Adjectives To Describe Clothes In English

Learn adjectives to describe clothes in English. Useful words that will help you when you’re talking about clothes and outfits. 

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List of adjectives for clothes

Adjectives to describe clothes in English

Hi there, this is Harry and welcome back to my English lesson where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language, particularly where you might be aiming to improve your conversational English.

Or you maybe you’re trying to improve your opportunities for promotion in your particular job and you want to really nail down your English language. Well, we’re here to help you.

So what are we going to talk about today? We’re going to talk about clothes.

We’re going to talk about adjectives to describe clothes.

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There are many, many ways to describe the clothes that we wear. So let’s look at a few of them 

tight-fitting

Meaning: tight-fitting are clothes that don’t leave much room for breathing, they’re really tight. You can see every inch of the person’s body there. 

Somebody who’s really fit likes to wear tight-fitting clothes that will show their figure or their shape. 

Okay, so tight-fitting, not much room for breathing. When you squeeze into something that is tight-fitting.

baggy

Meaning: is the opposite of tight-fitting; they are very loose, lots of room in them.

We can say

  • baggy trousers
  • baggy shirts

On a hot summer’s day, you’d like to wear baggy clothes that will allow the air to circulate around your body.

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casual 

Meaning: relaxed and comfortable clothes that you wear every day; it could be something like a t-shirt, it could be a shirt without a tie

It could be a loose or stylish jacket or no jacket at all. Just a pair of casual trousers. 

Most people would love to wear casual clothes to work.

That brings us on then to

formal 

Meaning: clothes that are suitable for formal occasions or work; for example, a business dress or a suit

Often, when you get an invitation to somebody’s wedding, there is a sentence at the bottom of it:

Formal dress essential.

Meaning you have to wear a suit. 

It might even be a black-tie event. One of those very specific suits with a little black tie and a white shirt and a black jacket and black trousers.

Adjectives to describe clothes in English

Learn adjectives to describe clothes in English. Advanced English learning. Online English lessons on Zoom at www.englishlessonviaskype.com #learnenglish #englishlessons #EnglishTeacher #vocabulary #ingles

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colourful

Meaning: a piece of clothing with bright colours or many colours

Your dress is so colourful, it will suit that day in the middle of July when the sun is shining. 

plain

Meaning: is the opposite of colourful; it is very ordinary, dull, often there’s just one colour. (grey, mushroom or beige) 

My wife doesn’t like me wearing plain clothes.

We have plain-clothes detectives in the police force. These are policemen that don’t wear a uniform so they blend in with the rest of the people. So they can walk around and spot people and do their investigation.

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tasteful

Meaning: it looks nice, clothes that really look good

The suit that you wore to the last team meeting was very tasteful.

We can have 

unfashionable 

clothes.

Meaning: clothes that are not really in at the moment

He likes to wear comfortable clothes but it’s so unfashionable.

Ah, come on, Dad! This shirt is so unfashionable, you have to keep up with the times. 

Something that was fashionable 10 years ago may be unfashionable today but if you hold on to it long enough, it’s going to be fashionable again.

 so fashionable or on fashionable. It depends on your mood. 

Adjectives to describe clothes in English

smart 

Meaning: stylish clothes that are neat and tidy; it doesn’t have to be formal

The shirt has been ironed recently. The trousers have been washed or cleaned. The shoes have been polished. 

Young boys often wear smart clothes for their First Communion.

trendy

Meaning: is a modern word that means something is fashionable; something that you didn’t get from your grandfather or your grandmother

What’s the trendy colour?

This t-shirt is very trendy, I haven’t seen you wearing that before. It takes 20 years off your look. 

Blue-tint sunglasses are really trendy. They have a nice frame and block 90% of UVA and UVB rays.

Adjectives to describe clothes in English

Learn adjectives to describe clothes in English. Advanced English learning. Online English lessons on Zoom at www.englishlessonviaskype.com #learnenglish #englishlessons #EnglishTeacher #vocabulary #ingles

scruffy

Meaning: something dirty or untidy

We actually use the two words together – scruffy dirty.

These jeans look a little bit scruffy. Will I put them in the wash?

Look, your shoes are scruffy! What were you doing? Were you running through a field? 

And then finally 

sleeveless

Meaning: a piece of clothes without sleeves, it’s cut up at the top or very close to the top of your arms

I usually wear a sleeveless top to the gym.

When it’s cold outside, I wear a sleeveless jacket with a sweater on.

So here are the adjectives you can use to describe clothes in English:

  • tight-fitting
  • baggy
  • casual
  • formal
  • colourful
  • plain
  • tasteful
  • unfashionable
  • smart
  • scruffy
  • trendy
  • sleeveless 

Okay, all different adjectives for describing clothes.

I hope you’ve enjoyed that. As I said before, if you want to contact me, then you can do so on www.englishlessonviaskype.com 

Really happy to hear from you. Really happy to get your suggestions. 

Thanks for listening. Join me again soon.

More information

For more information on English grammar rules, English collocations and English idioms, check out the links below:

Intermediate English TRAVEL vocabulary

Phrasal verbs with LET

You can always study English advanced level at Learning English with the BBC.

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