This episode’s vocabulary
Fashion-conscious
adj. — interested in the latest fashions and in wearing fashionable clothes.
Outfit
noun — a set of clothes worn for a particular occasion or activity.
Flawless
adj. — perfect or without mistakes.
Impeccable
adj. — perfect, with no problems or bad parts.
To rub off
phrasal verb — if a quality or characteristic that someone has rubs off, other people begin to have it because they have been with that person and learned it from them.
Colour-coordinated
adj. — arranged so that the colours, etc. match or look attractive together.
Bits and pieces
idiom — small things or jobs of different types.
Uncanny
adj. — strange or mysterious, often in a way that is slightly frightening.
Wardrobe
noun — all of the clothes that a person owns.
Well-dressed
adj. — wearing attractive and stylish clothes.
To stand out
phrasal verb — to be very noticeable.
To complement
verb — to make something else seem better or more attractive when combining with it.
Presence
noun — a quality that makes people notice or admire you, even when you are not speaking.
Prosperity
noun — the state of being successful and having a lot of money.
Hard-pressed
adj. — experiencing a lot of difficulty.
Questions and answers
Rory, are you ready?
Yes.
Fire away.
Whenever the idea of fashion comes to mind. I always think of my friend Maria, who I co-host the podcast I work on with. I think of all the people I know, she's the one who's the most fashion-conscious and has an excellent sense of style. We first met about seven years ago, and I think she's had on a different outfit every day since then. I never see her wearing the same thing twice, so heaven knows how many different sets of clothes she has. Regardless, the look is always flawless. Originally, she was an English teacher like me, but rose through the ranks to become a CELTA trainer and a manager at the company in schools we worked for. She was and still is very respected as near as I know. Not in the least because of her impeccable taste. It's even rubbed off on me a little bit. Every time I see her she has a different look with colour-coordinated shoes, accessories, and other bits and pieces that even I don't always know the names of. It's not just high fashion or expensive brands either. She has this uncanny ability to make really good choices from what must be the seemingly endless collection she has in her wardrobe. While it is quite normal for Russian ladies to be well-dressed, Maria always seems to stand out from the crowd in this respect. And this complements her excellent sense of humour and thorough knowledge of English. While the looks are important, it's good to know that there are brains to go with them too. As this is definitely the case for Maria. If I hadn't run into her, my life would be very different and probably much less interesting than it would have been otherwise. I imagined that I would still be, well, where I was working with the same ridiculous clothes that I used to wear. She even pointed that out publicly one time, actually. And certainly wouldn't have the presence and prosperity that I do now. I'm very fortunate in that way. Thanks to her. I'm much more fashion and English conscious myself, and much more fashion and English aware too.
And what about your friends? Do they think this person is fashionable?
I think they'd be hard-pressed to think otherwise. -