The Vocabulary Show: Clothes shopping 🩳👚👒👕👖👗 Learn 26 English words and phrases in 10 minutes! 🏪

I'm Dylan, this is BBC Learning English

and in this video, we're taking you on a shopping trip

through the world of clothes and clothes shopping.

So grab your shopping bags! We're about to shop till we drop.

'Shop will we drop' is a common expression that we use

when we are about to go out and buy many things.

It implies that we are going to keep on shopping

until we drop to the floor from sheer exhaustion.

It's important to note that we can use this expression with other pronouns too.

We can say 'shop till I drop',

'shop till you drop',

shop till he or she drops, or 'shop till they drop' as well.

But, before heading out,

let's make a shopping list.

This is a written list of the items we are planning on buying.

This could be written on physical paper or saved as notes in your phone.

Once we have left the house, our journey might begin with some window shopping.

This is an activity where we walk the streets,

looking in through shop or store windows,

looking at the items without necessarily going in or making a purchase.

Maybe you see something you like, maybe you don't. It's not that important.

We most often use it with 'go'.

For example, "Do you want to go window shopping with me?"

If you see a shop that you like,

maybe you can go in and begin to browse.

When we use the term 'browse',

it means we look at a lot of different items in a shop or on a website,

but we don't have a clear plan to buy something right away.

It's often used with 'just'.

So if a worker asks you, "Is there anything I can help you with?"

you can say, "It's OK, I'm just browsing."

Maybe, after browsing for a little while,

you discover something that you quite like,

so you might want to try it on.

To 'try on' is to put on clothes before buying them

to see whether you like them or not.

'Try on' is a separable, transitive phrasal verb.

A transitive verb needs an object,

so we can't just say "I'll try on,"

we need an object, so we'll say, "I'll try on the blue shirt,"

or "She wants to try on the dress."

It is also separable, meaning that the object can be put in the middle,

between 'try' and 'on'.

So we can say, "Carla tried the purple dress on,"

or, "Carla tried on the purple dress."

Both are fine.

Of course, we can't just try on clothes in the middle of the store.

We should head to the changing rooms.

This is the area to try on clothes for size and appearance.

We call the general area the changing rooms,

but we call a single stall or cubicle a changing room.

In the UK, we most often call them 'changing rooms'.

However, if you're using American English,

you might hear them called a 'dressing room'

or a 'fitting room'.

Ah, wow, the clothes we've tried on fit like a glove.

This means it fits perfectly

and we most often use this with tight-fitting, snug clothes.

We are now going to look at three words

that are often mixed up or which are used incorrectly.

They are 'match', 'fit' and 'suit'.

These three words, 'match', 'fit' and 'suit',

are used commonly in everyday English,

especially when talking about clothes.

They have similar but slightly different meanings.

If something fits you, it means it is the right size and shape for your body.

For example, "That jacket fits you perfectly. It's exactly the right size."

It means the clothes are not too loose, they're not too tight,

they fit you just right.

We use 'match' when two or more things go well together

or they have a similar colour, pattern or style.

In fashion, this term is often used

to describe how well different clothes look when they are put together.

For example, "Your shoes match your bag. They're a very similar shade of blue."

We also use 'match'

when two or more people are wearing similar or the same clothes.

'Suit' has a slightly different connotation.

If something suits you, it looks good on you and it fits your style or personality.

It's not just about size,

but how well a particular item of clothing enhances your appearance

or suits your style or looks good on you.

Quick note — this is 'suit' as a verb,

not 'suit' as a noun, which is a matching jacket and trousers.

OK, so the clothes are the right size,

they fit you, they match the other clothes and accessories that you own

and they suit your style,

but what are some good words and phrases

we can use to describe someone who is looking good?

When someone or something is 'stylish' it means they are fashionable

and have a good sense of style,

often looking modern or following current trends.

'Chic' — this is a word used to describe something

that is elegantly and stylishly fashionable.

It suggests sophistication and smartness in appearance.

'Dapper' describes a neat and trim appearance.

It is often used to refer to men

who are dressed in a classic, elegant and well put together manner.

But, of course, as well as wanting to look stylish,

we also want to get a good deal,

so we want to be on the lookout for a bargain.

A 'bargain' refers to something that is being sold much lower than its usual price

or its perceived value.

Why not make an example sentence in the comments section

telling us about the last time you found a good bargain?

Clothes might be a bargain because they are well priced,

but maybe they are a bargain because they are being sold at a discount.

A 'discount' refers to a reduction in the regular price of a product or service.

If you're very lucky, you might find a buy-one-get-one-free offer.

This means if you buy one item of clothing,

you get another totally free.

This is also known as a two-for-one offer.

You might also hear some people refer to it as a 'twofer'.

This is a modern word: it's informal, it's new,

so be sure to use it appropriately.

OK, we've found our bargains. I think it's time to join the queue.

A queue is a line of people awaiting their turn.

It's a strange spelling compared with its pronunciation, 'q',

and it's probably the only word where you can remove the last four letters

and it would be pronounced in exactly the same way, 'q'.

'Queue' can be a noun...

As a noun, it is often used with 'join' or 'form'.

To 'join a queue' is to go to the back of a line of people.

To 'form a queue' is to start a new line of people.

'Queue' can also be used as a verb: "People queued for hours for the grand opening."

Or it can be used as a phrasal verb — to 'queue up'. "We're done with our shopping. Let's queue up."

Quick note, in American English, they say 'line' instead of queue

and they say 'stand in line' instead of 'queue up'.

Once we get to the front of the queue, we are at the 'checkout desk'.

This is the area where customers pay for their items.

You might also hear it called the 'checkout counter' or just the 'checkout'.

At the checkout, one common question you might be asked is: "Cash or card?"

This is asking whether you prefer to pay with cash — physical money —

or with a debit or credit card.

It's an easy question to answer,

because you can just say, "Cash, please," or "Card, please."

Last but not least, you will need to 'bag up' your items.

To bag something up is a phrasal verb

meaning to put your items into a shopping bag.

'Bag up' is also a transitive separable phrasal verb.

Again, this means it needs an object.

You need to specify which object needs bagging up.

"Please bag up my clothes."

In this example, the object comes after the phrasal verb,

but it can also go in the middle, "Please bag my clothes up."

OK, that's us done for now.

You can find all of our vocabulary scrolling down the side here.

Be sure to write these words down, practise them,

or try using them in an example sentence in the comments section below.

Thanks for joining us, and don't forget to hit like,

subscribe and, of course, hit that notification bell

so you can stay up-to-date with all of our latest lessons.

You will find lots more of our English lessons

on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok

or find lots, lots more at BBC Learning English dot com.

You can find lots more clothes vocabulary here

or check out our travel vocabulary video here.

Happy shopping, everyone! See you next time, bye.