Clothes
What clothes do you like to wear? What clothes do you never wear? Do you wear the same clothes on weekdays and weekends? What colour of clothes do you like? Do you spend a lot of time choosing clothes?
Vocabulary
  • Fixed (adj.) - arranged or decided already and not able to be changed.
  • Slip-on (noun) - a shoe with no way of fastening it to the foot, that can be quickly put on and taken off.
  • To pull off (phrasal verb) - to succeed in doing something difficult or unexpected.
  • Unhinged (adj.) - mentally unbalanced.
  • Signature look (noun) - the characteristic clothes or other distinguishing signs used by a certain character or performer, making the person more recognizable by the audience.
  • To branch out (phrasal verb) - to start to do something different from what you usually do, especially in your job.
  • Multicoloured (adj.) - having many different colours.
  • Tartan (noun) - a pattern of different coloured straight lines crossing each other at 90-degree angles, or a cloth with this pattern.
  • To revel in something (phrasal verb) - to get great pleasure from a situation or an activity.
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Questions and Answers
M: What clothes do you like to wear?

R: Well, I think I have a pretty fixed style, to be honest with you. It's always like jeans and dark T-shirts. And my slip-ons. I think that consistency lets me focus on other things.

M: What clothes do never wear?

R: Well, women's clothes, probably. I don't think I could pull off a dress or a skirt as well as you could, for example. I don't have the legs for it. And I probably look rather unhinged, to be honest with you.

M: Do you wear the same clothes on weekdays and weekends?

R: I think so. Like I said my signature look is basically jeans and a dark T-shirt. Although occasionally I branch out into other colours.

M: What colour of clothes do you like?

R: I know it's a shade, but I really like black, especially for shirts. I just think it looks better on me. Occasionally I wear brighter colours, just to change things up or to mark a special occasion. Oh, and I like the multicoloured pattern or the tartan on my kilt.

M: Do you spend a lot of time choosing clothes?

R: Well, unsurprisingly, for someone who wears the same thing all the time - no. I like to go in, pick a few of the same things and get out again. Some people revel in this experience of shopping but I have better things to do, in my opinion. It's just not my favourite.
Discussion
M: Right. So a fixed style, dear listener. I have a fixed style, so my style is fixed. The style of clothes I wear, and Rory usually wears black, so I have a fixed style. I always wear either jeans or trousers. I wear either T-shirts or dresses. Okay? And Rory gave us jeans and shorts. Shorts like not trousers but short, shorts. A black shirt or a T-shirt and slip-ons. So what are slip-ons?

R: Slip-ons are a kind of shoe. You just slip them on. You can see, there are no laces to tie. The laces are elasticated, which means that they stretch. With the shape of your foot or the size of your foot. And I find them much easier to put on than tying my shoes.

M: Slip-ons are easy to put on. They're not flip-flops that you usually wear on the beach. Like slip-ons, like trainers, like it's easier to put them on. So the consistency, so Rory is consistent in his style. So he wears black T–shirts all the time. Consistently, okay? So the consistency is important. You can also say I always wear socks, underwear or hoodies, different hoodies. You know? Like with a thingy. Which are quite popular. So if you're a woman, you can say that I never wear men's clothes. If you're a man, you can say, well, I never wear women's clothes. And then you can say, I don't think I can pull off a dress. So pull off a dress. So I don't think I can wear a dress?

R: Yes. So if you can pull something off in terms of clothes, then you talk about both taking off the clothes, but you also can use it to talk about wearing them successfully. So, for example, I couldn't pull off a dress because I don't have the legs for it. I'm not showing you my legs. This is not the kind of channel that we are. However, it's not something that lets me wear something like a dress successfully. Also, addresses are not for people like me.

M: I don't think I can pull off a suit. Like a suit? Like a jacket, trousers, like a proper suit. Or I don't think I can pull off a short skirt, for example, right? So I don't think I can wear and look good in these clothes. It would probably look rather unhinged. Unhinged? Mentally ill?

R: Well, I would prefer to say crazy. But yes, if you're unhinged, then you don't have a great grasp on reality. And perhaps you behave in an extremely eccentric or unusual way. So for example, if I was to show up to a recording wearing a dress, that would be rather unhinged.

M: Sometimes I think my mother is a little bit unhinged. So she's a little bit crazy. Yeah? Can people be unhinged? Or like what?

R: People can be unhinged, and usually unhinged is used to describe how people behave. So this is like really unhinged behaviour, or you're very unhinged today. This whole display of clothes for someone who does not wear lots of different kinds of clothes is a bit unhinged.

M: Also, dear listener, you can throw in some topic-specific vocabulary. For example, I never wear neon colours. You know, like these bright, neon colours, like toxic green. I never wear skinny jeans, like very tight jeans, or I never wear too short skirts or dresses, short dresses. Chanel bags. No, I never wear Chanel bags or Gucci bags. Or I never wear leather jackets because, well, I don't enjoy genuine leather. So I don't wear leather jackets.
R: I used to wear leather jackets all the time. Maria will remember from my days in Moscow.

M: Also you can say like I never wear large logos on my clothes. You know, like there's a T-shirt and then like Gucci right here. And you can say like, well, I'm not a walking billboard. So I don't like wearing large logos on my clothes. My signature look. My signature look is basically jeans and T–shirts.

R: So if something is your signature look, it's something that's really associated with you as a person. So for example... Well, usually, it would be something more noticeable. However, for me, it's something that is rather consistent. So every time you see me I'm usually wearing this hoodie and if I'm not, then I'm wearing something dark.

M: Occasionally, sometimes I branch out, okay? Into other colors. So I usually wear black but sometimes I branch out and I wear orange or white or red. So I branch out.

R: Try different things, branch out.

M: I try different things. I branch out into different clothes like dresses, short skirts, and shorts.

R: Perhaps different colours, if I'm feeling very risky.

M: I prefer wearing oversized T-shirts or oversized sweaters. They're quite trendy now. So oversized, you know, like this is quite... You know, oversized sweaters at home or sometimes I branch out into sandals. Right? And different shoes. So sandals, so like leather sandals, for example. What do we say about colours? I prefer bright colours of clothes, clothes colour?

R: I prefer, well, bright-coloured clothing or just bright colours on my clothes. Or bright clothes.

M: Bright colours. I prefer bright colours on my clothes, or I prefer dark colours on my clothes. You said that it's a shade. But black is a colour. Why do you say it's a shade?

R: Black is a... Black as a shade. I'm pretty sure.

M: Okay? But normally we just say like a black colour, green, like red. They're all colours. I wear brighter colours to mark special occasions. Occasions? Like events, for example, my birthday, and some holidays. So to mark a special occasion. So it's my birthday, I will celebrate. I wear brighter colours. And to change things up. Change things up? So I sometimes wear brighter colours to change things up. You also said that you prefer multicoloured patterns.

R: On my kilt. Yes. But in general for me and my clothes. No.

M: And if it's like white, just everything white. It's plain. I prefer plain colours, right?

R: Yes. Or I guess, well... No, that would be it. Just plain white. The fact that it's plain means it has no markings or anything on it.

M: Also, dear listener, you can say that I prefer pinks or oranges in summer. So pinks? Like I prefer pink colours. And in winter, I prefer browns. Also, dear listener, you can say that in summer I prefer reds or oranges, like orange colours, and in autumn I prefer browns. Like brown colours. So we can say reds, browns, greys, meaning grey colours, like different shades of grey. Okay? You can say I prefer sea blues, the colours of the blue sea. Like purples, purple colours, right? And in different seasons, you can prefer different colours. Also, you can say I prefer warm colours, like orange, yellow or cool colours, like blue, green, purple or neutral colours. I prefer neutral colours. Black, white, grey, or brown.
R: I'm finding out so much right now, I don't know what any of these things are.

M: Or you can show off your super vocabulary and say I prefer turquoise colour. Turquoise? The colour of the sea, kind of like bluish, greenish, kind of thing. Also, you can say I prefer emerald green, dresses, or emerald green T-shirts. This is like green but like emerald green that they have in Ireland. This green, green, green. Google, okay? Turquoise and emerald green. Rory loves to go in, pick out a few items of clothes and get out.

R: I'm very easy to go shopping with because I just go, take and do. And that's all.

M: What's revel? You said something that...

R: Oh, yeah, some people really revel in the shopping experience. But that means that they just really enjoy it a lot. So they're like in the moment. Yes, I'm having a great time shopping. That is my personal vision of hell. However, other people are different to me, and they enjoy being around all the different choices and the process they go through to make it. I would rather not do that.

M: Yeah, I'd rather not spend a lot of time on shopping, spend time on shopping. But if I enjoy spending time shopping, what do I say? Like I love retail therapy. I love shopping. I love picking out different outfits. Outfits? Like clothes, right? Different clothing items.

R: I think items are a combination of different clothes together.

M: Alright, we're ready for the joke. Dear listener, are you ready for the joke? The joke is about Batman.

R: Oh, okay.

M: So, dear listener, we can say clothes or clothing. Okay? So dark clothing, like dark clothes, so the joke is about Batman. And we're not talking about whether is Batman a superhero or not. Because he is definitely a superhero.

R: Allegedly.

M: Why does Batman wear dark clothing? Because Batman...

R: Because he's a detective.

M: Rory, you don't answer freaking questions. I answer the questions. Off... Okay. Once again, dear listener. Why does Batman wear dark clothing? Because Batman doesn't want to get shot. Why does Robin wear bright clothing? Because Batman doesn't want to get shot.

R: Oh, that is dark. That's a dark joke.

M: Oh, come on, it's funny. You get it, dear listener, you get it? Tell me you get it, right? So bright clothing. Batman is dark. He kind of, he's hiding in the darkness, but Robin is like... Hey! So they will shoot Robin but not Batman. Okay, thank you for listening! Hugs and love! Bye!

R: Bye!
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