STYLE, CLOTHES AND FASHION

Task 1. Vocabulary Revision. Fill in the table with the italicized words.

Over blouse, slippers, tie, rain coat, wellington boots, beret, slacks/trousers, sandals, knee length socks, platform shoes, jeans, bathing suit, scarf, fur jacket, sheepskin, moccasins, overcoat, cowl neck, turtle neck, high/low heeled shoes, cardigan, jump-suit, kerchief, denim suit, T-shirt, track suit, trainers/sneakers, hairband.

Task 2. Read the text and fill in the table.

People love dressing themselves; many of us express ourselves in clothing and accessories. Usually we divide clothes into smart/official (formal) and casual (informal), but there are many more variations — smart-casual clothes (informal but stylish), trendy, girly, tomboy, gothic, athletic, vintage, modern, fashionable, conservative, grunge and dressy.

Clothes can be described as clingy (fitting in the way that shows the shape of the body), skimpy (close-fitting, using little material), baggy (loose) or snazzy (modern, stylish).

Some people always dress to kill (to attract other people’s attention) and buy designer labels, others prefer to buy cheaper clothes off the peck/rack or on the high street. People, who dress on the height of fashion, like to wear up-to-the-minute fashion articles and set the trend for their friends. Sometimes they may be ahead of their time or become slaves of/to fashion — if a woman is fashion-crazy, she is called fashionista.

Different places have different attitude to clothes too. Big offices often require dress codes, when people may only dress down on Sunday, other businesses can tolerate people dressed informally or casually.

Task 3. Describe your own clothing style by answering the questions.

1. How would you best describe your overall style: trendy, girly, tomboy, gothic, athletic, vintage, modern, fashionable, grunge, casual, dressy?

2. Would you say that you dress to impress?

3. Do you think that you stand out in a crowd or blend in?

4. Do your friends dress like you do?

5. Are you happy with the way that you dress?

6. Do you feel comfortable in your own skin?

7. Do people ever get the wrong impression about you based on how you are dressed?

8. Which items would make up a typical outfit for school (choose from Task 1)?

Task 4. Fill in the gaps with the italicized words.

Hot, latest, stylish, classic, timeless, essential, chic, in (as adjective) — 2 times, vintage, fave (favourite), must-have, trendy.

1. Karen is so _______________! She must read all the fashion magazines to keep up with the latest trends.

2. Have you seen Jenny’s _______________ new coat?

3. Do you have the _______________ edition of Vogue yet?

4. Blue is the _______________ colour right now.

5. Crocodile bags are very _______________ this season.

6. The new Prada boots are so ________________ all the stores are sold out and there is a waiting list for them!

7. The Internet makes it so easy to find _______________ clothes! I really like to see what celebrities are wearing.

8. The new Prada handbag is this season’s _______________ accessory!

9. Elle magazine has a great section on fall’s _______________ boots and bags.

10. Ellen was shopping at a thrift store last week and she found an amazing _______________ Chanel jacket.

11. Grace Kelly wore a beautiful _______________ gown on her wedding day. On the other hand, Princess Diana’s wedding dress is NOT timeless — when you see a picture of the dress, you know right away she was married in the 1980s!

12. Ralph Lauren has put his unique touch on the _______________ little black dress.

13. Stella McCartney is my _______________ fashion designer.

Task 5. Read the text. For questions (1–7) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

Fashion Week

Fashion week is a(n) (1) _________ event — it happens twice a year. In February and March, designers showcase their fall/winter collections; in September and October, they showcase their spring/summer collections (for the following year). Fashion weeks take place all over the world, but the most important ones take place in the four (2) _________ fashion capitals of the world: New York City, London, Milan, and Paris.

The first fashion week always takes place in New York City. For one week, hundreds of American fashion designers (3) _________ their ready-to-wear collections. It is a week packed full of fashion shows. This is a huge event in the fashion industry because it is the first time fashion magazine editors, critics, buyers (the people who decide what to sell in stores), and the public will get a chance to see the new clothing and the latest trends for fall.

A collection is all the new clothes the designer has made for that season. Each designer (4) _________ his/her collection with a fashion show. During the fashion show, models walk down the runway wearing the new clothing (a runway is also known as a catwalk). Usually, a designer likes to have a supermodel walk the runway. A supermodel is someone like Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, or Heidi Klum — a very well-known and sought after model. Past supermodels include women like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer.

Ready-to-wear clothing is clothing that you can walk into a store and buy right off the (5) _________. You can wear it as soon as you buy it. This is different from haute couture clothing (a French expression meaning ‘high fashion’). Couture is expensive, custom-made, one-of-a-kind clothing. You can’t walk into a store and buy a couture dress. Paris, France is the centre of haute couture.

A fashion brand is something like H&M, Levi’s, Gap, Kookai, Zara, Polo (by Ralph Lauren), Chanel, DKNY, Burberry, or Lacoste. They design and make clothing to sell in their own stores or boutiques and department stores.

A fashion designer is someone who designs clothing, like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Stella McCartney, or Vera Wang. Their clothing is sometimes sold in their own stores, but usually their clothing is sold in boutiques and department stores.

A fashion house is a company like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Burberry. They are fashion brands, but they usually specialize in expensive, luxury clothing and other products (like cosmetics, perfume, or shoes). They have been in business for decades — some for over 100 years — and they have usually (6) _________ several designers throughout their history. For example, Karl Lagerfeld is a well-known fashion designer who designed clothing for Chanel, a famous French fashion house.

Are you a fashionista? A fashionista is a slang word for people who love fashion. A fashionista can be a fashion designer, magazine editor, or simply someone who loves to wear the (7) _________ fashionable clothing!

1 A semiannual B semifinal C annual D alien

2 A must-see B major C minor D chief

3 A getting B get C take D showcase

4 A likes B promotes C happens D shows

5 A street B shop window C rack D shelf

6 A employed B got C brought D sent

7 A skimpiest B smallest C newest D latest

Task 6. Your school has decided to introduce a new school uniform. On a separate sheet of paper write an article to the school newspaper describing the pros and cons of wearing uniform at school.