, wool, felt, leather, cashmere and silk."
• "In 1910, wrote Richardson, she already stood out for the unconventional sparseness of her rooms, for her disdain of poufs and potted palms and too much passementerie ...."
• "It is easy to imagine that the five decorative tassels in a discreet wall case near the entrance are the tips of a vast and justifiably little-explored iceberg of passementerie."