Work with a partner or small group and practice your speaking and listening skills by talking about… fashion.

New Vocabulary   Mark the stressed vowel sound in each word or phrase:

1. accessories
2. autumn collection
3. designer
4. fashion house
5. fashion show
6. fashion victim
7. fashionable
8. fashionista
9. haute couture
10. influence
11. look (n.)
12. outfit
13. overpriced
14. racket
15. runway
16. shoot
17. style icon
18. trend
19. vacuous
20. wardrobe

Discussion Questions   Ask and answer them with a partner or small group:

1. What is fashion? Is fashion generally a good or bad thing? Why? Why do we need it? Did we have fashion in the past? What would the world be like if nobody dressed fashionably?
2. Do you follow fashion? How? How often do you buy new clothes? How much money do you spend on clothes, shoes, and accessories in a normal month? Where do you like to buy clothes?
3. Do people think you are fashionable, or do they call the fashion police when you walk into the room? Do you consider yourself… a) a trendsetter, b) a fashionista, c) a style icon, d) a fashion victim? Why? / Why not? What kind of fashion do you dislike? Are women more interested in fashion than men? Why?
4. What was the last trendy outfit you bought? How much did it cost? Why did you buy it?
5. How do you find out about the latest trends? Do you read magazines about clothes or take advice from vloggers on YouTube channels? Have you ever been to a fashion show? Describe it. How did you feel?
6. Who are the most fashionable people… a) that you know, b) in your country, c) in the world, d) in history? Which nation is the most fashionable / unfashionable? Why?
7. Have you ever considered working in fashion? What jobs are there? Which would you like to do? Why?
8. Are people who follow fashion vacuous? What’s wrong with wearing the same trousers for twenty years?
9. Is it important to you to always have the right look? Do you like to be in fashion or make your own style? Would you like to be a model, marching down the runway? What do you think they do in a typical day?
10. Who is your favourite designer? Why? Have you got any / many of their designs? Compare two or more of your favourite designers. Why is haute couture [high fashion] so expensive? Is it value for money?
11. Have you ever designed / made your own clothing? If no, would you like to? If you could create and sell your own design to a major fashion house for their spring or autumn collection, what would it look like?
12. Have you ever travelled to the four fashion capitals – New York, London, Paris, or Milan – to buy clothes?
13. Is the fashion business a racket used to sell overpriced rubbish to gullible people? Why? / Why not?
14. Is the fashion industry a good influence on girls? Why? Why not? What do fashion shows and photo shoots teach us about our bodies? Should fashion be banned? Do models represent real women? If no, why not?
15. Parents – do you make sure that your children are fashionably-dressed at all times? Why? / Why not?

English Idioms about Fashion   Say a new sentence with each idiom:

1. a must-have item
2. I wouldn’t be seen / caught dead in that!
3. retail therapy
4. the emperor’s new clothes
5. to be dressed to kill / dressed to the nines
6. to be in vogue
7. to come (back) into / go out of fashion
8. to dress for the occasion
9. to fit like a glove
10. to rip somebody off / to get ripped off / a rip-off
11. to have an eye for fashion
12. to have money to burn
13. to have more money than sense
14. to keep up with the latest trends
15. to make a fashion statement
16. to pay just for the name
17. to spend a fortune
18. to strike a pose

Discussion Situations about Fashion   What would you do if…?

1. You find out that your partner spent £1,000 on a jacket.
2. You fall asleep during a fashion show – just when the most celebrated designer is getting a standing ovation.
3. You can’t decide how many more handbags to buy.
4. You want to become a model, but your parents tell you to concentrate on your schoolwork instead.
5. Your friends inform you that you are definitely not on trend, but you are generally happy with how you look.
6. You hear your favourite designer is a hateful misogynist.
7. A famous fashion brand steals your hat design.
8. You turn up for a modelling assignment to be told you’re too fat: “Go home and lose weight!”
9. Your parents refuse / refused to buy you the latest trendy clothes, instead buying clothes at the market / charity shop.
10. You disapprove of your partner’s clothes, but they refuse to modernise their wardrobe because they hate shopping.
11. Your purchases don’t fit, but the shop refuses a refund.
12. You go overdrawn due to your excessive purchases.

Talking about Pictures

1. Describe the pictures below.
2. Discuss them.
3. Compare them.
4. Create a quiz about them using different question types: comprehension, wh-, yes/no, true/false/unknown, etc.
5. Improvise a dialogue or story.

Picture A:

Let’s Talk About… Fashion – Picture A

Picture B:

Let’s Talk About… Fashion – Picture B

Answers:

Let’s Talk About… Fashion – Answers

Note: vowel sounds are indicated with Clear Alphabet. For more about Clear Alphabet, please click here.

 Images by: pandreykulikov and Pexels from Pixabay

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