Lesson 3. Dress for success

Insight into the topic

There are different styles of clothes acceptable in various business cultures 

and it is essential for a business person to make the right sartorial impression in an 

appropriate country. 

For instance, in Alphaland, businesspeople dress quite formally. The busi-

ness suit is common, but for men, wearing non-matching jacket and trousers is also 

a possibility. 

In Betatania, the dark business suit is obligatory for men. Some companies 

allow women to wear trouser suits. 

In Gammaria, the business suit is almost as necessary as in Betatania, but 

with more variation in colours. Some companies require employees to wear formal 

clothes from Monday to Thursday, and allow less formal ones on what they call 

casual Fridays or dress-down Fridays. In some places, many banks and shops re-

quire people dealing with customers to wear uniforms so that they all dress the 

same. 

In Deltania, people dress more casually at work than in the other countries. 

For men, suits and ties are less common than elsewhere. This is smart casual. 

Answer the following questions in groups. 

1. How do people in your country dress at work? Do any companies have 

dress–down days? 

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of how people dress? 

Vocabulary

3.1. Think of sentences to illustrate the way the following verbs are used. 

to wear to undress 

to clothe to dress up 

to overdress to dress down 

to dress to cross dress 

3.2. In pairs, match the adjectives on the left with a suitable clothes item 

on the right. In some cases more than one link can be made, e.g. shoes can be 

'low-heeled' or “lace-up”. Discuss their meaning with your partner. 

knee-length shoes

high-necked trousers 

flesh-coloured shirt 

low-heeled skirt 

skin-tight dress 

lace-up shoes 

loose-fitting blouse 

body-hugging tights 

Language expansion 

3.3. In groups of three or four, answer the following questions. Report 

back to the class when you've finished. 

1. Would you say that you were someone who was interested in fashion? 

2. Is what you wear important to you? Why/why not? 

3. Do you always wear what you want, when you want? 

4. Do you think that clothes express people's personality, or disguise it? 

5. Describe the clothes in which you feel most comfortable, and “yourself”. 

6. Do you think that women on the whole are more interested in fashion than 

men? 

Discussion

3.4. Discuss with your partner what you would wear in the following 

situations: 

9 a job interview for a position with an advertising company; 

9 a dinner with an old friend that could turn into a romance; 

9 an interview with your bank manager to ask for a loan; 

9 a rock concert; 

9 a dinner (informal) at an old friend's house, with other old friends present. 

3.5. In groups of three or four, discuss the following quotations. 

A.“All choices of clothing, particularly the quick and simple ones, involve 

allying oneself with others who have made the same choice.” Anne Hollander, 

Seeing Through Clothes. 

B.“Clothes are a billboard of the self. They express dreams and disguises, 

rank and status, pride and dismay. Without them we are vulnerable, and largely 

anonymous: with them we are clad in an armour of cloth.” Harris Dienstfrey 

3.6. Imagine you are sitting at a table outside a cafe, watching people 

pass by. How many different “groups” can you identify, just by their cloth-

ing? Or make notes on the different clothes worn by the members of the class. 

How many different “groups” can you find?