" The French word for dressing table, "toilette, " he added, "actually came from the word 'toile, ' which means cloth.

WSJ: The Un-Vain Vanity Table

Everything is done by hand, from draping and pinning the toile to stitching perfect seams, and all of it requires complex skills.

ECONOMIST: Which centre takes the crown?

"I had a horrid kidney-shaped dressing table covered in toile, " she said.

WSJ: The Un-Vain Vanity Table

In Thirty Are Better Than One, the Mona Lisa is reduced to a pattern, like paisley or toile de jouy: perfectly flat, potentially infinite.

FORBES: If Every Artist Were As Good As Andy Warhol, Forgery Would Be Unnecessary [Book Excerpt]

He has stayed relevant with something like the black leather coat with gold Toile (you won't find this look on wallpaper), and he knows how to update the tweed suit.

WSJ: De la Renta takes bow with models on his arm

First comes the idea, then the sketching, then the draping of white toile (muslin), first over a mannequin and later over a live model, and finally the cutting of samples on a pattern that translates the temporary magic of the toile into a permanent garment in the fabric and colours of the designer's choice.

ECONOMIST: Which centre takes the crown?