British English in America

Yes sneaker, "frock" isthe origninal term for the long, dress-like vestment worn by priests. It has been Americanized to mean shorter outer article of clothing most commonly associated with waistcoats (in commercial advertising at least).

I'm another American who is surprised to hear that frock means waistcoat, which I think of as a kind of vest. (And doesn't vest itself have a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic?) To me, frock is a now old-fashioned term for a woman's dress. I used to pass Betty's Frock Shop on the way to and from work some years ago. Betty's sold women's dresses.

The headline writer for the Hollywood Reporter thinks frocks are dresses.

I'm another American who is surprised to hear that frock means waistcoat, which I think of as a kind of vest. (And doesn't vest itself have a different meaning on each side of the Atlantic?)

From the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus

vest
• UK (US undershirt , Australian singlet) a type of underwear, often with no sleeves, which covers the upper part of the body and which is worn for extra warmth
>a cotton/woollen/string vest
>She always wore a long-sleeved thermal vest in winter.

• UK (also vest top) a shirt without sleeves, usually made out of cotton, which is worn in the summer or for sport
>The cyclists were all dressed in tight lycra shorts and the official team vest.
>He wore a vest top and a pair of luminous shorts to the beach party.

• US for waistcoat

waistcoat
• a piece of clothing that covers the upper body but not the arms and usually has buttons down the front, worn over a shirt

snort...which is also known as a vest in new zealand!

vest here can have all the definitions as offered above.

Huguette Funfrock was the official double for QE2 for many years in France in comic films and commercials.

I never heard of Huguette Funfrock until today, but a Wikipedia page in French says that La Samaritaine, one of the big department stores in Paris, used her on posters advertising the store's slogan, "You can find everything at La Samaritaine." On the posters, she was dressed as Elizabeth II, and leaving the store with a replica of the Imperial crown.

Judge the resemblance for yourself: Huguette Funfrock.