English, baby!

Style Guide I

Date: Nov 28 2005

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Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

drab
dapper

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Okay, Americans could use a little help when it comes to style. We wear shirts and jackets that are much too large for us. We wear pants with pleats and tapered legs. We deck ourselves out in drab colors. Most of us have no sense of style. This lesson is for my countrymen as much as it is for you folks in places far away from Portland, Oregon.
Listen to John and I talk about one bad trend in fashion: pleated pants.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

John

Dave

John: You’re looking pretty dapper today.

Dave: Yeah, thanks a lot. You know, I try to be trendy when I can.

John: Yeah, what’s going on with those pants there? Are they, ah, are they pleated or flat front?

Dave: Flat front. You know, I was reading this article about fashion tips and pleated pants are not the way to go.

John: No, it’s definitely better to have flat pants these days. I was out with, ah, some of my friends and some girls were teasing one of my friends who still had pleats on his pants.

Dave: Oh yeah.

John: Yeah, but, I mean, I’d say 85% of guys still have pleats on their pants.

Dave: It’s amazing. In Japan, the director of the school I worked for, she said, “You should wear pleated pants.” And, it just wasn’t going to happen.

John: Yeah, because it was more conservative or something?

Dave: Yeah. I don’t know what, I don’t know what the addiction is with pleated pants.

John: Yeah. I don’t see them as being so bad, but it’s definitely the cool thing to do to have flat fronts.

Dave: You won’t see any metrosexuals in, in pleated pants.

John: No, you won’t. They’re a different breed.

Dave: They are!

Quizzes

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Lesson MP3

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Discussion

An old American tv commercial said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” This means that when someone sees you for the first time, that is how they will always remember you.
If you’re looking to snazzy up your style, check out these sites:
For men:
GQ
For women:
UK Style
Daily Fashion