On this episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 25 phrasal verbs, slang words, and idioms all about style and fashion.
You'll be learning vocabulary like drip, dressed to the nines, an eyesore, all the rage, and more.
Let's get to it.
Hey there, welcome to the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
I'm your host, Gabby, your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City.
My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.
Are you ready to improve your English skills?
Let's jump right in.
Hey, hey, hey, greetings from New York City.
Welcome to episode number 66.
I'm so glad that you are here listening to the podcast.
Welcome back to the podcast for all of my regular listeners and welcome to the first timers.
In this episode, we're talking about something that's part of all of our lives every single day fashion and style.
You might not think of yourself as a fashion person or a fashionista, as we say in the US.
Maybe you don't follow the latest trends.
You don't know what's cool right now.
Maybe you don't spend a lot of time shopping.
Or maybe you do.
Maybe you love fashion and this is the episode that you've been waiting for.
To be honest, I've never really been one that is very much into fashion.
I have a lot of friends here in New York City who are really into fashion and they just make everything look so good.
I've never been that person.
You know, I've always preferred a more casual style.
But honestly, style is something that we all participate in, whether we realize it or not, whether we want to or not.
Every day when we open our closet and decide what we're going to wear...
We're making choices on how we wanna appear in the world, how we wanna show up in the world.
What we choose to wear shows our personality, shows our culture, shows our mood and even our confidence.
It's funny because my students, they all say Gabby, you dress like such an American, because I like to wear jeans and a casual shirt.
And it's definitely interesting because a lot of times I can tell where my students are from based on what they're wearing.
You know, some cultures, people always dress nicely even if they're just going to the corner store.
And so definitely what you wear shows your culture.
Shows your mood.
If you're not feeling well, sometimes you dress very casually.
Or maybe if you're mad, you want to dress really nicely so that you feel better about yourself.
Definitely shows your personality.
Like for me, I'm a very chill person.
I like to have fun.
I don't take myself too seriously.
And what I wear reflects that.
Style and fashion is a really popular topic, especially here in the US.
Friends ask each other for opinions about what they're going to wear, what they're wearing, what they're going to buy.
Coworkers notice what you're wearing.
On social media, people share their outfits every single day.
So this is a really important topic to know because you're going to need it.
When you're first learning English, you learn shopping and fashion vocabulary like shirt pants, socks.
But this is not that.
This is how to describe fashion what someone's wearing, how to describe someone who looks beautiful.
How to describe someone who's dressed very casually.
How to describe someone who's dressed very formally.
In this episode, you're going to learn the words and expressions people actually use to describe how someone looks.
By the end of this episode, you'll definitely have some fun practical vocabulary that you can use to talk about your own style.
And it'll give you the chance to complement someone else's style as well.
Also, when you're watching American TV shows and movies, you'll understand more, because this is also a very popular topic in media.
Which leads me to talk about the special bonus that comes with this episode.
It's actually a preview from my new mini course, English Through Media.
It's going to be launching soon, so pay attention to your email and social media.
It's actually a PDF course, so everything is by PDF, and it uses popular forms of media like TV clips, movie clips, celebrity interviews, TED Talks.
It uses these media forms to teach English.
I have a special style and fashion lesson just for you.
Basically, it's another step towards fluency because, you see, using media to practice your English is a shortcut.
It's a way to fast track your English because you're getting examples of real life English.
I always tell my students In my main classes there are three hours and you can attend a three-hour class every day.
But if you don't practice any English outside of that class, your learning is going to take a little bit longer.
So I always tell my students, watch one episode of TV or watch a movie every day in English.
It will speed up your learning.
That's why I created the English New Media course.
It's actually a course that I've taught here in New York City for a few years, and so I decided to make it into easy PDFs so that you don't need a classroom to improve your English.
In the free bonus lesson, you'll get links to clips that you can watch.
This lesson is based on three clips from The Devil Wears Prada movie.
Even if you've never seen it, it's okay.
But in this lesson, you have discussion and reflection questions.
You have listening comprehension vocabulary and it's a great way to practice your English and speed up your learning.
To get the free bonus lesson, just click on the link in the episode description.
It'll bring you to the folder where all the study guides are and you'll find the bonus materials section and it's in there.
If you're already on my email list, I will include it for you in the weekly email that I send out.
Also, if you're new, every episode has a study guide that has practice activities and all of the things that you learn in the episode, so that you can also fast track your learning.
All right, so now let me share the 25 vocabulary words and expressions that you're going to learn in today's episode.
Now, normally, I try to stick to 15 to 18 words.
Because anything more than that can be a little overwhelming to learn at once.
But there was so much good vocabulary.
And I think originally I had like 30.
I made a list of 30 words and I was like, you know what?
I can't cut out too much.
So I only cut five out and I got down to 25.
But that was the most that I could cut it.
We have dress up, dress down to be out of fashion or out of style to try on.
Thrifted vintage.
Back in style, designer fit OOTD.
Drip To hit the runway.
Dress to the nines, all the rage.
A fashion statement, an eyesore clash.
Tacky dressed to kill a haul.
A sharp dresser to throw on.
Clean up nicely.
Tuck in.
All right, now let's get to the story.
Remember as I read the story, listen for the words and try to use context clues to guess the definitions as best you can.
Then, after I read the story, we're going to talk about all of the definitions and I'm going to give you some example sentences.
Here we go.
It was fashion week in New York City and Sophia and her friends were excited to dress up and go to a fashion show in the city.
Normally, Sophia likes to dress down in jeans, sneakers, and comfortable clothing.
But this time, she really wanted to look special.
A lot of her fancy clothes were out of style, so she needed to get some new things.
For this reason, the day before, she had gone shopping with her friend Malik.
She tried on some dresses, but since she didn't have much money, she bought a few thrifted pieces and even found a cute vintage jacket.
It was from the 1990s, but had recently come back in style.
Malik, on the other hand, wanted designer clothes.
He was a fashion influencer and needed a new fit for the next Instagram OOTD post.
He always had amazing drip and looked like he was ready to hit the runway.
At the fashion show, everyone attending was dressed to the nines.
The models all wore new styles that were all the rage this season.
Big sunglasses, bright colors, and oversized jackets.
One model, though, wore an outfit that was a real fashion statement.
But Malik whispered, ew, what an eyesore.
Those patterns clash.
Later, Sophia saw a woman in a shiny gold dress full of sequins.
It looked tacky, but the woman acted like she was dressed to kill.
There was a small shop backstage, and so after the show, we bought a few things.
Malik bought several designer pieces and immediately filmed a Fashion Week haul video for Instagram showing off everything he bought.
Sophia just laughed and said, You're such a sharp dresser.
Even when you just throw on something simple, you clean up nicely.
Sophia had a family event coming up but was struggling to find something to wear.
They were told to wear their Sunday best, but she didn't have anything nice.
Her brother also complained that all he had were hand-me-downs, so she decided that they should both go to the store to get new outfits for the event.
Her little brother also complained that all he had were hand-me-downs, So she decided that they should both go to the store and get new outfits for the event.
They found him a nice shirt that he tucked into a pair of dress pants with a tie.
She found a beautiful red dress.
Even though Sofia wasn't really a fashionista, the events of the past week made her realize that she loved fashion more than she thought she did.
And what a big impact fashion has on her life.
The end.
Alright, now let's talk about the definitions and hear some new example sentences.
First up, we have two phrasal verbs, dress up and dress down.
These mean opposite things, as you probably guessed, since one ends with up and one ends with down.
To dress up means to wear more formal clothing.
And dress down means to wear more casual clothing.
So in the story, we hear that Sophia usually liked to dress down.
She prefers casual clothing.
But for this special event, she was going to wear more formal clothing.
For example, I usually dress down for class, but I had to dress up for my job interview.
Next up we have when something is out of fashion or out of style.
We use both of these idioms.
They mean something is no longer cool, trendy, or popular.
It used to be, but now it's not.
Next, we have the expression when something is back in style.
To be in style is when something is popular, trendy, or cool.
That's why out of style or out of fashion means that it's no longer popular.
And back in style means when something that was popular and then wasn't popular and then becomes popular or trendy again.
For example, baggy and loose jeans were out of style for many years, but now they're back in style.
Next up, we have the phrasal verb try on.
This is a really popular phrasal verb.
Probably would include this in my top 100 most popular phrasal verbs list.
So I'm sure you've heard it before and many of you probably know what this means.
But in case you don't, to try something on means to put on clothes to see if they fit, to see if they look good, to see if you want to buy them.
If you're shopping in a store, there's always going to be a salesperson at the store saying hey, do you want to try those on?
Or you're going to go up to someone and say, hey, where can I try these on?
And then they will show you where the fitting room is.
For example, she tried on three different dresses before choosing one.
Next up, we have the term thrifted.
Thrifted means that you bought it secondhand from a thrift store.
Now, what does this mean?
In the USA, and I'm sure in many of your countries, when you have clothes that you don't want, you can donate them, you can throw them away, but we're really not encouraged to do that.
Or you can sell them to a thrift shop.
A thrift shop is where people buy used things.
So you can buy used cups and plates, but you can also buy clothes.
We have these all over the United States, especially here in New York City.
And it's either called a thrift store or a secondhand shop.
We have a few different names, but we say this is thrifted.
For example, this jacket is thrifted, but it looks brand new.
Related to this, we have vintage.
Vintage is something that's old, but very high quality and often fashionable again.
There is a slight difference between thrifted and vintage.
Thrifted is something that you buy from a shop.
Vintage could be something that you've owned, something that was passed down from your family.
It could also be something that a special designer re-released.
For example, a lot of celebrities.
When they go to special events they'll say ah yes, this is a vintage Versace dress.
And it's because it was originally worn in 1950, but the designer saved it and re-released it.
For example, he wore a vintage leather jacket from the 70s.
So again, vintage just talks about its condition.
Thrifted would mean that he bought it at a thrift shop.
Next up, we have the term designer.
If something is designer, this is clothing or accessories made by a famous brand or a luxury brand.
So here in the United States, you can shop at Zara.
You can shop at The Gap, Macy's, a lot of different brands.
But if you shop at Louis Vuitton I tried to say that with my best French accent Louis Vuitton, because Americans say Louis Vuitton.
I'm sorry for all you Frenchies listening to this.
I know that's terrible.
Louis Vuitton.
So my French students have taught me to say Louis Vuitton.
Or if you wear something from Versace.
I hope I said that right for all my Italians.
Because again, Americans, we say Versace.
Very sorry.
But my Italian students, they'll say, Gabby, why are you saying Versace?
It's Versace.
You know, just a little side note here.
One of the coolest things about working with international students is that I have really good pronunciation for international things.
So, for example, a lot of Americans will say, oh, I'm traveling to Chile.
And I'll say, it's not Chile, it's Chile, okay?
And I try to say things right when I eat international food because of my students.
Because if I say anything wrong, for example, if I'm in class and I say, oh yeah, for breakfast I had a croissant.
My French students will say, Gabby, it is croissant, not croissant.
Anyways, I love saying things with proper pronunciation.
So Louis Vuitton and Versace.
But yeah, I like to also have fun with my students and their accents, because they also they also make fun of my New York accent.
Because, for example, New Yorkers will say, oh, I want some coffee instead of I want some coffee.
New Yorkers will say, oh, my God, I really want some coffee.
I don't really speak like that, but if I'm around other New Yorkers, sometimes my New York accent comes out.
Because remember, everyone has an accent in English.
Okay, back to fashion.
So designer means that it comes from famous or luxury brand.
For example, she saved money for six months so that she could buy a designer handbag.
Next up, we have fit.
Now, here's the thing, okay?
Fit, this is the slang definition.
Normally fit talks about how something works on your body.
So if I buy a shirt that's too big, I'll say, oh, this doesn't fit.
That's not what we're talking about here.
We're talking about the slang version of fit.
Fit is slang for outfit, a complete look that someone is wearing.
So if I say his fit today is so stylish or I love your fit, I'm complimenting the whole outfit, the complete look.
Next up, we have OOTD, outfit of the day.
This is an acronym.
We call it an acronym because every letter stands for a word.
Outfit O of O the T day D.
This is an acronym or a term that's used online to show what someone's wearing that day.
And I'm sure you've seen this with a hashtag on TikTok Instagram Facebook, where people will say hashtag OOTD and it just means outfit of the day what that person is wearing on that day.
For example, she posts her daily OOTD on Instagram for all of her followers.
Next up, we have the slang word drip.
Drip has another regular meaning when liquid slowly comes out of a container.
Drip is slang for very stylish, very cool clothing and accessories, a very good sense of fashion, sense of style.
For example, look at his drip.
Those shoes are amazing.
Next up, we have the expression to hit the runway.
Hit the runway is when models go to the fashion show runway and show their clothes.
So we say oh, you look like you're going to hit the runway, because it means that someone looks like they're going to go to a fashion show.
That's how well they're dressed.
For example, my sister looks like she's always about to hit the runway, while I always look like I'm heading to the gym.
Next up, we have the idiom dressed to the nines.
This is to wear very elegant, very glamorous clothing.
For example, at their wedding, everyone was dressed to the nines.
You'll notice that there are a lot of different expressions.
When someone is dressed very elegantly, someone looks very nice, or someone's dressed in formal clothing.
Next up, we have the idiom when something is all the rage.
All the rage is an expression that means that something is very popular, very trendy at the moment.
We don't only have to use this for fashion.
We can use this for products technology.
Saying something is all the rage, even use it for a person.
We're just saying that that person is very popular at the moment.
For example, oversized hoodies are all the rage this year.
Next up, we have the expression a fashion statement.
This is clothing that expresses a very bold or unique style.
So people might say, I want to make a fashion statement or wow, what a fashion statement.
It just means that the clothing this person is wearing is very bold, unique style.
Very brave.
Not many people would choose that fashion.
For example, her colorful hat made a big fashion statement at the party.
You'll notice here that when we use it with a verb, we use it with the verb make.
Next up, we have the word an eyesore.
An eyesore, it's like a sore in your eye.
It's something very unpleasant, something very ugly to look at.
We can use this for fashion.
For example, his green suit was such an eyesore I can't believe he wore that to the party.
But you can also use it for cars.
Oh my gosh, her car is an eyesore.
She should get a new one, for example.
Next up, we have the word clash.
To clash, this is a verb.
This is when colors or patterns don't look good together.
So maybe you have a shirt and pants that their colors or patterns just don't work.
We say they don't match.
So that's clashing.
For example, her red shoes really clashed with her pink dress.
Next up, we have the word tacky.
I love this word.
It's a really cool word, tacky.
This is clothing or style that looks really cheap.
Looks like the person lacks any fashion sense or style.
We say lacking taste.
The person just didn't choose correctly and it looks really bad.
For example, his gold chain looks really tacky with that outfit.
Next up, we have the expression dressed to kill.
To be dressed to kill is when you're wearing clothes that are meant to impress someone or attract attention.
You are dressed in a way that's really nice and all eyes are going to be on you.
For example, she was dressed to kill on her date.
Next up, we have a haul.
Not H-A-L-L, like a hallway in a house, but haul, H-A-U-L.
A haul is a collection of items that someone has recently bought.
So you see this all over the place on social media, where influencers will go to a store and they'll buy things and then they'll show people what they bought.
It could also be a holiday.
For example, right now, when this is being recorded, it's September fall season.
We're getting ready for Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas.
So a lot of content creators on social media are are decorating their homes for Halloween.
Decorating in the U.S. is very big.
If you've ever been here for Halloween or Christmas, you'll definitely see that.
Or even in the movies.
Everyone right now wants to decorate their home for fall.
So someone will go to the store and they'll buy all of these Halloween decorations and then they'll show on social media Halloween haul.
For example, he showed off his Zara haul on Instagram.
TikTok.
Next up, we have to be a sharp dresser.
Someone who always dresses stylishly and neatly.
If I look at my friend and say oh, looking sharp, that means that you're dressed very nicely, very stylish.
Your clothes look clean and neat.
For example, my boss is a Next up, we have the phrasal verb throw on.
This is to put on clothes quickly without much thought.
I just threw on a hoodie before leaving the house once I saw the temperature.
You did it.
You didn't think about it.
You just did it quickly.
Next up, we have the expression to clean up nicely.
This is great.
And this is used a lot in many TV shows and movies.
To clean up nicely means to look attractive or we say polished when you're dressed well.
For example, let's say you have a friend who always dresses very casual.
They wear jeans and shirts, right?
Then they go to a party or a wedding and they have to dress really fancy and they look beautiful or really handsome.
And you say, wow, you clean up nicely.
Meaning when you decide to dress really well, you look amazing.
For example, he usually wears casual clothes, but he cleans up nicely in a suit.
Next up, we have to wear your Sunday best.
Sunday.
Best means the nicest possible clothes that you own, kind of like what you would wear to church or special events.
Here in the United States, the majority of our population is Christian.
And traditionally, when you go to church on a Sunday, you dress nicely, you dress well.
When I was growing up, I would always wear a dress and a hat and really nice shoes going to church.
Now things have changed and I think really COVID changed a lot of that.
COVID kind of changed all of the fashion sense in the United States really.
But now people don't really dress up as much for church, but this expression is still common to wear your Sunday best.
Wear what you would wear to church on a Sunday.
So a lot of times people will say, oh, what should I wear to the party?
Oh, just wear your Sunday best.
For example, the kids wore their Sunday best for their family photo.
Next up, we have the expression hand-me-downs.
These are clothes that are passed from one person to another, usually in a family.
Okay, so I have three kids, right?
When I had my first son, I barely had to buy clothes for him because all of my cousins had sons and they were like Gabby, take these clothes.
And they were all in really good condition.
Very common in the United States.
We love to save money.
And so when my older son grew out of his clothes, he didn't fit them anymore, I saved them.
And I said, well, we want more kids.
Let me save this for my next kid.
And so my second son came around and I barely had to buy any clothes as well.
We did because we did want to buy him some new things.
But he had all of my older son's clothes.
And so these are hand-me-downs.
You hand the clothes down from person to person to person.
For example, he always wore hand-me-downs from his older brother.
And lastly, we have the phrasal verb tuck in.
To tuck something in is to put the bottom of your shirt inside your pants or inside your skirt.
Just think about if you're wearing a dressy button-down shirt and pants.
Most of the time, if you want to look really nice, you have to take the bottom of the shirt and stick it into the pants so that you look neat.
This is what it's called to tuck something in.
We don't only use it for shirts and pants.
I mean, if you have a hat, you can tuck your hair into your hat.
You can use it in different contexts, but basically it means to stick one thing inside the other.
For example, please tuck in your shirt for the school photo.
That sums up all 25 new vocabulary words and expressions that you just learned.
But before you go, I just want to give you a little bit of homework so that you can remember all the things that you just heard in the episode.
Step one is to go download the study guide and the free bonus lesson that I've created for you.
Don't forget to just hit the link in the episode description.
Number two look at all of the vocabulary from this episode and choose seven to 10 of them that you're going to use today.
Start with one and then throughout the week, get from seven to 10 and start using them.
Remember that repetition and practice are the keys to improving your English.
So go ahead and get that homework done.
Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of the Real Life English with Gabby podcast.
Be sure to download today's study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently.
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning.
Also, I'd love to hear from you so please leave me a review.
Thanks so much for tuning in.
