Clothes – A2 English Vocabulary

Clothes

In this pre-intermediate vocabulary lesson on clothes, you will explore various types of clothing, footwear, and accessories. Pay attention to the definitions and examples and take a close look at the accompanying pictures to understand better these everyday items.

Verbs used to talk about clothes

There are several verbs that we use when talking about clothes, footwear, and accessories.

Wear means to have something on your body as clothing, protection, or decoration, and carry means to move something from one place to another, either with our hands, on our back, or over our shoulders, so while we wear a shirt, jeans, or glasses, we carry a bag or umbrella.

• Sara is wearing a new dress.
• Why are you carrying an umbrella?

Match and go well are another word pair that is similar yet different in meaning. Match means to look good with something because it is the same or similar colour. For example, you might have a red handbag that matches a red pair of shoes. Go well simply means look good together, so if a shirt goes well with a tie, they look nice together.

• Your orange socks match your orange shirt.
• Pink and green go well together.

Types of clothes

1 A T-shirt is a shirt with short sleeves and without buttons.

• In the summer, I usually wear a T-shirt and jeans.

2 A blouse is a shirt for women with buttons down the front and a collar. Women sometimes wear blouses to work or on occasions when they need to look smart.

• Janet wore a white blouse and a smart skirt to the meeting.

3 A blazer is a smart jacket, similar to a suit jacket, that is worn with a skirt or trousers. People often wear blazers when they need to look smart but not too formal.

• Lucy was wearing a smart green blazer with her trousers.

4 A cardigan is a sweater that has buttons down the front. Unlike other sweaters, which you need to pull over your head, cardigans are open at the front, so you put them on in the same way that you would put on a jacket.

• It was cool in the house, so I put on my cardigan.

5 A skirt is an item of clothing that hangs down from the waist and covers part of the legs.

• Our school uniform consists of a grey skirt and a blue blazer.

6 Leggings are tight trousers that are made of material that stretches.

• I think leggings are more comfortable than jeans.

7 A raincoat is a waterproof jacket that you wear when it is raining.

• It’s supposed to rain this evening, so I’ll wear my raincoat.

8 A tracksuit is a two-piece outfit that people wear when exercising or relaxing.

• Peter went running in his tracksuit.

9 A hoodie is a warm top that has a hood attached to the neck. Hoodies are worn for leisure and can also be the top of a tracksuit.

• I pulled the hood up on my hoodie to keep my ears warm.

10 A polo shirt is an informal short-sleeved shirt with a collar and a few buttons at the top.

• Most of the men wore polo shirts to watch the match.

11 Pyjamas (UK) or pajamas (US) are two-piece outfits that are designed for sleeping in or relaxing.

• Before I read you a bedtime story, you must put on your pyjamas.

12 A swimsuit is a tight, one-piece suit that women wear for swimming. Swimsuits cover the torso but not the arms or legs.

• We have swimming after school tomorrow, so I have to bring my swimsuit.

Footwear

13 Sneakers (US) or trainers (UK) are comfortable shoes that are designed specifically for exercise.

• If you’re going to go jogging, you need to wear trainers.

14 Flip-flops are open, rubber shoes that you wear to the beach. They are very light and easy to put on and take off and dry quickly if they get wet.

• When I go to the beach, I wear my flip-flops.

15 Shoes are footwear with a hard sole that protects the foot from the ground. There are many different types of shoes that we wear for various purposes.

• After putting on my socks, I put on my shoes.

16 Sandals are summer shoes that are attached to the feet with straps, leaving the toes and much of the foot exposed.

• In summer, I wear sandals instead of heavy shoes.

17 High heels are elegant shoes that are raised at the heel.

• It is difficult to walk in my high heels.

Jewellery and accessories

18 A watch is a device that you wear around your wrist to see what time it is. 

• I checked my watch to see what the time was.

19 A handbag is a bag with a strap that enables you to wear it over your shoulder. Most women use a handbag to carry their wallet, phone, and other essential items.

• Mary took her phone out of her handbag.

20 Gloves are clothing that you wear on your hands to be warm. When you wear gloves, your fingers are separated, which enables you to use your hands normally.

• My hands were cold because I wasn’t wearing gloves.

21 A scarf is a piece of cloth that you wear round your neck to keep warm.

• I always use a scarf in winter to protect my neck from the cold.

22 You wear a hat on your head.

• Your ears will get cold if you don’t wear a hat.

23 Sunglasses are glasses that protect your eyes from the sun.

• It was a bright sunny day, so I was wearing my sunglasses.

24 A cap is a soft, flat hat with a curved part at the front to protect your face from the sun.

• I wore a cap to the beach to protect my face from the sun.

25 A belt is a strap that you wear around your waist.

• I need to wear a belt with these jeans because they’re too big.

26 A bracelet is a decorative band that you wear around your wrist.

• Jenny was wearing a silver bracelet.

27 A necklace is an item of jewellery that you wear around your neck.

• The only jewellery I wear is this sliver necklace.

28 Earrings are a type of jewellery that you wear on the lower part of your ear.

• Maria was wearing a pair of elegant silver earrings.

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.