Noni Gilbert Riley (asker) Jul 10, 2013:

STOP PRESS I have been contacted by someone who has more information about the project than the agency I am working for gave me (sigh), who has told me that the references are definitely not to close-ups, but to quality details.

Sorry not to have been able to provide this info and many thanks to my supplier of information for getting directly in touch with me!

Charles Davis Jul 10, 2013:

@ Helena The example I happened to quote has "con", but this is not crucial. There is plenty of this sort of thing too:

"Blusa sin mangas confeccionada en algodón, cuello redondo con pliegues y detalle de cierre de lágrima con botón oculto."
http://shop.mango.com/ES/p0/mango/blusa-algodon-pliegues/?id...

In short, you certainly cannot assume that this means a detailed illustration. "Detalle de X" is absolutely standard in verbal descriptions of clothes, referring to a detail or (as I would call it) feature of the garment.

Noni has the source and must know whether this refers to detailed illustrations or details of the garments. We can only speculate. It's just that, as I suggested in my answer, if it refers to "detalle" in the sense of an illustration the translation is pretty obvious and I doubt she'd have asked the question. But of course I could be wrong!

Helena Chavarria Jul 10, 2013:

@ Charles In this case the preposition makes a difference. 'Con detalle' means with special features. Otherwise, it means close-up/detailed view, zoom-in (to use internet jargon) or details of. The problem is knowing which option of the three would work best. I think Phil's suggestion is possibly the safest.

Charles Davis Jul 10, 2013:

Picture captions Well, if they are, then yes it is, but they may not be. They could be this sort of thing:

"Camisa blanca con detalle de cuello incorporado en gasa del mismo color y tablilla en el centro."
http://www.bluedaleshop.com/producto/camisa-niza/

philgoddard Jul 10, 2013:

They are almost certainly picture captions, so the translation is "detail of".

Helena Chavarria Jul 10, 2013:

People who like to buy good quality clothes always look at the parts that are time-consuming and more difficult to sew: collars, zips, pockets, etc. My sister-law-law (who 'knows' these things) once told me that these details differentiate a well-made garment from one that has been 'thrown together' in no time at all.

Noni Gilbert Riley (asker) Jul 10, 2013:

Oh for the pictures That is a very good point Helena, and worries me! It's so difficult when they don't provide the photos. I've been noticing that it's not uncommon for the words to contradict the photo in catalogues, so I'm obviously not alone there.

Thanks very much for your comment, which I shall now chew on!

Helena Chavarria Jul 10, 2013:

It could mean a close-up (view) of a specific part of the garment.