How to dress well on a tight budget

It is very important that we dress well and (1) _______________ presentable every day. This might be quite a challenge for those of you who have a tight budget. How can you possibly afford to (2) _______________ all your money on just one dress or one bag, or one pair of jeans? Well, here is the good news — you don’t have to. Store brands offer a range of clothing apparel and at much lower (3) _______________ than high fashion brands. They are good on the pocket. Make the most of discounts and sales when different stores and brands come up with them. The ‘Sale’ period is when you can get a really good (4) _______________ on the high fashion brands. Also, try to maintain a capsule wardrobe. This wardrobe has all the essential types of apparels, but in such colours and patterns that they can be very easily and efficiently mixed and (5) _______________ with each other so that you get a new look every time. The best thing about a capsule wardrobe is that it cures shopaholism! You would be surprised at the number of different looks you can work up with only a set number of different clothes — try it!

Task 6. Read the text. For questions (1–7) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

Fashion Week

Fashion week is a(n) (1) _________ event — it happens twice a year. In February and March, designers showcase their fall/winter collections; in September and October, they showcase their spring/summer collections (for the following year). Fashion weeks take place all over the world, but the most important ones take place in the four (2) _________ fashion capitals of the world: New York City, London, Milan, and Paris.

The first fashion week always takes place in New York City. For one week, hundreds of American fashion designers (3) _________ their ready-to-wear collections. It is a week packed full of fashion shows. This is a huge event in the fashion industry because it is the first time fashion magazine editors, critics, buyers (the people who decide what to sell in stores), and the public will get a chance to see the new clothing and the latest trends for fall.

A collection is all the new clothes the designer has made for that season. Each designer (4) _________ his/her collection with a fashion show. During the fashion show, models walk down the runway wearing the new clothing (a runway is also known as a catwalk). Usually, a designer likes to have a supermodel walk the runway. A supermodel is someone like Kate Moss, Gisele Bündchen, or Heidi Klum — a very well-known and sought after model. Past supermodels include women like Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista and Claudia Schiffer.

Ready-to-wear clothing is clothing that you can walk into a store and buy right off the (5) _________. You can wear it as soon as you buy it. This is different from haute couture clothing (a French expression meaning ‘high fashion’). Couture is expensive, custom-made, one-of-a-kind clothing. You can’t walk into a store and buy a couture dress. Paris, France is the centre of haute couture.

A fashion brand is something like H&M, Levi’s, Gap, Kookai, Zara, Polo (by Ralph Lauren), Chanel, DKNY, Burberry, or Lacoste. They design and make clothing to sell in their own stores or boutiques and department stores.

A fashion designer is someone who designs clothing, like Ralph Lauren, Donna Karan, Zac Posen, Stella McCartney, or Vera Wang. Their clothing is sometimes sold in their own stores, but usually their clothing is sold in boutiques and department stores.

A fashion house is a company like Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, or Burberry. They are fashion brands, but they usually specialize in expensive, luxury clothing and other products (like cosmetics, perfume, or shoes). They have been in business for decades — some for over 100 years — and they have usually (6) _________ several designers throughout their history. For example, Karl Lagerfeld is a well-known fashion designer who designed clothing for Chanel, a famous French fashion house.

Are you a fashionista? A fashionista is a slang word for people who love fashion. A fashionista can be a fashion designer, magazine editor, or simply someone who loves to wear the (7) _________ fashionable clothing!

1 A semiannual B semifinal C annual D alien

2 A must-see B major C minor D chief

3 A getting B get C take D showcase

4 A likes B promotes C happens D shows

5 A street B shop window C rack D shelf

6 A employed B got C brought D sent

7 A skimpiest B smallest C newest D latest

6. Daily Routine

Task 1. Read the text. Compare the working day of John Smith to your own and to your parents’. Fill in the table.

I wake up at 7 a.m. every morning. I’m not an early riser, so I set the alarm at 7 a.m. I press the snooze button five times every morning before I turn off the alarm and get up.

I have a cup of coffee and make breakfast. I usually read the newspaper while I have breakfast. My children like to have a shower after they have breakfast but I like to have a shower before I get dressed. My wife brushes her long hair, and I have short hair so I comb my hair. How do you do your hair in the morning? It is important to brush your teeth, and some women like to put make-up on.

I usually drive to work or carpool with my friends. When my kids go to school I give them a ride. It usually takes fifteen minutes to drive them to school.

At work I have a pretty busy schedule. I always check my emails when I get to work, but I don’t always reply to them immediately. I take a taxi or a train if I have a lunch meeting. I never take the bus because it is too slow. When I am at my desk I usually work on the computer, even during morning tea. At 1 p.m. most days I have lunch. At 3 p.m. we have afternoon tea, and that is when we usually talk and eat cake. Friendly chat is the best part of the working day as sometimes we work around the clock.

When you are in the office, you probably have a lot of papers. It is important for you to file your papers, and so that you can find them again you need to organise your files. As I try to cope with my work properly, I sometimes work overtime. When I work, I have to make telephone calls. If an important issue happens, I ask my secretary to organise a meeting and we clear up some problems. Once a month I report to my boss, but maybe you have to report to your boss more often. I usually write a document that my boss can read.

After I have finished work, take my kids from school. After school they are involved in the after-school activities — an orchestra, a choir, an arts club. My favourite work about the house is to cook dinner. In my house I usually do the cooking and wash up. The family eats dinner together at 7:30 p.m. Sometimes we eat out. After dinner I make sure that my children do their homework, they have a lot of homework and it takes them several hours to do it. They sometimes have to sit up to write a composition, to prepare a report, to translate a newspaper article from English into Ukrainian or to learn a poem by heart. Then I chill out on the sofa and watch television. On television I usually watch the news. Our children feed the dog and the cat before they go to bed and I tell them to go to the bathroom too. If I am sick I have to take my medication, but then I get into my pyjamas and set the alarm so I wake up in the morning.

The last things I do are locking the door, turning off the lights, and going to bed.

Time	John Smith	You	Your Father/Mother
Morning
Working time
In the evening

Task 2. Who in your family can say this? Put their names in the gaps or ‘N’ if noone.

______________: I try to keep fit, I exercise at least three times a week. My husband usually works out in the gym every day.

___________: I meditate every morning so that I feel less stressed during the day.

______________: I go grocery shopping once a week at the local supermarket.

______________: Every week I change the bed linen.

_____________: My family does the housework together, mum likes to dust and polish the furniture.

___________: I usually do the washing on Sunday morning and when the machine is finished I hang the clothes out to dry. My wife does the ironing.

___________: I usually vacuum the carpets, and my husband shakes out the rugs.

______________: On Sunday morning we go to church, and after it have a walk in the local park.

______________: On Saturday night my parents stay at home and I go out with friends.

______________: My father and mother call their parents each week or visit them.

______________: Every evening, I water the flowers and feed the fish in aquarium.

______________: I usually pay someone to wash the car, but my wife says I should do it, so sometimes I argue with my spouse about that.

______________: I work in an important office, so I have to shine my shoes each day.

______________: Sometimes we hire a movie, because we don’t like to illegally download music and films.

______________: I make sure that I synchronised my iPod so I always have new music on it.

______________: To get our shopping, we go to the mall in the car.

______________: Last week I forgot to buy the travel card, and I had to argue with a bus driver. I couldn’t call the office because I forgot to recharge my cell phone!

______________: I play the violin, so I have to attend music school three times a week.

______________: In the free time we like to play board games or complete puzzles.

Task 3. Read the text. Match choices (A–H) to (1–7). There is one choice you do not need to use.