A loud shirt
According to Etymology.com, the adjective loud with its meaning of flamboyant, bright colours can be traced back to the late nineteenth century.
loud (adj.)
Application to colors, garments, etc. ("flashy, showy") is by 1849
I understand describing someone's clothes as being loud usually refers to the colours being extraordinarily vivacious that they catch your attention. But I was wondering, were clothes in the 19th century, literally, "loud"? Were Victorian fabrics noisier than they are today?
Best Answer
I found the 1849 hit and in this context it would make no sense for it to mean audible as it talks about “a very loud pattern” (emphasis in original).
Similarly, I found a hit from 1852 for “some noisy pattern”. Again, it’s pretty clear that there’s no connection to audibility.
But, notably, I found this definition for “loud” from 1882:
What I found significant here is that it specifically calls out that loud can be used to describe “manner”. It’s quite possible that this is where the association came from. An even earlier dictionary from 1841 has the definition “Emphatical; impressive; as, a loud call to avoid danger”, the connection being that the literal volume is meant to draw attention, much like someone or something that is showy.