B2 Clothes and fashion

B2 VOCABULARY: CLOTHES AND FASHION

The Wardrobe Audit

PICTURE

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"It's a short-sleeved shirt with flamingos on it, Rhodri."

Fit, style, pattern and material · fit / suit / match / go with · dress up, get changed, hang up

Listening

Speaking

A · LEAD-IN

Twenty per cent of your wardrobe

Wardrobe statistics say most people wear 20% of their clothes 80% of the time.

• How true is this for you?

• What's the oldest thing you still wear?

• And the most expensive thing you never wear?

PICTURE

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B1 · VOCABULARY

Describe five real items you own - precisely.

Combine one word from each group. Example: a loose, plain, linen shirt. Note the order: fit/style, then pattern, then material.

tight · loose · hooded · long-sleeved · sleeveless · V-neck · polo neck · plain · striped · checked · spotted · patterned · cotton · wool · silk · linen · denim · leather · suede · velvet · lace · fur · lycra

FIT / STYLE

PATTERN

MATERIAL

B2 / B3 · VOCABULARY

Fit, suit, match, go with - and the attitude test

1. "These jeans don't ______ me." (= the wrong size)

2. "That colour really ______ you." (= makes you look good)

3. "Your bag ______ your shoes." (= the same or a similar colour or style)

4. "That tie doesn't ______ your shirt." (= they don't look good together)

5. Now sort these by attitude - positive, negative, or it depends: smart · scruffy · casual · classic · old-fashioned.

6. Which one changes completely if you add the word vintage?

C · BEFORE YOU LISTEN

The wardrobe audit

A personal stylist, Perrine, is helping a client, Rhodri, clear out his wardrobe before he starts a new job on Monday.

LISTEN ONCE AND ANSWER

1. What is Rhodri's problem?

2. What three rules does Perrine give him?

3. First: what would a stylist say about your wardrobe?

PICTURE

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C · TAPESCRIPT

The wardrobe audit

"First impressions get one performance, Rhodri. No flamingos."

PERRINE Right, Rhodri. Everything out of the wardrobe, onto the bed. All of it. Oh. Oh, I see.

RHODRI It's mostly hoodies.

PERRINE It is almost entirely hoodies. You start as head of department on Monday and you own eleven hooded tops, one suit, and - what is this?

RHODRI That's my festival waistcoat. Denim. It has history.

PERRINE It has stains. OK, system: three piles. Keep, charity, and "Rhodri, be honest".

RHODRI Fine. But the suit stays. That's my interview suit - it got me the job.

PERRINE Put it on for me...? Hm. Right - it fitted you beautifully in roughly 2019. Look at the shoulders. It's far too tight across the back, and the trousers are somehow also too loose.

RHODRI So I need a new suit.

PERRINE You need one good suit - plain, dark, linen for summer or a light wool - and here's rule number one: buy fewer things, buy better things. One classic jacket beats five cheap ones. Now: this shirt. Thoughts?

RHODRI I love that shirt.

PERRINE It's a short-sleeved shirt with flamingos on it, Rhodri.

RHODRI It's fun!

C · TAPESCRIPT (continued)

The wardrobe audit

PERRINE It's loud. Keep it - no, genuinely, keep it - but that's a Saturday shirt, not a Monday shirt. Which is rule two: it's not about smart or casual being good or bad. It's about matching the clothes to the day. Scruffy at a barbecue is relaxed; scruffy in a budget meeting is a message, and not the one you want to send.

RHODRI My old boss wore a polo neck every single day for nine years.

PERRINE And I respect it enormously. That's a uniform. It works. Right - the pile of shame. This spotted tie. Does it go with anything you own?

RHODRI It matches my... no. No, it doesn't.

PERRINE Charity. The velvet bow tie?

RHODRI Wedding. Not mine. Long story.

PERRINE Keep, weirdly - every man needs one ridiculous formal thing. Now, rule three, and this one's free: hang things up. Tonight, not "later". Suits on proper hangers, knitwear folded - wool cardigans go baggy if you hang them. If it's on the chair, it's not a wardrobe, it's a decision you're refusing to make.

RHODRI The chair is load-bearing at this point.

PERRINE Monday morning: the new suit, a plain white or pale blue shirt, the brown leather shoes - never the trainers - and you'll look smart without looking like you're trying. First impressions get one performance, Rhodri. No flamingos.

RHODRI ...Can the flamingos come out for the Christmas party?

PERRINE The flamingos are the Christmas party.

D · COMPREHENSION

Listen again. True or false?

1. Rhodri owns more hoodies than suits.

2. The interview suit is now too tight across the back.

3. Perrine tells him to throw away the flamingo shirt.

4. According to Perrine, "scruffy" is always negative.

5. Wool cardigans should be hung, not folded.

6. She recommends trainers with the Monday outfit.

E · LANGUAGE FOCUS

The four look-good verbs, and getting dressed

1. Complete from the conversation: It ______ you beautifully in 2019 (size) · Does it ______ ______ anything you own? (combination) · It ______ my... (colour pairing) · That colour really ______ you (looks good on you).

2. **Get + changed / dressed / undressed.* Put these in order for a normal evening at home and explain each: get undressed · get changed · get dressed*.

3. Dress up has two meanings - formalwear and costumes. Which does Perrine's Christmas-party line suggest? What is the opposite of dress up (dress ______)?

4. Word order check: correct this - a leather scruffy old jacket -> ______. (Opinion, then fit/style, then pattern, then material.)

F1 · CONTROLLED PRACTICE

Complete with one word.

1. I never wear ______-necks - I hate anything tight around my throat.

2. He wore a beautiful ______ suit to the summer wedding - light, cream, slightly crumpled by noon, as is the law.

3. A ______ scarf, real silk - it was my grandmother's.

4. Those boots are ______, not leather - don't wear them in the rain.

5. She looked very ______ in her new jacket; the interview panel clearly thought so too.

6. Jeans and a T-shirt are fine - it's a ______ dinner, nothing formal.

7. That tie's terribly ______-fashioned. Is it your dad's? ...It's vintage? I see. My mistake. Very stylish.

8. His shirt was ______ (little squares, like a picnic blanket) and his trousers were ______ (lines) - a brave combination.

F2 · CONTROLLED PRACTICE

Choose the correct option.

1. This jacket doesn't fit / suit me any more - I've been at the gym.

2. Red really fits / suits you. You should wear it more.

3. Does this shirt go with / get on with these trousers, honestly?

4. Give me two minutes to get changed / get dressed up - I've got paint on everything.

5. Hang up / Dress up your coat - don't leave it on the chair. The chair has suffered enough.

6. It's black tie, so we'll have to dress up / get undressed.

7. Your socks don't match / suit - one's spotted and one's striped. Bold.

8. He always looks smart / scruffy - ironed shirts, polished shoes, the works.

G · FREER PRACTICE

The audit

In pairs: Student A is the stylist. Student B describes five items from their real wardrobe using full descriptions - fit, then pattern, then material.

• The stylist sorts them: keep / charity / "be honest" - and must justify each verdict with target vocabulary (It probably doesn't fit you... · That won't go with anything... · It's a classic - keep it). Swap, then report the hardest item to give up.

• Discussion: do clothes at work still matter in the age of video calls? Should offices have dress codes at all - and who do dress codes really serve?

• Homework (optional): write Perrine's follow-up email to Rhodri (100-130 words): the Monday outfit, the three rules, one kind sentence about the flamingos. Twelve target items minimum.

PICTURE

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TEACHER'S REFERENCE · HIDE OR DELETE BEFORE CLASS

Answer key

B2 1 fit · 2 suits · 3 matches · 4 go with.

B3 Positive: smart, classic. Negative: scruffy, old-fashioned (usually). Depends: casual - and old-fashioned flips to a compliment the moment somebody says vintage.

C GIST The wardrobe is all hoodies plus one outgrown suit, and he starts a senior job on Monday. Rules: (1) buy fewer, better things; (2) match the clothes to the occasion; (3) hang things up properly - but fold the knitwear.

D 1 True. 2 True. 3 False - keep it, for Saturdays and the Christmas party. 4 False - the context decides. 5 False - folded; they go baggy if hung. 6 False - leather shoes, never the trainers.

E 1 fitted / go with / matches / suits. 2 get undressed (take clothes off) - get changed (change into other clothes) - get dressed (put clothes on, e.g. in the morning). 3 Formalwear, party best; the opposite is dress down. 4 a scruffy old leather jacket.

F1 1 polo · 2 linen · 3 silk · 4 suede · 5 smart · 6 casual · 7 old · 8 checked / striped.

F2 1 fit · 2 suits · 3 go with · 4 get changed · 5 Hang up · 6 dress up · 7 match · 8 smart.