Welcome to Oxford Online English!
In this lesson, you can learn how to talk about clothes and fashion in English.
Can you describe the clothes you like to wear in detail?
Do you know how to compliment someone on their style?
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to do these things and more.
Let’s start with the basics: what are you wearing right now?
Hello, Molotov Fashions, how can I help?
Hi!
Yeah, I made an order online, but there’s a problem with it.
I ordered a floral-print silk scarf, but you’ve sent me a patterned wool scarf instead.
So, you can return the silk scarf using the label you received in your package.
I see you also ordered a striped cotton top.
You sent me a plain denim shirt.
So, you can return those two items, and we’ll send out your leather jacket and your velour
Velour?!
Look, maybe I’ll just return the items for a refund.
I’m sorry, our computer systems are a little unreliable.
In this dialogue, you heard different words to describe patterns and materials.
You saw these words for patterns:
There’s one common pattern which is missing.
You could also have check clothing, for example a check shirt.
You can say check or checked—the meaning is the same.
You can use print with many different things.
For example, you could have a fruit-print dress, or an eagle-print T-shirt.
You can use patterned for any clothing which has some kind of pattern which doesn’t fit
Can you remember the words from the dialogue?
You heard these words for materials:
Velour is a kind of soft material.
If you’re talking about clothes and you want to describe the pattern and the material,
a floral-print silk scarf a plain denim shirt
Now, it’s your turn to practice!
Pause the video and make three sentences to describe your clothing.
Include the pattern and the material.
You can say your sentences out loud, or write them down.
It’s okay, but it’s a little loose, and the sleeves aren’t long enough.
Would you like to try a smaller size?
But then the sleeves will be even shorter!
I think I need to try something else.
It looks like a good fit to me!
Hmm…
It’s a little tight around the shoulders.
I think it goes well with your shoes.
Did I mention that we have a 20% discount today?
I’m not sure about the style, either.
It’s a little too hipster for me.
Would you like to try something else?
When you buy new clothes, of course you want them to fit well and look good.
But, sometimes they don’t fit well.
They might be too tight or too loose.
Maybe it’s just too big or small in one place.
Then, you could say something like:
It’s tight around the shoulders.
Or: It’s too big around the waist.
Notice how you say the shoulders and not my shoulders.
What other problems could you have with how clothes fit?
Do you remember what happened in the dialogue?
The sleeves aren’t long enough.
Useful words here are too and enough.
You can use them to express similar ideas, like this:
The sleeves aren’t long enough.
Or: The sleeves are too short.
With these phrases, you can talk about fit, but what about style?
If something doesn’t match your personal tastes, you could say something like:
It’s too old-fashioned for me.
When the shop assistant in the dialogue was trying to persuade me to buy something, he
said:
This is one way to say that something looks good on someone.
You could also say something like:
We have a question for you: what’s your personal style?
Do you prefer smart clothes, or casual?
Next, let’s look at some more ways to compliment someone on their clothing.
Yeah!
It makes you look much slimmer.
I like the fit; that’s what I meant to say.
Hmm.
You should wear smart clothes more often.
I’ll try to find more clothes that make me look slimmer, then.
Oh, don’t be ridiculous.
So, if you want to compliment someone on their clothes, what can you say?
You can use phrases you heard before, like it suits you, but in the dialogue you heard
You could also comment on a particular aspect of the clothing:
You can also make a more personal compliment, like this:
You can use these phrases in different ways.
Now, you can describe clothes in detail, talk about the fit and style of clothes, and compliment
people on their clothes in English.
There’s one more thing we have to show you.
Don’t tell me you’re going like that!
No!
And take off those awful shoes.
But these are the only shoes I have!
Well, we have just about enough time.
We’ll stop at the shop on the way and buy you some black shoes.
I need time to try them on before I buy them.
You should have thought about that earlier.
There are many phrasal verbs connected with clothing.
Can you remember the ones you heard in the dialogue?
There are simple verbs, like put on and…
The opposite of put on is take off.
If you need to put on some different clothes, then you need to get changed.
There are other verb phrases with get, like get dressed or get undressed.
If you’re shopping for new clothes, you should certainly try them on before you buy
them, to make sure they fit and look good.
And finally, if you’re going to a formal event, you’ll need to dress up.
Dress up means you put on your smartest, nicest clothes, usually for a special occasion.
Now, we have a question for you: what’s the best place to buy clothes in your city?
Tell us where to go in case we visit!
You can share your ideas in the comments.
Don’t forget to check out our website to find more free English lessons: Oxford Online