📘 Part 3: Fashion

This episode's vocabulary

To embody (verb) - to represent a quality or an idea exactly.

By virtue of something (idiom) - as a result of something.

Risk-taker (noun) - someone who often takes risks.

Tight-fitting (adj.) - tight-fitting clothes fit very closely to the body.

Sedate (adj.) - avoiding excitement or great activity and usually calm and relaxed.

Disposition (noun) - the particular type of character that a person naturally has.

Refinement (noun) - a small change that improves something.

Elegance (noun) - the quality of being graceful and attractive in appearance or behaviour.

Utilitarian (adj.) - designed to be useful rather than decorative.

Diversity (noun) - the fact of many different types of things or people being included in something; a range of different things or people.

To standardize (verb) - to make things of the same type all have the same basic features.

Durable (adj.) - able to last and be used for a long time without becoming damaged.

Shift (noun) - a change in position or direction.

To integrate (verb) - to combine two or more things in order to become more effective.

Wearable technology (noun) - smart electronic devices that are worn close to and/or on the surface of the skin.

To reveal (verb) - to make known or show something that is surprising or that was previously secret (revealing clothes show more of the body than is usual).

Flesh (noun) - the physical body and not the mind or the soul.

Backlash (noun) - a strong feeling among a group of people in reaction to a change or recent events in society or politics.

Status symbol (noun) - a thing that people want to have because they think other people will admire them if they have it.

To exert (verb) - to use something such as authority, power, influence, etc. in order to make something happen.

Trendsetter (noun) - a person, organization, etc. that starts new fashions, especially in clothes.

Dress code (noun) - an accepted way of dressing for a particular occasion or in a particular social group.

Prominent (adj.) - very well-known and important.

Shopper (noun) - a person who is buying things from a shop or a number of shops.

Peer group (noun) - the people who are approximately the same age as you and come from a similar social group.

Subculture (noun) - the way of life, customs, and ideas of a particular group of people within a society that are different from the rest of that society.

Norm (noun) - an accepted standard or a way of behaving or doing things that most people agree with.

To infer (verb) - to form an opinion or guess that something is true because of the information that you have.

To indicate (verb) - to show, point, or make clear in another way.

Subdued (adj.) - if a colour or light is subdued, it is not very bright.

Up in the air (idiom) - if a matter is up in the air, it is uncertain, often because other matters have to be decided first.

To provoke (verb) - to cause a reaction, especially a negative one.

Avant-garde (noun) - the painters, writers, musicians, and other artists whose ideas, styles, and methods are very original or modern in comparison to the period in which they live, or the work of these artists.

Spectacle (noun) - an unusual or unexpected event or situation that attracts attention, interest, or disapproval.

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Questions and Answers

M: Are older people as fashionable as young people?

R: Well, they are but they embody different fashion trends by virtue of being born at different times and having different perspectives on the world. Younger people are more energetic risk-takers and their fashion choices will represent that in things like torn clothes and tight-fitting jeans. On the other hand, older people will be more sedate, or they'll have more sedate attitudes and calmer dispositions. And they'll show that in their clothes with more refinement and elegance.

M: Are women more fashionable than men?

R: It certainly used to be the case and men would be the ones doing things like heavy labour and high-risk jobs. And, well, that required more utilitarian approach to fashion design. Recently, though, men's clothes have shown greater diversity in nuance and things like style of shoes and jeans. Now I think they're about equal, though women certainly have a greater range of things to choose from.

M: How is fashion now different to the fashion in the past?

R: We've got access to more materials to make clothes from and they tend to be more standardized and durable than before, the range of dyes has also increased. So the colour palettes have expanded greatly. Could you imagine having hot pink jeans in the 18th century? If the technical limitations didn't stop people, the culture certainly would have. And so this shift in what's acceptable has also taken place in many places all over the world.

M: How will fashion be different in the future?

R: It's like we were talking about before, as with things like culture and accommodation, it seems like there will be greater integration with technology, whether it's in terms of creating the material or actually including it in the design as... Well, it can be seen in things like wearable tech. There also seems to be a trend of revealing more and more flesh. I wonder if that will continue or if there will be a sort of countercultural backlash, and people will want to cover up more, or at least cover up with more tech and see this as a sort of status symbol.

M: Who shapes what's fashionable?

R: Similarly to culture, the role of elites to exert significant pressure on fashion choices is significant. Elites could be influencers and trendsetters, but fashion houses and the fashion press also have a part to play in this. Governments can also set limits on what's acceptable as can be seen in places with specific dress codes for men and women.

M: Where can people find out about fashion?

R: Magazines like Vogue seem to be quite prominent, but increasingly, there's a wealth of online media for consumers to access. From online fashion guides to, well, even personal shoppers who will pick out your outfits for you. And of course, people follow their peer groups in terms of what to wear. There are also subcultures and ecosystems of media and norms that come with them like with Gothic fashions, for example.

M: What are some different kinds of fashion?

R: We already mentioned Gothic but other looks can include those based on music scenes, as with emo and punk styles. Some emerge from lifestyles and hobbies like with, like with skaters, for example. And then you have smart, casual, business and casual dress, and those are dictated by the work environment or the entertainment environment that you find yourself in. The leisure environment.

M: What can you infer about someone from how they dress?

R: In similar times you could reasonably judge someone's personality and values from how they dress. Bright clothes indicated being outgoing and creative. Darker, more subdued colours showed a more reserved personality. And business or casual styles reflected serious or more carefree personalities and values. Now though, it's all up in the air, it seems.

M: What are the most important things in fashion?

R: Well, your guess is as good as mine. I'm not an expert, but I'd say certain qualities that attract people like the use of colour and form. Like an art. And using that to provoke certain feelings and reactions. Casual trends and fashion is promptly meant to promote calm and reasonable order, whereas avant-garde is more about being provocative and attention-seeking spectacles.

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Discussion

M: So Rory, fashionable Rory, you told us that people embody different fashion trends. Embody? That they are in their bodies? Embody. I have fashion in my body, I embody.

R: It just means it's like, it's something that they... Oh, how best to describe? It's something that they have as part of them. Or they give physical form to the trend.

M: So, older people embody different fashion trends. Younger people are more energetic risk-takers. So you can say it like they are fashion risk takers and their fashion choices. So a nice collocation. Their fashion choices, of young people yeah? Represent this, you know, "risktakeness".

R: Risk-taking energy.

M: Yeah, risk-taking energy. In what? In torn clothes. Torn? Like it's half, you know, you tear it apart. With like clothes, like jeans, for example, with holes in them. Or tight-fitting jeans. Yeah? So there are different specific examples of fashion choices according to Rory. Whereas older people, they have more sedate attitude.

R: Yes. They're calmer, more relaxed.

M: They have elegance. And their fashion choices are more refined, you can say. But you used this refinement?

R: Well, refined is the adjective and refinement is the noun.

M: The question could be about men versus women. Like a typical IELTS question, like are women more fashionable than men? And Rory told us that men used to do all this heavy labour and high-risk jobs. So heavy labour, like men doing what?

R: Like working on oil rigs and working in mines.

M: But now everything has changed. And men's clothes have shown a greater diversity. So men's clothes have shown. So clothes they. So clothes are fashionable, yeah? Diversity meaning like different fashion styles?

R: Yeah, it's just all different now.

M: And now, they are about equal. So in fashion, like men and women are equal. They have a greater range of things to choose from. A range of things like a lot of choices. Yeah? When we talk about the differences between fashion trends now and in the past, Rory talked about the materials. So what did you say about materials that are used to make clothes?

R: Well, they're more standardized, which means that they're more regular in form. It's not like they're a different quality for the same kind of material. And in the same way, they're durable, they're made of tougher materials, they last longer, because we have these industrial processes now.

M: So we talk about different materials. The materials are more durable, right? And also we can talk about different colours. And when we talk about colours, we can say dyes. So there are different dyes. Dyes like not like death, so people die. No. We usually use this word when we talk about hair. So I had my hair dyed, not painted, but dyed. Yeah? So hair dyes. And the same for clothes. The range of dyes that we have now and the colour palettes. Right? So the colour palettes - different colours. What will happen in the future?

R: What will happen in the future?

M: In terms of fashion. If you have no idea, you know, well, you can copy Rory's answer. And what did our Rory say? You talked about technology, yeah? So surely there will be greater integration with technology. So fashion plus technology. And then in terms of creating the material. In terms of creating new colours or new dyes, right? So paints, right? For clothes, for different goods. What else did you talk about? Designs, right?

R: Yeah, so they'll have things like wearable tech, but wearable tech is things like watches or different kinds of clothing that have technology integrated into them.

M: And also Rory told us about a future trend. There will be a trend of revealing more flesh. Flesh - meaning body, revealing - when people show their bodies, their naked bodies. So I think in the future, there'll be a trend of revealing more flesh. So like, people won't need many clothes. They just will show their bodies instead. Who shapes what's fashionable? So first of all, shapes in this question means like, who tells us what's fashionable and what's not fashionable?

R: Yeah, who influences this?

M: Yeah. And you talked about elites.

R: Yes. But elites are people who are, well, in charge or have access to enough resources and power to exert a significant influence on the society.

M: And by elites, we mean, rich people, people with power, people who control things, yeah? And these people could be influences or trendsetters. So they set fashion trends. Like celebrities, for example. Yeah? Like one guy started wearing pearls, a man started wearing pearls and then the whole jewellery industry changed. Pearls for men are now in fashion. Yeah? And men, it's totally okay to wear pearls for men. It's just like, wow. I think 10 years ago, it would be ridiculous. What? Men with pearls? But now it's fine. So influencers, trendsetters decide what's fashionable, what's not. And you used this verb, exert significant pressure on fashion choices. Exert.

R: If you exert something, then you're using it strongly. So when you exert your influence is like you're actively using it.

M: You can also say something about the government, like governments can also set limits on what's fashionable, what's not. They can set limits on specific dress codes for men and women. This is like a nice idea. Where do people find out about fashion? Surely magazines. Yeah? Like Vogue? Like what else do we have?

R: I don't know. I can only ever think of Vogue. But like maybe magazines isn't the best choice because, of course, a lot of media is digital now.

M: Online magazines, right? But yeah, Vogue is when you think about fashion, you think Vogue, Chanel. And you can also mention different brands, like again, Chanel. And you mentioned personal shoppers. Now it's quite common for a person to hire a personal shopper. So Rory, if you hire a personal shopper, what would happen? Do you know?

R: I think they would probably die of boredom.

M: So can you imagine, like Rory wants to change his wardrobe? Wardrobe, I don't mean piece of furniture, I mean, like his clothes. So Rory hires me as a personal shopper, a stylist. So he pays me money. We go to Rory's place, his house. And we look at all Rory's clothes.

R: And then Maria dies on the inside.

M: Yeah, Maria dies. And then like we throw everything away. First I go alone. Maria goes alone to a shopping centre. And I pick out outfits for Rory. So I pick out - I choose clothes for Rory. And I choose like sets of clothes. Not just like jeans separately, but I choose different sets of clothes. And I tell people at the shop, I tell a shop assistant just to keep it for me. So I first shop without Rory. Then when everything is done, I call Rory and go, Rory, okay, come, just come to me. So Rory goes to the shops where I have already picked out outfits for him. New outfits. So he tries everything on and then we buy all the stuff and then hey, Bob's your uncle. Yeah. Would you like to do such a thing? It's quite, you know, common these days?

R: Em, no, I'm quite happy with dressing in the drab way that I do. However, if you hire a personal shopper, that's what happens.

M: Fine. Also, people follow their peers. Right? So people follow different people, they do what their peers do. Peers - people of the same age. Kinds of fashion. Well, Gothic fashion, right? Not really popular now.

R: Is it not popular? They're still goths. There must be goths somewhere.

M: What other styles did you mention?

R: I didn't mention any, I developed a small obsession with goths, since watching "Wednesday". Like everybody was telling me to.

M: You can also say something like casual style or sporty style, classic style, classic fashion, traditional fashion, formal style or vintage. You know, vintage fashion refers to clothes that was worn 50 years ago. So all these like fashion styles, right? Classic, relaxed, creative, elegant. There was an interesting word in the next question. What can you infer about someone from how they dress? So Rory usually wears T-shirts. So what can we understand from the way he dresses? What do you think? He is cheap, fast and easy.

R: Yeah. Well, no, that just I'm not particularly bothered about how I dress, to be honest. That's probably what you could infer.

M: So infer - we deduce, we kind of understand it from what he's wearing now.

R: Yeah.

M: So what can you infer, what you can understand from a person's clothes. And then Rory said that, yes, you could judge someone's personality from how they dress, or from their clothes. And then you can give an example. Bright clothes, like yellow, orange indicate that a person could be outgoing, creative. Darker clothes, more subdued colours. Subdued like dark grey, black. Yeah?

R: Well, any darker colour, really.

M: They could mean that a person has a reserved personality. Yeah? So different clothes could reflect different moods, or personalities, or values also. What did you mean by saying it's all up in the air?

R: It's just there's no clear way of telling what's going on, basically. It used to be stable, but now it's all up in the air. It's unstable. No one knows what's going on.

M: Can I use it about talking about fashion in the future? You know, I don't really know, it's all up in the air.

R: Yeah. Because well, you would base your understanding of the future on the present situation. So you could say, yeah, everything's all up in the air right now. So who can see what's going to happen in the future?

M: And then Rory used his favourite strategy. So what are the most important things in fashion? I am not an expert. But I'd say that. Yeah. So again, dear listener, use it only once in your IELTS speaking. If you keep using it, and say it after every question, no, this doesn't work like this. And we can talk about colours, which are important in fashion. Form. So colours and form, the use of colours. The use of form. It's like art. Yeah? Like shapes or forms of your clothes. And other important things in fashion could be trends, that a person chooses. You know, casual trends, or vintage fashion, for example. How do you pronounce this avant-garde?

R: I would say avant-garde, but I think a lot of people say avant-garde. But it's, it's still clear what you mean. It's like the thing that's right at the cutting edge in the future, or almost in the future. It's just happening right now. The advance guard if you will.

M: Sweet. So dear listener, we've just given you a couple of words collocations about fashion. Could you please read Rory's answers again, and underlying maybe like up to seven phrases, words about fashion that you would like to learn and use in your IELTS exam. There is no need to learn all the words that Rory has used. Just pick out, choose the words. Up to seven words that you would like to use about fashion. Okay? If you don't feel confident with your answers about fashion trends, about fashion the future, you should go online and read some articles about fashion, really. Yeah? To be more confident, because to get band 8 and above, you should give well-educated answers. Okay? Yeah? So be a little bit of a fashion nerd. Thank you very much for listening!

R: We'll see you next time!

M: Bye!

R: Bye!

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