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into an item of high fashion. (para 4)
For a while the miniskirt was controversial and not respectable because it showed a large extent of the wearer’s legs, but when Courrèges developed it in Paris fashion shows, this gave approval and support, because the miniskirt could be considered an item of high fashion (having high status from a Paris fashion house).
5 ... but the predominant colours became olive green and oatmeal. (para 10)
Predominant colours refer to the most common colours or those which seem more important or powerful.
6 ... which were described by one commentator as “the prim and proper look is in …” (para 11) A fashion is in when it is a new or current style, or out when it is out-of-date.
7 During the whole period, fashion styles have ranged widely, and have usually been sparked off by a desire to identify people as belonging to a particular sub-culture. (para 14)
During the whole period, there has been a wide range of different fashion styles, which were usually started by people’s wish to show their identity in a way that would make them distinct from the reset of society.
Vocabulary support
The following are some terms related to clothing that appear in the passage. Understanding of these terms may help with reading comprehension of the passage.
Hemline refers to the bottom edge of a dress or skirt. It shows the length of women’s skirts and dresses – this length changes according to fashion.
Denim is a thick cotton cloth that is usually blue and is used especially to make jeans. The name comes from French De N?mes (“from Nimes”, a city in the south France). Such cloth was made both in France and England in the 17th century.
The word jeans comes from Genoa. Sailors from the 17th-century republic of Genoa worked in France and wore trousers made of a mix of cotton, linen and / or wool which was made near Turin in Italy. Bleached
jeans were also fashionable. They had been the fashion of the 17th-century sailors, whose trousers lost their colour when they were washed in sea water and were exposed to the sun. There are various different fits to jeans which include baggy, boot-cut, flares, wide leg, twisted and skinny jeans.
Miniskirt is a very short skirt of mid-thigh length. A micro miniskirt is shorter, up to the upper thigh; a midi is a skirt with a moderate length below the knee, perhaps mid-calf length; a maxi is an ankle-length skirt.
A pairs of tights is a piece of women’s clothing that tightly covers the feet and legs up to the waist; stockings only cover the feet and legs, and are held up with suspenders.
Flare is a shape that becomes wider at one end. A flared “bell-bottom” style refers to trousers with flared legs – they get wider towards the foot and the end is even wider, like a bell.
A preppy style means wearing classic designer clothes with good fabrics to present a neat, smart, well-balanced appearance with bright colours and a clean look. A preppy lifestyle is happy, friendly and sociable,
with good manners. The word preppy is an abbreviation of preparatory, which refers to private or boarding schools which are preparation for college, which reflects the style of a preppy look.
Chinos are trousers which are a type of light-weight cotton cloth made of chino cloth or twill, a typical form of smart but casual dress.
A hood is part of a coat or jacket that covers your head; a hoodie (or hoody) is a jacket or sweat shirt with a hood.
Prim clothes are neat, sensible and proper, showing very little of your body. Prim and proper fashions are careful, modest, formal and demure, a respectable style which wouldn’t offend anyone. Lycra is a light cloth made from artificial fibers that stretches and keeps its shape. Loafers are low leather shoes that you slip on and off and do not need to tie.
Reading and understanding
2 Choose the best answer to the questions.
1 What happened on the fashion scene in the 1950s? (a) Blue jeans arrived in Europe and Asia.
(This happened and they were worn in Europe and Asia “with huge enthusiasm”.) (b) American youth started wearing jeans. (c) The French started to manufacture jeans. (d) American women started to wear trousers.
2 What do women want to do during an economic boom? (a) Show less of their legs. (b) Show more of their legs.
(Yes, it seems there is a direct correlation: as the economy booms, hemlines rise.) (c) Buy short skirts. (d) Sell their shares.
3 What did the tights help to promote in the 1960s? (a) The French fashion industry. (b) Stockings. (c) The miniskirt.
(Yes, because without tights the tops of stockings would show since miniskirts had much higher hemlines.)
(d) The Beatles.
4 What was popular in the mid-1980s? (a) Clean shaven faces. (b) Long hair.
(c) Denim jeans and jackets.
(Yes, the passage says “denim remained popular ... heavy metal music fans wore ... jeans and denim jackets.)
(d) Short skirts.
5 What was fashionable in the 1990s? (a) Designer jeans.
(b) Dyed hair and trainers.
(Yes, both of these are specifically mentioned for the 1990s.) (c) Tight jeans and short hair. (d) Clothes with bright colours.
6 What happened in the fall of 2007? (a) Hemlines anticipated a global crisis.
(Yes, this is what happened, which was unusual according to the previous correlation that hemlines
followed the economic situation rather than proceeding or anticipating it.) (b) Women’s skirts got shorter.
(c) There was a crisis on the stock market. (d) Designers began to lose touch with reality.
3 Match the photos with the sentences from the passage. Photo 1 (a) Photo 2 (d) Photo 3 (g)
Photo 4 (b) Photo 5 (e) Photo 6 (f) Photo 7 (c) Photo 1: 1960s
Photo 4: mid-1960s and early 1970s Photo 3: 1970s, the period of punk Photo 2: mid-1980s Photo 5: late 1980s Photo 7: 1990s Photo 6: 2001
Dealing with unfamiliar words
4 Match the words in the box with their definitions. 1 able to be seen (visible)
2 to think or guess that something is smaller, less important etc than it really is (underestimate) 3 very brave and determined (courageous)
4 an urgent, difficult or dangerous situation (crisis)
5 the most common or greatest in number or amount (predominant)
6 new and different in a way that might offend or upset some people (daring) 5 Complete the paragraph with the correct form of the words in Activity 4. At a time of global (1) crisis, when stock markets are falling across the world, we should never (2) underestimate the ability of fashion designers to surprise us by bringing sunshine into people’s lives, and avoiding the (3) predominant trend of gloom and pessimism. This is certainly true of the fashion industry in Brazil. In 2009, when the effects of the financial situation were (4) visible almost everywhere, top designers launched a (5) daring new collection combining high hemlines, low
necklines, and lots of colour. As one commentator wrote, “You can call it a (6) courageous decision if you like, but it’s also a question of Brazilians doing what comes naturally to them.” 6 Replace the underlined words with the correct form of the words in the box. 1 If we don’t act soon, the situation will get worse. (deteriorate)
2 I’m afraid my trousers got torn when I tried to climb over that fence. (ripped)
3 You need thick pieces of material on your knees and elbows if you go rollerblading. (pads) 4 Access to the show is limited to journalists with press passes. (restricted)
5 The Dow Jones list of stocks and shares fell another 40 points yesterday. (index) 6 That was the most worrying piece of news I’d heard in a long time. (unsettling) 7 Answer the questions about the words and expressions. 1 Is a ubiquitous item of clothing something you can find (a) everywhere, or (b) only in restricted circles?
2 Does bust refers to (a) economic growth, or (b) financial failure?
3 If a fashion item is sold exclusively in boutiques, can you find it (a) in department stores too, or (b) in no other shops apart from boutiques?
4 Is a backlash a (a) strong, or (b) weak reaction to something? 5 Does a glamorous person looks (a) attractive, or (b) unattractive?
6 If you are lavish with your money, do you (a) spend money with care, or (b) spend money very generously?
7 If you bleach a pair of jeans, do you (a) add, or (b) remove its colour?
8 Is a woman who is prim and proper is more likely to wear (a) a micro miniskirt, or (b) a knee-length skirt?
9 If a model is skinny, is she (a) very thin, or (b) overweight?
Reading and interpreting
8 Look at the passage and find the formal equivalents of the following sentences. Identify the formal features in the original versions. 1 Historians writing about fashion between 1960 and 2010 always refer to two constant factors. No history of fashion in the years 1960 to 2010 can overlook or underestimate two constant factors. 2 ... young people bought them and wore them enthusiastically as they recognized them as a symbol of the young, informal American way of life.
... they were bought and worn with huge enthusiasm by young people and recognized as a symbol of the young, informal American way of life.
3 Many people have noticed the close correlation between the length of women’s skirts and the economy.
It has often been noted that there is a precise correlation, with only a few exceptions, between the length of women’s skirts and the economy. 4 Hemlines rise and fall with the stock market.
As the stock market rises, so do hemlines, and when it falls, so do they.
5 Nobody really knows why women want to show more or less of their legs during periods of economic boom and bust.
Exactly why women should want to expose more or less of their legs during periods of economic boom and bust remains a mystery.
6 The development of tights, instead of stockings, contributed to the international success of the miniskirt.
But it would not have achieved such international currency without the development of tights, instead of stockings, because the rise in hemlines meant the stocking tops would be visible.
Active reading (2)
Eco-jewellery: sea glass Background information
This is an article from Times Online of 27th September, 2008, by Anna Shepard, a journalist who writes a column called “Eco-worrier”. She speaks on the radio and TV about green issues and has published a book, How Green Are My Wellies: Small Steps and Giant Leaps to Green Living with Style. She likes the idea of recycling glass from the sea to make jewellery. Culture points
Liberty has been a well-known department store in central London since 1875, selling fashions, cosmetics, luxury brand accessories and gifts.
Cape Town is the city with the second largest population in South Africa. It has a famous harbour and
notable landmarks like the Table Mountain ad Cape Point.
Seaham Beach is near Sunderland and Durham, in the north of England. It has a centuries-old
tradition of glass-making, notably in the 19th-century Victorian era when workers dumped left-over glass into the sea. Multi-coloured sea glass can be found there.
Language points
1 ... sidling up and down in the surf ... (para 1)
To sidle means to move slowly in a particular direction, usually because you are nervous or do not want to be noticed. Cowen moves slowly on the beach, looking for sea glass, going up and down in the waves of the sea as they move and fall onto the beach. 2 ... I’ve burnt my shoulders ... (para 1)
She has been walking on the beach for hours in the sun, so her shoulders are red and sore from too much sun (sunburnt).
3 There is no hard and fast rule ... (para 3) There is no fixed rule. The process can change.
4 ... but she works mostly to commission ... (para 5)
People ask her to produce specific work (pieces of sea glass jewelry), for which they will pay. She is commissioned to do this.
5 ... a huge glass cabinet that preside over her studio. (para 5)
To preside over something means to be in a position of power while important events or changes are taking place. Here, this is a metaphor to show the central position of the cabinet in the studio.
6 The creation of sea glass is a form of recycling, but more than that, it is an example of nature compensating for man’s folly. (para 8)
People were foolish – they behave in a stupid and careless way to throw glass rubbish into the sea. But nature has compensated for this by slowly making the glass into beautiful pieces.
7 Although no one considered the consequences of hurling glass into the sea … (para 10)
To hurl means to throw something using a lot of force; to chuck means to throw something, but not necessarily with force (to chuck something away or to chuck something out usually refers to through away unwanted objects or rubbish); to dump means to get rid of something or place it somewhere carelessly, not necessarily throwing it – but dumping rubbish can be the same as throwing it away, probably in the wrong place.
8 Today’s responsible attitude to its disposal, revolving around recycling where possible, is vastly superior, but it signals the end of the sea-glass era. (para 10)
Today, people have a more responsible attitude to waste disposal and glass is usually recycled – this is very much better than throwing glass into the sea. However, this responsible attitude sends a message that there will be no sea glass in the future.
9 Its eco-credentials lend sea glass further appeal … (para 12)
Its eco-credentials refers to the ecological background of the sea glass. That because sea glass was thrown away as rubbish, but it is now being recycled as jewellery it is qualified to have a good environmental reputation.
10 Gold’s murky reputation for damaging the environment in the extraction process and the diamond industry’s poor human rights record play into the hands of designers who have chosen to work with a material that puts a waste product to use. (para 12)
Getting gold from the earth and separating it from other metals often damages the environment. And it