Clothes – A1 English Vocabulary

Clothes

In this A1 Elementary Vocabulary Lesson, you will learn basic types of clothes and verbs related to clothing. Check the pictures and read the definitions and examples below.

Basic clothes

1 A shirt is a piece of clothing for the upper body with buttons in the front.

• He’s wearing a black suit and a white shirt. 

2 A blouse is like a shirt but for women.

• She always wears a blue or white blouse at work. 

3 You wear trousers (UK) or pants (US) on your legs, with a separate part for each leg.

• She never wears trousers, she prefers to wear dresses or skirts. 

4 A suit is a jacket and trousers that you wear at work or formal events.

• He will wear a nice black suit at the wedding.

5 A dress is a one-piece clothing for women that goes from shoulders to legs.

• A saree is a traditional dress that women wear in South Asia. 

6 A skirt is a piece of clothing that women wear around their waist. It covers some or all of the legs.

• She never wears skirts, she prefers to wear trousers.

7 Jeans are trousers that are strong and often blue.

• I wear blue jeans almost every day because they’re comfortable.

8 Shorts are like trousers but short; they don’t cover all the legs.

• I don’t want to wear trousers today because it’s hot. I’ll wear shorts. 

9 A sweater is a warm top that covers the upper body and arms.

• When it gets cold, I like to wear a warm sweater under my coat.

10 Underpants or underwear are the clothing under your trousers or dress/skirt.

• You should change your underpants every day.

11 A jacket is a piece of clothing for the upper body, similar to a coat, but a coat is warmer.

• I wear a warm coat in the winter, but in spring, when it’s warm, I wear a jacket.

12 A coat is a warm piece of clothing for the upper body that you wear over other clothes in cold weather to keep warm.

• Put on your coat; it’s snowing outside.

13 A hat is a piece of clothing that you wear on your head.

• He always wears a hat to protect his head from the sun.

14 Socks are a piece of clothing that you wear on your feet, under your shoes.

• I wear warm socks and boots in winter because my feet are often cold.

15 You wear shoes on your feet when you are outside.

• These shoes are too small. My feet are hurting. 

16 Boots are like shoes, but they cover your feet and part of your legs.

• In the winter, I wear boots to keep my feet warm.

17 You wear gloves on your hands in winter.

• My mom gave me a pair of gloves to keep my hands warm.

18 You wear a scarf around your neck when it’s cold.

• I’m wearing a scarf around my neck because it’s cold.

19 Men wear a tie around their neck on formal occasions.

• I don’t like wearing a tie because it feels uncomfortable around my neck. 

20 When you buy clothes, you need to choose your size: small, medium, large, extra-large, etc.

• “What size are you?” “I’m a medium.”

Plural Words: a pair of…

There are some pieces of clothes that are always plural because they have two parts; for example, trousers, shorts, socks, gloves, etc. If you want to count these items, you need to write a pair of before the word.

• Yesterday, I bought two pairs of shoes. 
• I need a new pair of socks. 

Verbs Used to Talk About Clothes

1 If you wear a piece of clothing, you have it on your body.

• I like to wear comfortable clothes when I’m not at work.

2 When you put on clothes or make-up, you place them on your body to wear them.

• Put on your coat. It’s very cold outside.

3 If you take off a piece of clothing, you remove it from your body and stop wearing it.

• In Asia, people take off their shoes before they enter their homes. 

4 When you get dressed, you put on clothes.

• After I get up, I have a shower and get dressed.

5 If you try on a piece of clothing, you put it on to see if it’s your size and you like it.

• In the store, you can try on the clothes before buying them.

6 When we get home, we often hang up our coat or jacket in a wardrobe or on a hanger or a hook.

• After washing, I hang up clothes to dry.

7 If a piece of clothing fits you, it is the right size. If it doesn’t fit, it’s too big or small for you.

• These shoes don’t fit me. I need a bigger size. 

8 When you do the laundry, you wash your dirty clothes, sheets, etc.

• On Sundays, we do the laundry to clean all our clothes.

Listen & Practice: Vocabulary with Pronunciation

Here’s a video to help you review the vocabulary from this lesson and improve your pronunciation.

After completing the exercises in this lesson on Clothes, you can use the unit’s Vocabulary Flashcards to revise and help you memorize the terms.