Important & Advanced Clothes Vocabulary (with pictures) - Learn 200+ words! (+ Free PDF & Quiz)

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- Hello everyone and welcome back to "English with Lucy."

Today, I have a vocabulary lesson.

We are going to talk about clothes vocabulary,

but not just the basic clothes vocabulary,

we're going to go into detail.

When you start learning English,

one of the first things that you learn

is "socks," "t-shirt," "shoes," "hat..."

But there is so much more than that.

There's so much more advanced vocabulary.

What's the difference between a t-shirt bra

and a pushup bra?

Or boxers and briefs?

What would you call this neck line style on a t-shirt?

I am going to tell you all of this.

As always, I have created a free PDF

that goes with this lesson.

If you would like to download that PDF,

it's got all of the vocabulary,

and it has a quiz for you to test your understanding.

Go to the link in my description box.

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Let's get started with the video.

I think we should start with "underwear"

because, hopefully, that's what you put on first.

Now, I am going to be talking

about menswear and womenswear,

but I completely understand that you can wear

whatever you want, regardless of gender.

We're just going from a vocabulary standpoint here.

Let's start with men's underwear.

In British English, we call men's underwear "pants."

Now, in American English "pants" is what we call "trousers."

So if someone from the US says, "Take off your pants,"

it means, "Take off your trousers."

But if a British girl says, "Take off your pants,"

she might be flirting with you.

Now, "pants" is a very general term,

but we can be more specific.

We have boxer shorts, or boxers,

and these tend to have an elastic waist and baggy legs.

"Baggy" means loose or not tight.

Briefs, which are also known as y-fronts,

are shorter and tighter.

They're often referred to as "snug,"

which means tight and close fitting.

We also have boxer briefs,

which have that same elasticated waist,

and they have long legs which are tight fitting.

Now, let's talk about the womenswear equivalent.

In American English, they call women's underwear "panties."

Now, we don't tend to say this in British English.

"Panties" almost sounds like something you'd say to a child.

It sounds quite childish.

Which obviously, when you're talking about underwear,

doesn't sit well with me.

In British English, we say "pants" or "knickers."

So that "pants" word is a really general unisex term.

"Knickers" is generally referring to women's wear.

Now, we also have lots and lots

of different types of knickers.

We have briefs.

Now, these are often rudely referred to as "granny pants"

'cause they're bigger,

and they're not deemed to be attractive,

but I can think of many occasions

where having attractive underwear

is not your number one priority.

So briefs can be very, very comfortable and convenient.

These cover you well, they are triangular,

and they come up high, and they finish low.

If you want underwear that holds you in

and slims you and smooths your silhouette,

then you have the option of control pants, or Spanx,

which is actually a brand name,

but because they were sort of the pioneers,

like the Hoover...

Spanx, they were the first in the market,

so their brand name has actually become something

that we use for any brand.

We also have boyshorts.

These are basically the womenswear version of boxer shorts.

We also have knickers with just a thin strip at the back.

These have many names.

You can call them a g-string.

I grew up playing the violin,

and I always found it so funny when my G string broke.

I'd tell everyone, "Oh no, I've broken my G string!"

You can also call them "thongs" or "Brazilians."

Thongs seems to be a really thin strip at the back,

and Brazilians are slightly thicker at the back.

Now, some important vocabulary: VPL

Lots of women choose to wear thongs

and Brazilians and g-strings

to avoid the VPL, which means "visible panty line."

This is where the edge of your underwear

can dig into your skin and be visible through clothes.

I know I much prefer a seamless look.

"Seamless" means smooth without any joins.

A seam in clothing is where two pieces of fabric

have been sewn together.

That's the seam there.

Let's also talk about bras.

These are very, very important,

or not so important nowadays.

It seems to be quite in fashion to not wear a bra.

"Bra" is short for brassiere.

but hardly anyone says that anymore.

We just say "bra."

There are lots of different styles.

We have a triangle bra,

which is, of course, in a triangle.

Sort of more of a bikini shape.

We have a t-shirt bra, which is a bra that's intended

to be invisible under your t-shirt.

A sports bra.

This has lots of control,

so there's minimal movement when doing exercise and running.

We have a strapless bra with no straps.

Straps are the pieces of material

that go over your shoulder.

We have a push-up bra,

sometimes referred to as a Wonderbra,

but again, Wonderbra is a brand.

But because they were one of the early ones on the market,

lots of people got used to saying "Wonderbra"

for every brand.

The correct brandless term is a push-up bra,

and this is where you have extra sponge or filling

to push up your cleavage and to create a bustier look.

One last one we have is a bandeau.

This is a strapless piece of material,

normally without too much structure.

There are two adjectives that you need to know

when it comes to bras: "padded" and "underwired."

If a bra is padded,

it means it has an extra layer of material.

This helps you have extra shape.

If a bra is underwired,

it means it has some wiring below the cup,

again, to give extra shape.

Lots of women avoid under wiring for comfort reasons.

Let's move on to another underwear section:

socks and tights,

the things you wear on your feet and your legs.

Let's start with socks.

We have "trainer socks,"

and these are socks that finish just below your ankle,

so technically they should be invisible

when you wear trainers.

We also have "pop-socks,"

and these just cover the outer part of your feet,

so that they are invisible in most shoes.

We also have ankle socks that come up to the ankles,

mid-calf, over-the-calf, knee-high,

over-the-knee and thigh-high.

We also have what are called "tights" in British English,

or "pantyhose" in American English.

These are like long socks that come

all the way up to your waist.

So they are joined together at the top

like a pair of leggings.

The thickness of these are determined by the denier,

which just describes the thickness of the yarn

or material used to make them.

20 denier pair of tights would be very thin and transparent,

and 100 denier pair of tights would be very thick and warm.

Stockings are a sort of cross

between a pair of tights and socks

that finish at your thigh,

but they're normally in that tight nylon sort of material.

Lastly, we have thermal underwear,

which we wear under our clothes to keep us warm.

We have longjohns, which are thermal trousers or leggings;

an undershirt, which is usually a long-sleeved shirt...

Vests are sleeveless thermal tops with thin straps.

In general, we would just refer

to any piece of clothing used to keep us warm

as our "thermals."

"Oh, I've got my thermals on."

"Oh, I wish I'd put my thermals on."

Right, we're done with underwear.

Let's move on to what goes on the top half of your body.

In British English, anything that goes

on the top half of your body is generally called a "top."

In American English, generally, it's a shirt,

But a shirt in British English would imply

this has a collar, buttons, and maybe cuffs.

One word that you will hear a lot when talking about tops

is "sleeves" or "sleeved."

The sleeves are the parts of the garment

that cover your arms.

If something is short-sleeved,

then it has short pieces of material on your arm.

Long sleeves, the opposite.

We also mentioned collars,

which is the material that can cover your neck,

and the neckline,

which is essentially a hole for your head.

I think neckline vocabulary is very important

because different necklines suit different people.

We have the v-neck.

We have this; this is a boat neck.

This has got a thin kind of crescent shape.

A polo or turtle neck.

We have a cowl neck, which has some extra material.

And we also have a crew neck,

which would be considered

the most normal style of t-shirt neck.

A sweetheart neck forms the top shape of a love heart.

This is considered to be very feminine.

Square neck, scoop neck, and a halter neck,

where the sleeves come up and go around your neck.

I love halter necks in the summer.

A top can be sleeveless or strapless.

It can be strappy, or have straps.

I know my mum would say, "Oh, I love your strappy dress,"

meaning your dress with straps.

Really thin straps can be called "spaghetti straps"

because they looked like a strand of spaghetti.

We could have short sleeves, half-length sleeves,

three-quarter length sleeves, or long sleeves.

Now, in British English, a top with straps

is usually called a "vest."

In American English, it's usually called a "tank."

Although, because here in Britain

we consume a lot of American media,

we do now use the word "tank" as well.

But when I was younger, growing up,

I would always say "vest top."

But now I'm older, "tank top" seems to be just as common.

This could be because brands are more international now,

so they choose to use the American terminology.

Something that's very popular at the moment, crop tops.

These are short tops that finish under your torso,

and they show your midriff, or your stomach.

As I said before, "shirts" in British English

refer to tops with buttons down the front

and a collar and usually cuffs.

We also have blouses.

These are like feminine shirts.

They're normally more loose fitting.

They don't necessarily have the collar,

and they're considered to be more smart and formal.

Cuffs are the end parts of shirts,

and to seal them, we...

I don't know why I pinched myself just there.

To close them, but we use cufflinks.

"Cufflinks," that's the accessory that many men

receive on their birthdays.

Let's talk about the tops that keep you warm.

In British English, we have "jumpers,"

and in American English they call them "sweaters."

If you said to a British person, "Can I borrow a sweater,"

I think we would understand you,

but we might think maybe you're looking for sportswear.

We do have sweatshirts,

which are like hoodies but with no hood

and generally no pocket on the front.

They're normally cotton with tight sleeves.

Hoodies have a hood on a pocket at the front.

We also have "jumpers" or "knitwear."

There's lots of different styles.

Cable knit or chunky knit.

My fiance, Will, loves a cable knit jumper.

We also have fair-isle print,

which have that Christmas-y design around the neck.

Striped or stripey.

And also cardigans, which are divided down the middle

and are closed with buttons.

Now let's talk about some casual jackets as well.

We have a biker, or leather jacket, made out of leather.

Denim jackets.

Bomber, or military jackets.

And baseball, or varsity jackets.

And these are an American-style jacket,

but they became very popular in the UK,

and they're what college students tend to wear.

We also have formal jackets.

A blazer is a more casual, less tailored, formal jacket.

We have a tailored jacket, which is very close fitting.

A dinner jacket, which has satin on the lapels.

They are the parts that are folded back on a formal jacket.

We can have jackets and coats that are single breasted,

with one row of buttons,

or double-breasted, with two rows of buttons.

We also have a morning coat jacket,

which has long tails at the back.

Let's talk briefly about the different styles of coats.

We have a trench coat, often found in beige,

usually tied at the waist, very Burberry.

Duffel coats, which are closed using

those special wooden fasteners.

Parka jackets and rain jackets.

A ski jacket, a very puffy one for cold weather.

We also have a shooting coat,

which is used for British country sports.

And an overcoat as well.

On colder evenings, women in particular

may choose to wear a poncho,

which is like a blanket that goes all the way around.

It has no sleeves.

A "shawl": a big scarf that you can wrap around.

Or a wrap as well.

Those are alternatives to coat.

Let's move on to the bottom half of your body now.

We have jeans,

and we have so many different types of jeans.

We can have high-rise, mid-rise, or low-rise.

They can also be called "high-waisted jeans,"

"low-waisted jeans..."

We can have skinny jeans, straight leg jeans,

bootleg jeans, which go out under the knee,

flared jeans as well, and mom jeans,

which are very popular now.

You can also have jeggings,

which are a cross between jeans and leggings.

They normally have fake pockets,

and I'm really glad that they're not that popular anymore

because I didn't like them.

We have leggings, which can be high-waisted or regular.

We have "joggers" in British English,

or "sweatpants" in American English.

They are meant to be for athletic wear,

but now athletic wear is everyday wear,

and sometimes formal wear.

"Athleisure," I think they call it.

Harem pants, which are very loose fitting.

They've got very low crotch,

which is the piece of material between your legs.

Wide-leg trousers.

They're becoming more and more fashionable.

We also have corduroy trousers,

which are made of a specific material, corduroy.

Cargo pants, or cargo trousers.

These are sort of military-inspired.

They're baggier.

Chinos, these are cotton trousers, often found in beige.

Shorts, which, of course, are shorter trousers.

Or if you want really tiny shorts,

you can have "short shorts" in British English

or "hot pants" in American English.

We also have skirts.

There are lots of different styles.

Starting with length, we have mini, midi, maxi.

Mini's really short; midi's at your knee;

maxi is down to the ground.

Skirts can be pleated,

meaning they have ironed folds of material.

They can be skater skirts,

which mean they go out like an ice skater.

We also have tulip skirts,

which means they come in like a tulip.

Trumpet skirts go out at the bottom, like a trumpet.

This is all very logical.

We have tiered skirts, also called "rara skirts."

They've got lots of different layers of material coming off.

And my favourite, a pencil skirt,

which is just a figure-hugging skirt

that normally goes mid-thigh to the knee.

We have lots of different types of dresses as well

that go over your full body,

but one thing I want to mention before is a jumpsuit.

So this is a full body outfit that has trousers

as opposed to a skirt.

These are usually full length.

If you want your top attached to your shorts,

this is normally called a "playsuit" in British English,

or it's called a "romper" in American English.

Cute, short, very summery floral dresses

are called "tea dresses" in British English

or "sundresses" in American English,

but there's a lot of crossover.

We have fit and flare dresses,

which are tight at the top and then go out for the skirt.

Wrap dresses, which are wrapped around you

and tied with a bow.

Maxi dresses, they go all the way down to the floor.

Ball gowns, these are very formal dresses,

usually worn for evening events.

Peplum dresses; they were a big fashion, weren't they?

They are normally tight,

but have a bit at the waist that flares out.

Bodycon dresses and pencil dresses

are usually very figure-hugging and tight.

Let's move on to shoes.

We normally talk about our flats or our heels.

So obviously, flat shoes have no heels,

and heels elevate your heel off the ground.

Ballet flats are of course inspired by ballet dancers.

Kitten heels have a tiny little thin heel.

Tall version of that is called "stiletto heels."

That's with a really thin pointy heel

that is really difficult to walk on.

Platform heels have a thick platform under the toes.

Wedges have no individual heel.

It's just all one block at the bottom.

And we also have court shoes and pumps,

which are sort of lower heels.

When we talk about flatter shoes,

we have "trainers" in the UK,

or "sneakers" in American English.

Again, there's lots of crossover now.

Boots: these cover your entire foot.

Sandals: these are strappy shoes that you wear in summer.

And flip-flops, these are also known as thongs.

These are very minimal rubber shoes

that you can wear in the summer

and normally at the beach.

We have loafers.

We also have boat shoes, Chelsea boots, and brogues.

Finally, let's touch on accessories.

Of course, we'd be nothing without our sunglasses.

We can also call them "sunnies" for short or "shades."

We also wear watches, scarves, gloves,

a handbag, handbags, or just bags in general.

I have heard people refer to male handbags as "manbags."

I'm not sure if that's really a thing.

Why would they not just call it a bag?

We can also carry an umbrella.

And one important thing to note is neckwear,

especially in men's wear.

We can have a tie or a cravat.

That's a different...

That's like sort of a silk scarf

that you wear in place of a tie.

If you want a bow, it's a bow tie.

We also have loads and loads and loads

of different types of hats.

A hat with a peak is called a "cap."

You can have a visor, which just goes around here.

There's nothing at the top.

A beret is French inspired, of course.

A Panama hat, very nice for holidays.

We also have fedoras.

I know there are very mixed views on fedoras

in the internet community.

Top hats, which are very tall.

My fiance wears a top hat once a year at the races,

and I can never take him seriously when he's wearing it.

It looks too ridiculous because he's already six foot six,

which is nearly two metres, it's one-nine-eight,

and so to have a top hat on as well, it's just too much.

When we go to weddings, sometimes, especially women,

will wear a little decoration.

It's not quite a hat,

but it's an accessory on their head.

We call this a "fascinator"

because it just fascinates everyone.

We also have a beanie hat or a woolly hat, which is knitted.

And if it has a pompom on it, we call it a bobble hat.

So cute.

Right, that is it for today's lesson.

I hope you learned something.

I have thrown a lot of vocabulary at you.

If you want to review that vocabulary in your own time,

please do download the PDF document.

It's got everything we've discussed today and a quiz.

Just click on the link in the description box,

enter your name and your email address,

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If you'd like to improve your listening skills

and your vocabulary skills even further,

then you can try looking at my vlogging channel,

where I vlog my life here in the English countryside.

Every vlog is fully subtitled,

so you can use it as a language learning tool.

That is Lucy Bella on YouTube.

Don't forget to connect with me on my social media.

I've got my Instagram, @Lucy,

and my website, englishwithlucy.co.uk,

where I have a handmade pronunciation tool,

where you can click on any phoneme and hear me pronounce it.

E, no, eh.

It's a lot of fun, and I had a lot of fun making it.

I will see you soon for another lesson.

(blowing kiss)

Let's move to another underwire...

Underwire.

We also have...

How the (bleep) do you pronounce" denier?"

I've never even thought of that.

I've just gone through my life.

Denier?

Oh no, that's somebody who denies something.

Denier, denier, yeah, so I said it right, cool.

Good, good for me.

Chinos.

What are chinos?

Will always wears them; I have no idea how to describe them.

What are they?

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