All the rage: Clothes and fashion

1. Read the newspaper article below about how different types of clothes are appropriate for different types of people and situations
_ Karen Hyland, 22, a self-confessed 'scruff'' (1) about to graduate from the University of East Angua this summer, is among those desperately seeking a seepdy transition from the campus uniform of jeans, trainers and sweatshirts to smart suit and shoes, without resorting to pastel (2), power outfits (3) favoured by New Labour's fresh female intake.
_ Short skirts are to be avoided, as are Eighties shoulder pads, but no one wants to look frumpy (4) and the student budget is inevitably tight. 'I have to create a new image for my proposed career in television,' explained Karen. 'Money aside, choosing the right outfit (5) for my pending interviews is giving me nearly as much worry as my finals.'
_ What Karen needed was The interview suit - something smart, young and modern, which would be suitable for most office dress codes (6), while being individual enough to convince prospective employers that she could bring personality and flair to the job.

(1) dirty and untidy person
(2) in pale colours
(3) formal clothes to make you seem powerful
(4) old-fashioned and boring
(5) set of clothes for a particular occasion
(6) accepted way of dressing in particular social group

Exercises:
1. What did Karen mean by calling herself a 'scruff'?
_ She meant that she tends to dress in an untidey, careless way.
2. What is the student 'uniform' said to consist of?
_ Jeans, trainers (sports shoes) and sweatshirt.
3. Is this 'uniform' typical for students in your country too?
_ Personal answer
4. Why does Karen want to change her style of dressing now?
_ She is about to do her final (last university exams) and so stop being a student and begin working. In the work environment clothes tend to be more important than they are for a student.
5. What three things do newly-graduated students not want in their new clothes?
_ They do not want pastel colour, shoulder pads or very short skirts. They also do not want to appear frumpy (adj- ăn mặc lôi thôi).
6. What does Karen want her 'interview suit' to be like and why?
_ She would like it to be smart, young and modern. It should be conventional (adj- quy ước, tập quán) enough to fit most dress codes but also with some individuality to show a potential employer that she is a person with a degree of special style and originality.
7. What is the dress code in a workplace you are familiar with?
_ This will depend, but in many workplaces, the dress code for men is a suit with a shirt and tie. For women it may be a dress or skirt rather than trousers.
8. What sort of clothes do you think Karen should choose?
_ There are many ways of answering this question, of course, but the article from which the extract was taken went on to recommend a honey-coloured trouser suit in stretch fabirc.

2. Here are some other words and expressions used in discussing clothes
_ In offices many staff dress down on Fridays. (wear less formal clothes)
_ Sometimes an invitation or a restaurant or nightclub will ask people to dress in smart-casual clothes. (clothes that are informal but clean, tidy and stylish (adj- hợp thời trang))

Clothes can be informally described as:
dressy (suitable for formal occasions)
skimpy (close-fiting, using little material)
baggy (loose, e.g. of sweater)
snazzy (modern, stylish)

To be dressed to kill (means to wear clothes intended to attract people's attention - sexually)

3. Here are some more words and expressions relating to fashion.
_ A few years ago denim jackets were all the rage. (very fashionable)
_ They were dressed in the height of fashion. (an extremely fashionable way)
_ The magazine has up-to-the-minute fashion articles. (dealing with the most recent trends)
_ The film has set a new trend for the leather trousers worn by the heroine. (started a new fashion)
_ If you are ahead of your time, you have new ideas or opinions before they are fashionable.
_ If a fashion/trend catches on, it becomes popular.
_ A slave of/to fashion is someone who is strongly influenced by fashion.

4. Words and expressions connected with clothes are often used metaphorically.
to speak off the cuff. (without having prepared anything)
_ I'm no good at speaking off the cuff. (I'm no good at speaking if I haven't had time to prepare what I want to say).
to be hand in glove with someone. (to have a close working relationship with someone)
_ Be careful what you say to Helen - she's hand in glove with the boss. (she works every closely with the boss)
to have/take the shirt off someone's back. (someone's last possession)
_ I wouldn't invite them to stay of I were you - they'll take/have the shirt off your back before you know where you are.
to wear the trousers (ususally used of a woman)
_ Although he's the head of a large company, his wife wears the trousers at home. (his wife is the boss at home)
cloak-and-danger (involving secrecy (n- giữ bí mật) and mystery (n- điều huyền bí))
_ Have you any idea what all these cloak-and-dagger meetings at work are about? (have you any idea what all these secret and myterious meetings at work are about?
to put someone in a straitjacket (restrict someone's freedom)
_ The new legislation has really put us in a straitjecket.

_ Goodness me, you're dressed to kill!. Where on earth are you going?
_ The sign outside the bar said: 'Dress smart-casual - no jeans or trainers'.
_ I dress down at work when I'm not meeting clients.
_ I can't afford designer (label) clothes. I buy most of my outfits on the high street.
_ That's a very snazzy (adj- mốt, hợp thời trang) shirt - those bright colours really suit you!
_ As soon as she gets home from work, she changes from her smart suit into tracksuit bottoms and a comfortable, baggy, old jumper.

1. What is all the rage in your country at the moment?
_ Mini scooters and dresses with uneven hemlines.
2. What was the height of fashion five years ago?
_ Platform shoes, sarongs and pashminas
3. What do you think about people who are a slave to fashion?
_ That they must be rather stupid and insecure to need to follow fashion so closely.
4. How interested are you in being up-to-the-minute with fashion?
_ Not very interested at all
5. What sort of people start new fashion trends?
_ Films starts, pop starts, business people who wish to make money from selling new fashions.