📙 Part 2: Describe a friend who is well-dressed and is good at dressing up

This episode's vocabulary

Well presented (adjective phrase) – looking neat, stylish, and put-together. → Steve has always been quite well presented.

Outfit (noun) – a set of clothes worn together, especially for a particular occasion. → I’ve never seen him in the same outfit more than twice.

Gothic / goth (adjective/noun) – relating to a dark, dramatic subculture and fashion style involving black clothing and accessories. → He stood out with a particularly gothic look.

Attire (noun) – clothing, especially formal or distinctive. → It used to be typical goth attire.

Loud colours (noun phrase) – bright and attention-grabbing colours. → He wears lots of loud colours on relatively formal clothes.

Formal clothes (noun phrase) – clothing suitable for official or important occasions. → Like trousers and suit jackets.

Fashion icon (noun) – a person who is very stylish and influences others in fashion. → He looks like a fashion icon.

Standoffish (adjective) – unfriendly or distant in manner. → Some people might think it makes him look standoffish.

Expression of personality (phrase) – a way to show one’s character through appearance or behavior. → It’s an expression of his personality.

Pro-social (adjective) – intended to help or benefit others; sociable and friendly. → His personality is very pro-social.

Trendy (adjective) – fashionable or up to date with the latest styles. → He always wears something trendy and current.

Mix and match (verb phrase) – to combine different items of clothing creatively. → She likes to mix and match patterns and textures.

Stand out (phrasal verb) – to be noticeable or distinctive. → His look really makes him stand out in a crowd.

Statement piece (noun) – an item of clothing or accessory that draws attention and defines the look. → His jacket is a real statement piece.

Quirky (adjective) – unusual in an interesting or charming way. → He has a quirky sense of style that suits him perfectly.

Questions and Answers

Maria: You should say who he or she is, how you knew them, what his or her dressing style is, and explain why he or she dresses this way.

Rory: My friend Steve has always been quite well presented. We've been friends for about 20 years now, but in that time, I don't think I've ever seen him in the same outfit more than twice, and they've always been pretty good choices. To tell you a bit more about how we knew each other, we met at a party in a forest where we lived about 20 years ago, like I said, so we'd both have been teenagers at the time. Even back then, he stood out with a particularly gothic look. Come to think of it, I'm surprised we didn't lose him, since he'd have blended into the surroundings fairly easily back then. In more detail about what he wears, while it used to be typical goth attire, with lots of dark shades and a huge amount of black involved, this evolved into a more almost, I don't know, formal punk kind of style, with lots of loud colours on relatively formal clothes, like trousers and suit jackets. If that sounds bizarre, well, that's because it is, and he's very easy to find in a crowd as a result, so there's less blending in these days. However, because it comes so naturally to him, it looks fantastic, like he's some sort of fashion icon, mixing formality with some rule-breaking colour choices. Some people might think that would make him look standoffish or unapproachable, but he's actually one of the nicest people I know. Even back when we were kids, people called him a friendly goth, and I can see why.

When it comes to the reasons he gets dressed up like this, I imagine it's the same reason anyone dresses in a fairly unique manner. It's an expression of his personality, which is very pro-social, so it invites a lot of comment and conversation, which I think is exactly what he's after. If he didn't dress so well, I'm sure he'd still be a popular guy, but I suspect this makes his life a lot easier in that regard.

Maria: And do your friends like this person?

Rory: The ones I've talked to about him do, yeah.

Discussion

Maria: So, dear listener, the topic is a bit unusual. Describe a friend who is well-dressed, so your friend should have, like, stylish clothes, and who is good at dressing up. So here, what we mean by dressing up could be, like, a person who is stylish, okay? Or a person who is good at choosing beautiful clothes. Actually, dress up, what does it mean to dress up, Rory?

Rory: Well, it could mean many things. You get dressed up for some kind of fancy dress party, and, well, that would mean that you wear these clothes, which are, sort of...

Maria: Costumes, yeah….

Rory: …representative of something else, yeah, a costume. But you could also get dressed up in a fancy way as well.

Maria: Yeah, for example, like, to put on some formal clothes for a special occasion. We go to a wedding, and you dress up for a wedding, right? Not just jeans and a t-shirt, but something like a nice dress or a nice suit. You have to dress up for the wedding, yeah, and you are not getting married, but you just go to a wedding. Or dress up, like, to wear a costume, like, for Halloween, for example. Little kids usually enjoy dressing up. And, like, I was dressed up like a cowboy, for example, at a party. So, dear listener, if you don't have this person, choose Steve. No, you can talk about Steve, like, Rory's choice. Imagine that you know Steve, and Steve is your friend. And there you go, you can just steal Rory's story. But this is, like, good stealing, quality Band 9 stealing. So, feel free to take Rory's answer, okay? So, my friend Steve has always been well-presented. Well-presented or well-dressed. Present perfect, because Steve is alive, so we are using present perfect. He's always been well-presented. He's always been well-dressed. We've been friends for 10 years. We've been friends for a long time, present perfect also. Or I've known this person for a long time. Again, feel free to lie, dear listener, right? Clothes or outfit. Like, outfit means clothes. Oh, like, he's got a nice outfit.

Rory: I think the outfit is, like, how everything comes together. And the clothes are the individual pieces.

Maria: Do we use the word look? Like, oh, I like his look. Like, meaning outfits, the style and everything, like clothes style.

Rory: You could, yeah. Like, you could talk about a good look or not a good look.

Maria: And could you give us a sentence with, like, oh, like, he's got a good look. Or I like his look.

Rory: Oh, yes. But that's it. You've just given the examples there.

Maria: So, they're correct, yeah?

Rory: Yeah. It could also be, like, I really like Maria's look, for example.

Maria: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Or I've always enjoyed his look. Meaning I've always enjoyed his outfits, clothes. You should say clothes, dear listener.

Rory: Not clothes.

Maria: No, clothes. And an outfit is a set of clothes. I really like his outfits. We met at a party. Or we met at a concert. It's so funny, Rory. Like, a party in a forest. Oh, that's like a Scottish party.

Rory: It's super normal behaviour.

Maria: Yeah, like, let's have a party in the forest, you know. Like, we met in a forest. Yeah?

Rory: Why not?

Maria: Yeah, dear listener. Because Scottish people are wild. They prefer rivers, forests, you know, to hang out. Like, who needs shopping malls these days?

Rory: I don't think that's a Scottish thing. I think that's just a teenager not having anywhere to party thing. And so they go to a forest. It was a ridiculous idea.

Maria: Yeah, yeah. So, I met him when I was a teenager. It was about, like, 20 years ago. And even back then, he stood out. So, a nice phrase of work to use here. Stand out, meaning to be different from other people. And as we are talking about a person who is well-dressed, usually, such people do stand out. Be very noticeable. He stands out from the crowd. He stands out from other people. And in the past he stood out as a teenager because he had a particularly gothic look. You see, look, meaning outfit, style. Was he a goth?

Rory: I think that's the closest style that I could think of that it looks like. Keeping in mind, goth is like a subculture from my time. There will probably be different subcultures now.

Maria: In more detail about what he wears. Or you can say, as for what he wears. So, we put on clothes and we wear clothes. So, what does he wear? He wears typical goth attire. And yes, dear listener, this is another synonym for clothes…

Rory: Or outfits.

Maria: Attire. It is formal. So, the most formal word to mean clothes, attire, but you can use it in this part. So, attire, clothes, especially for a particular or formal type. For example, you should wear appropriate attire for a wedding.

Rory: Or the appropriate attire, if you're super formal.

Maria: Oh, yeah. Actually, we don't use any article, right? So, you should wear appropriate attire.

Rory: No, we could talk about the appropriate attire as well, if we're being specific.

Maria: But not a, because attire is uncountable, right?

Rory: I think that it could be, in fact. Normally, it's uncountable, but it can change with the context. So, maybe there are many appropriate attires that are possible, for example.

Maria: So, you can say, like, I really like his elegant attire, or I've always enjoyed his extravagant attire. Like extravagant, meaning unusual, something that stands out, or could be like too much, like it's really noticeable. Actually, extravagant is C2.

Rory: Is it?

Maria: Yeah, wow. Extravagant attire, dear listener. And then you talk more about the clothes that the person wears. So, he prefers dark shades or dark colours or bright colours, bright shades. And it's a good idea to listen to our episode about colours, dear listener. So, he prefers a formal style or a casual style, informal, with lots of loud colours, like bright colours. And relatively formal clothes like trousers, jackets, suit jackets, and ties. And then you should name some pieces of clothing that the person usually wears. Dresses, shorts, socks. Or something interesting, you can choose something interesting. Like, what clothes do we rarely mention, but what's good vocabulary?

Rory: Oh, wow. Waistcoats, suit jackets.

Maria: Belts, for example.

Rory: Corduroy trousers could also be a rather flamboyant choice. Yoga pants.

Maria: Oh, yoga pants. Nice.

Rory: Is that a sign of being well-dressed, though? Arguable.

Maria: It may look bizarre. Bizarre, like strange. Or it may sound bizarre. So, like, the clothes that he wears might look bizarre. But he's very easy to find in a crowd. So, he stands out from the crowd. And it comes so naturally to him. Because usually when people dress well, they do it kind of naturally. And you look at them like, wow, it just looks beautiful because it's, like, natural to this person, and everything suits this person. That's why he's well-dressed; he's stylish. So, it's so natural to him. It looks fantastic. And because it's natural, it suits him. However bizarre it is, like, it looks fantastic. He is some kind of fashion icon. So, a fashion icon is a nice collocation meaning, like, an icon…

Rory: Someone who is considered, like, a model for fashion. Or someone who sets the trend.

Maria: Exactly.

Rory: Someone like Donatella Versace. There we go.

Maria: Oh, Versace, yes. For example, Versace is an icon. So, kind of like a symbol. A popular person. A model. A fashion icon, right? And usually people who are well-dressed, like, everybody is amazed at their style. So, this person becomes a fashion icon.

Rory: Maria is a fashion icon.

Maria: Well, yeah, I'm famous for my shoes and dresses. My hair colour. My friend mixes formality with some rule-breaking colour choices. So, my friend could be dressed formally, but he has some bright colours. So, he mixes style, formality with rule-breaking colour choices. Or loud colours, bright colours. Like, orange, pink, bright pink. And this makes him look standoffish. Again, a synonym to stand out from the crowd.

Rory: Not quite. Standoffish is more to do with being unapproachable and angry.

Maria: Oh, yeah. So, in a negative way, standoffish is negative. It's informal. So, behaving in a slightly unfriendly or too formal way. And there are some people who are dressed so well, like, you can't come up to them and say hello. They're kind of too... they're too cool. And unapproachable. Unapproachable. It's difficult for you to come up to this person and say hello. Someone who is unapproachable seems unfriendly and a little frightening. So, you don't want to speak to them.

Rory: I don't really know anyone like that.

Maria: You know, have you ever been to fashion shows, Rory? There are so many people like that.

Rory: Well, there you go. I have never been to a fashion show, so I have no idea.

Maria: They're dressed up so well, and they're like... lots of them are unapproachable. They're too cool in their style. Why does he get dressed up like this? So, as for the reasons why he gets dressed up like this or so stylishly, I think that he has a very unique manner. So, his unique style. And we can say that my friend dresses in a very unique manner. So, he dresses up well. He's good at choosing clothes. And it's an expression of his personality. So, he expresses his personality, he shows his personality through style and clothes. And his style invites a lot of comments and conversations. So, people come up to him and say, Oh, wow, I like your jacket. I like your bag. Oh, Rory, yesterday I bought two new bags.

Rory: What do they look like?

Maria: A piece of art. Your mother would love them. So, yeah, his bags. For example, his bag is a piece of art. You know, all handmade, beautiful. So, people come up to him. So, it invites a lot of conversation. Right, dear listener. Thank you very much for listening. Feel free to steal Rory's ideas and Steve. And you can just change the name to Bob or Marlon or Maria, Rory. Oh, my friend Rory has always been well presented. He wears only black T-shirts. Oh, actually, now Rory is wearing a white T-shirt. So, feel free to talk about Rory or Maria. And we'll get back to you in our speaking part 3 about clothes. Bye.

Rory: Bye!

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