If you say that a possession or habit is de rigueur, you mean that it is fashionable and therefore necessary for anyone who wants to avoid being considered unfashionable.
T-shirts now seem almost de rigueur in the West End.
Synonyms: necessary, right, required, fitting More Synonyms of de rigueur
de rigueur in British English
French (də riɡœr, English də rɪˈɡɜː)
adjective
required by etiquette or fashion
Word origin
literally: of strictness
de rigueur in American English
(ˌdeɪrɪˈgɜr; dərɪˈgɜr)
1.
required by etiquette; according to good form; proper
2.
required by fashion; fashionable
Word origin
Fr
Examples of 'de rigueur' in a sentence
de rigueur
These visits when he was out on calls had become de rigueur.
Paige, Frances The Glasgow Girls (1994)
Serial profit warnings from companies in the sector became de rigueur.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Now it is becoming de rigueur for groups to have their own brews.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Despite the gruelling conditions, a festival beauty routine is now de rigueur.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
(adjective)
Definition
required by fashion
T-shirts now seem almost de rigueur in even the smartest places.
Synonyms
necessary
Is your journey really necessary?
Please make all the necessary arrangements.
right
Make sure you approach it in the right way.
required
This book is required reading.
fitting
The President's address was a fitting end to the campaign.
correct
The use of the correct procedure is vital.
done
It simply isn't done.
conventional
conventional views
decent
After a decent interval they invited their new neighbours round for dinner.
proper
In those days it was not thought proper for a woman to be on the stage.
decorous
The politician was wearing a suitably decorous expression.
the done thing
comme il faut (French)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of conventional
conventional views
Synonyms
proper,
conservative,
correct,
formal,
respectable,
bourgeois,
genteel,
staid,
conformist,
decorous,
Pooterish
in the sense of correct
Definition
in conformity with accepted standards
The use of the correct procedure is vital.
Synonyms
right,
standard,
regular,
appropriate,
acceptable,
strict,
proper,
precise
in the sense of decent
Definition
fitting or proper
After a decent interval they invited their new neighbours round for dinner.