11月13日
Men in Fashion
Style is no longer just for women, but men may need some help getting started
What to wear is not just a female quandary. Gone are the days of the gray-flannel-suit uniform. Choices have been broadened by designers borrowing from the casual Fridays of the ‘80s and the “creative black-tie” of the ‘90s. No wonder today’s men are puzzled over style.
Men’s fashions are as fickle as women’s. Jacket lengths, like hemlines, now go up and down. Prices only go up.
Since a guy’s choices have become almost as broad a woman’s, he would do well to lean what many women know: ho to shop. With designer T-shirts and jeans in the hefty three figures, there are men for whom staying au courant is worth the investment. Many, however, look at such spending with disdain, yet they will blow far more on electronic gizmos guaranteed to become obsolete faster than the designer T-shirt will fade.
The cost of updating
To look good, money helps. But the real investment is thought. What looks good on me? How much should I spend? Fortunately, here too the choices are broad.
Men’s apparel grew into a $53 billion industry last year, at a faster rate than the $101 billion women’s market, which means guys are updating their wardrobes—like women have always been telling them to do. That growing industry wants you to keep sell moderately priced jeans and T-shirts hire their own (anonymous) designers to keep up with the trends.
What are they keeping up with? Florida-based tailor and men’s fashion designer Christian Garcia sees a return to the ‘60s and ‘70s among younger men. “Once again, men want color—even a daring style. What they don’t want is a uniform,” he says.
Specialized Terms
Fickle (adj) 多变的 likely to change suddenly and without warning
Au courant (adj) 熟悉流行趋势的；走在流行潮头的 (French) informed on current trends; up-to-date
Apparel (n) （店里卖的）服装 clothes, especially outer garments
Wardrobe (n) （个人的）全部服装 all of the clothes that one person owns
Vocabulary Focus
Quandary (n) a state of not being able to decide what to do about a situation
Hemline (n) the length of a dress, skirt etc
Disdain (n) a lack of respect with a feeling of intense dislike
Gizmo (n) a small device with a particular purpose
Obsolete (adj) no longer used; out of date
Discussion Question
This may be a stupid question, why do men need to dress in fashion?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘With designer T-shirts and jeans in the hefty three figures, there are men for whom staying au courant is worth the investment.’
2. According to the recording, is “men’s garments” a correct expression?
说明：
1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。更多节目可访www.studioclassroom.com
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