| coat overcoat raincoat | what you wear in winter over your other clothes, to keep warm. You either have buttons or a (metal) zip to do up (= close) the coat. |
| jacket | short coat. You also have a jacket (and trousers / skirt) as part of a suit. |
| Men’s suits | are a formal pair of trousers and a jacket of the same material. With it, men often wear a formal long-sleeved shirt, with a tie around the collar of the shirt. |
| Women’s suits | are a formal skirt and jacket of the same material. |
| tracksuit | is a pair of trousers and a jacket that you wear for playing sports. |
| jumper sweater pullover | is often made of wool and you wear it over a shirt / under a jacket to keep warm in winter. |
| cardigan | is similar to a jumper, but it is open at the front, with a zip or buttons to do it up. |
| shirt | is long-sleeved (with sleeves going down to your hands) or short-sleeved (with sleeves ending above your elbow) and it normally closes with buttons. Women can also wear shirts, or a blouse – a more feminine version. |
| t-shirt | is a short-sleeved (or sleeveless) cotton shirt for summer, or for under your shirt. |
| sweatshirt | is a heavy shirt, sometimes with a hood (to cover your head) that you can wear for sports, or instead of a jumper. |
| top | is anything that you wear above your waist, either casual or smart. |
| dress | is one piece and often with sleeves. It can be long or short, for winter or for summer. |
| skirt | goes from your waist to around your knees, but there are also mini-skirts – very short skirts. |
| shorts | In summer, you can wear shorts – a type of trousers that are short, going to your knees or above. |
Note: you can say a pair of trousers (pants in US English) or a pair of jeans, or just trousers and jeans. Remember that in both cases, the verb is plural: “My jeans are old.”
With trousers, jackets and coats, you normally have pockets (where you can put things in like tickets, tissues, your hands…) The pockets on a jacket are inside pockets or side pockets. With trousers you have side pockets and back pockets.
To go swimming, women wear either a swimming costume (one piece) or a bikini (two pieces). Men wear swimming trunks.
SHOES
You can also add “a pair of” to all the following types of shoes.
| shoes | there are lots of types of shoes, such as high-heeled shoes or flat shoes (for women), dress shoes (formal shoes for men). |
| boots | mostly for winter, these are shoes that go up to your knees, or ankle boots which go up to your ankles (just above your feet) |
| football boots rugby boots | for playing football or rugby, and hiking / walking boots for walking long distances. |
| Wellington boots Wellingtons Wellies | are rubber boots that you can wear when you walk in the rain. |
| sandals | these are “open” shoes for summer. |
| flip flops | these are made of rubber or plastic, and there is a strap that goes between your first two toes. They make a “flip flop” sound when you walk in them. |
| trainers | you wear these when you play sports. |
| slippers | you wear these in your house to keep your feet warm. |
ACCESSORIES
| hat | you wear this on your head. (Also cap, which is a more informal type of hat.) |
| gloves | you wear these on your hands when it is cold |
| scarf | you wear this around your neck. (The plural is scarves) |
| belt | you wear this around the waist of your trousers or jeans |
| bag | you carry this because it contains money, phone, keys, etc. You can also use a briefcase to carry documents and papers. |
Other types of accessories are jewellery. This includes a necklace (around your neck), a bracelet (around your wrist), a ring (on your finger) an earring (a ring in your ear) and a watch (to tell the time).
UNDERWEAR
Men wear (a pair of) pants (or underpants), a vest (under a shirt) and (a pair of) socks (on their feet).
Women wear (a pair of) knickers (or panties), a bra (under a shirt), (a pair of) socks or tights (pantyhose in American English) on the legs.
At night time, men, women and children can wear pyjamas, and a dressing gown to cover their pyjamas when they first get out of bed.
Clothes often have two labels on them: one label gives you the washing instructions and size information, and the other label shows the designer or manufacturer.
Clothes can also be hand-made by a tailor.
VERBS
TO WEAR
TO GET DRESSED
TO GET UNDRESSED
TO DO UP
TO UNDO
TO ZIP UP
TO UNZIP
TO PUT ON
TO TAKE OFF
TO PULL UP
TO PULL DOWN