ENG

27

CLOTHES AND FASHION

“Fashion: a despot whom the wise ridicule and obey.”

—Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), American satirist, journalist

Sharing Views

Styles and fashions change, but the desire to surround ourselves with beauty remains. Discuss clothing options with your conversation partner.

1. What are you wearing today? Where did you get your favorite piece of clothing?

2. Do you usually dress casually or formally?

3. Do you prefer conservative, shabby, or trendy clothes? Why?

4. Do you find dressing for work a chore, a choice, or a pleasure? Why?

5. When picking clothes, are you drawn to certain colors? Which?

6. How often do you shop for clothes? Do you have a favorite day or time?

7. Do you like to window shop for clothes? Where do you go?

8. Can you suggest stores that sell quality clothes at reasonable prices?

9. Are clothing styles, or stores, different in your native country than here? How?

10. Do you have a favorite outfit? Where do you go in it?

11. How do you accessorize? Do you have a favorite accessory?

12. Is there a traditional dress in your native country? Can you describe it?

13. How often do you get dressed up? For what occasions?

14. Do you dress differently in the U.S. than you did in your native country?

15. Do people in your native country tend to dress more conservatively or more showy?

16. Have you ever worn a uniform for work or school? Can you describe it?

17. What is an example of something you would never wear? Why?

18. Who do you think of as being fashionable or chic? Why?

Vocabulary

Please choose the words you know. Use them to write three questions.

fashion | chic | elegant | shabby | trend | trendy

despot | icon | designer | accessory

Proverbs

Read the common sayings and proverbs below. Can you add two more?

Clothes make the man. —Talmud

Clothes hide the blemish. —Yiddish

Dress up a monkey like a bishop, it’s still a monkey. —Japanese

Style is substance. —American

When it’s torn, it can’t be worn. —Persian

As for clothes, the newer the better; as for friends, the older the better. —Korean

You get what you pay for. —Greek

The Conversation Continues

1. Which materials do you prefer to wear?

2. Are you allergic to any materials?

3. Do you sew? Have you patched jeans or other clothes?

4. What do you do with old clothes? Do you give them away? Sell them at a garage sale?

5. Can you describe some clothes that would clash? What is a fashion faux pas?

6. What type of clothes, jewelry, or furniture do you find tacky? Shabby? Ugly?

7. If you were the “fashion police,” what would you get rid of? Why?

8. Who are some fashion icons? Can you think of some “fashion forward” people?

9. Do you have a favorite fashion designer? Why?

10. What is the difference between style and fashion?

11. Have you ever felt that fashion was a despot or tyrant? How?

12. Who taught you how to dress? Who was your role model? Why?

13. Do you dress differently from your parents? How?

14. Do your children dress differently from you? How?

15. What do you usually notice about clothes? What catches your eye?

16. Is there anything you don’t allow your children to wear? What? Why?

17. Who do you consider the best-dressed celebrity? The worst? Why?

18. Should people be allowed to wear whatever they want whenever they want? Why or why not?

19. Can you share your five best fashion tips with me?

Discussing Quotations

Choose the quotations you like and connect the expression to your life.

1. “Be not the first by whom the new are tried nor yet the last to lay the old aside.”

—Alexander Pope (1688-1744), English poet

2. “The fashion wears out more apparel than the man.”

—William Shakespeare (1564-1616), English playwright, poet

3. “Now I can wear high heels again.”

—Nicole Kidman, (1967-), actress, after her divorce from Tom Cruise

4. “I dress for women, and undress for men.”

—Angie Dickinson (1931-), actress

5. “I only put clothes on so that I’m not naked when I go out shopping.”

—Julia Roberts (1967-), actress and movie star

6. “Naked people have little or no influence in society.”

—Mark Twain (1835-1910), American Writer

7. “He is ill clothed that is bare of virtue.”

—Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), statesman

8. “In your community, your reputation matters. In a strange place, your clothing counts.”

—Talmud

9. “We are all Adam’s children, but silk makes the difference.”

—Thomas Fuller (1608-1661), English historian and religious leader

10. “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.”

—Henry David Thoreau (1817-1860), American philosopher

11. “The man who inspects the saddle blanket instead of the horse is stupid; most stupid is the man who judges another man by his clothes or circumstances.”

—Seneca the Younger (4 B.C.E.-65 A.D.), Roman statesmen and writer

12. “If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies.”

—Albert Einstein (1879-1955), scientist and philosopher

13. “A thing of beauty is a joy – until the fashion changes.”

—Evan Esar (1899-1995), writer

14. “I base most of my fashion taste on what doesn’t itch.”

—Gilda Radner (1946-1989), television comedian

15. “Fashion: That, not necessarily beautiful, which makes what preceded it look stodgy, foolish, or inexpensive.”

—Leo Rosten (1908-1997), author

16. “You may judge a flower or a butterfly by its looks, but not a human being. Only fools judge men by their outside.”

—Radindranath Tagore (1861-1941), Indian poet, Nobel Prize winner

On Your Own

Pick a favorite outfit or piece of clothing. Write about the outfit: where it was made, how you got it, and why you like it. Share your short essay.