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What is "bespoke" clothing ?

rhyme_reason — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 12:42:12 GMT

What is "bespoke" clothing ?

A lot of people use the terms "bespoke" and "made-to-measure" interchangeably. They are mistaken.

'Bespoke' is actually a term which dates from the 17th century, when tailors held the full lengths of cloth in their premises.

When a customer chose a length of material, it was said to have “been spoken for”. Hence a tailor who makes your clothes individually, to your specific personal requirements, is called "bespoke". This is unlike “made-to-measure”, which simply uses a basic, pre-existing template pattern, which is then adjusted to roughly your individual measurements.

The cloth is chosen from the full range available today, and also which type of style and fit would be most suitable for you.

Clothes are then to have all the hallmarks you would expect from true bespoke tailoring: More than 20 measurements and figuration details are taken from the customer. Then a personal pattern will be hand-drafted and cut from scratch- not the basic, adjusted template pattern, as used by so many other tailors these days.

Using your pattern, the cloth is then cut and trimmed, along with the finest linings and silks available. A single tailor is then given the parts of the garment to sew together, from the earliest fitting stages, to the final, complete suit. Each suit is completely hand-made, even down to the button holes.

Phrasal verbs

rhyme_reason — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 06:48:02 GMT

Phrasal verbs

to break out

to chill out

to clean out

to come out (to some event)

to be cut out for (something)

to figure out

to find out

to get out of

to go out

to leave out

to look out

to move out

to peer out

to point out

to be put out

to put out

to run out of

to stand out

to turn out (=to turn off)

to turn out (to/for an event)

to watch out

to wipe out

to work out

to be worn out

The Night Out

“I am not cut out for this,” he complained loudly, tightening his tie around his collar as he came through the doorway. “I really resent this fancy dress-up stuff. I don’t want to go out.”
    “Look out,” his wife cried, “you just stepped on the peas the baby spilled at dinner.”
    “See,” he whispered, carefully wiping his shoe, “I told you it wouldn’t work out, bringing in that niece of yours as a babysitter. Now how are we going to get out of this one? Your sister will be really put out if we don’t ask her girl back again.”
    “I know, I know,” she muttered. “But if she finds out we aren’t going to ask her back, I’m in a lot of trouble,” she said as she turned out the kitchen light and stepped onto the porch.
    “All we can hope for is that she meets somebody to share a house with and moves out,” he said as he opened the car door.
    “You know her mother would be only too glad to clean out her basement and put in a suite for her, though. If she could work it out financially,” she reminded him as the car backed out of the garage.
    “If it’s cheaper, knowing your sister, I’m sure she’ll figure out a way,” he added.
    “Watch out!” she yelled. But it was too late, the tricycle wheel lay flattened in the driveway.
    “Okay, so now you’ve wiped out twice this evening,” she sighed. “Soon we will run out of riding toys, and then what?”
    “And who, may I ask, left it out?” he said, “ I’m going to point out again that I’m not up to this tonight. I’m just too worn out.”
    “But they would all be so disappointed if you didn’t come out to this with me, you know that, dear” she pouted as she slipped a lipstick out of her purse. “If we want to stand out in this crowd, we have to attend regularly and support them. They expect everyone to turn out.”
    Makeup adjusted, she peered out the window and realized they were back in the garage. “What...?”
    “Will you just chill out,” he said, “and please stay put. I’ll just be a sec. I forgot to let the cat out, and you know she isn't box-trained yet.” He slammed the car door.
    “Oh,” she fretted, looking in the mirror again, “my lips have broken out.” Then she looked at her watch again, and moaned, “By the time we get out of here all the action will be over. And all I wanted was a nice night out.”

It's the ONLY Language to learn

rhyme_reason — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 02:08:51 GMT

It's the ONLY Language to learn

What is English?

A short history of the origins and development of the English languageThe history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders—mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc—from which the words England and English are derived. Germanic invaders entered Britain on the east and south coasts in the 5th century.Old English (450-1100 AD)

The invading Germanic tribes spoke similar languages, which in Britain developed into what we now call Old English. Old English did not sound or look like English today. Native English speakers now would have great difficulty understanding Old English. Nevertheless, about half of the most commonly used words in Modern English have Old English roots. The words be, strong and water, for example, derive from Old English. Old English was spoken until around 1100.

Middle English (1100-1500)

In 1066 William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy (part of modern France), invaded and conquered England. The new conquerors (called the Normans) brought with them a kind of French, which became the language of the Royal Court, and the ruling and business classes. For a period there was a kind of linguistic class division, where the lower classes spoke English and the upper classes spoke French. In the 14th century English became dominant in Britain again, but with many French words added. This language is called Middle English. It was the language of the great poet Chaucer (c1340-1400), but it would still be difficult for native English speakers to understand today.

Early Modern English (1500-1800)

Towards the end of Middle English, a sudden and distinct change in pronunciation (the Great Vowel Shift) started, with vowels being pronounced shorter and shorter. From the 16th century the British had contact with many peoples from around the world. This, and the Renaissance of Classical learning, meant that many new words and phrases entered the language. The invention of printing also meant that there was now a common language in print. Books became cheaper and more people learned to read. Printing also brought standardization to English. Spelling and grammar became fixed, and the dialect of London, where most publishing houses were, became the standard. In 1604 the first English dictionary was published. Hamlet's famous "To be, or not to be" lines, written in Early Modern English by Shakespeare.Late Modern English (1800-Present)The main difference between Early Modern English and Late Modern English is vocabulary. Late Modern English has many more words, arising from two principal factors: firstly, the Industrial Revolution and technology created a need for new words; secondly, the British Empire at its height covered one quarter of the earth's surface, and the English language adopted foreign words from many countries.

Varieties of English

From around 1600, the English colonization of North America resulted in the creation of a distinct American variety of English. Some English pronunciations and words "froze" when they reached America. In some ways, American English is more like the English of Shakespeare than modern British English is. Some expressions that the British call "Americanisms" are in fact original British expressions that were preserved in the colonies while lost for a time in Britain (for example trash for rubbish, loan as a verb instead of lend, and fall for autumn; another example, frame-up, was re-imported into Britain through Hollywood gangster movies). Spanish also had an influence on American English (and subsequently British English), with words like canyon, ranch, stampede and vigilante being examples of Spanish words that entered English through the settlement of the American West. French words (through Louisiana) and West African words (through the slave trade) also influenced American English (and so, to an extent, British English).

Today, American English is particularly influential, due to the USA's dominance of cinema, television, popular music, trade and technology (including the Internet). But there are many other varieties of English around the world, including for example Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English, South African English, Indian English and Caribbean English.

English is a member of the Germanic family of languages.

Germanic is a branch of the Indo-European language family.

A brief chronology of English

BC 55 Roman invasion of Britain by Julius Caesar. Local inhabitants speak Celtish

BC 43 Roman invasion and occupation. Beginning of Roman rule of Britain.

436 Roman withdrawal from Britain complete.

449 Settlement of Britain by Germanic invaders begins

450-480 Earliest known Old English inscriptions.

1066 William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades and conquers England.

1150 Earliest surviving manuscripts in Middle

1348 English replaces Latin as the language of instruction in most schools.

1362 English replaces French as the language of law. English is used in Parliament for the first time.

1388 Chaucer starts writing The Canterbury Tales

1400 The Great Vowel Shift begins.

1476 William Caxton establishes the first English printing press.