Lesson 2 Passion for Fashion
How Fashion Items Got Their Names
Do you know what ____ jumpsuit is?
It is usually a single ____ that covers your whole body, even your arms and legs.
It is easy ____ quick to put on and to take off.
As the name indicates, ____ jumpsuit began as clothing for jumping from planes.
Later, designers ____ this functional design into luxurious women’s fashion items seen in fashion shows around the world.
Like the jumpsuit, there are other fashion items with interesting ____ about how they got their names.
Sneak Up in Sneakers
You have probably ____ a pair of sneakers for everyday activities or sports.
They are a type of athletic shoe designed specifically to be worn for physical activities and ____
So, why are they ____ sneakers?
The name “sneakers” is derived ____ the term “to sneak up.”
Due to the fact that sneakers’ soles are mostly made of rubber, they ____ little noise when people walk.
____ allows people who are wearing them to sneak up on others.
Before rubber, leather was used ____ the sole of shoes.
Traditional leather shoes make ____ lot of noise, and it is easier to hear the person wearing them.
However, with sneakers, you can quietly sneak up on your friends and surprise ____
Blue Jeans from Genoa
Whether they are loose fit or slim ____ most of you have at least one pair of blue jeans.
____ were named “jeans” because they were made of jean, a sort of tough cotton cloth.
The word jean is a modification of Gênes, the French name ____ the Italian city of Genoa.
In the 17th and 18th ____ Genoa was a major center for trade.
Sailing merchants from Genoa traded their goods throughout Europe, particularly ____ England and France.
One of the items that ____ Genoa famous was a strong cotton cloth, ideally suited to making tough work clothes.
The ____ was most likely colored blue.
French ____ widely spoken in Europe at that time, so the cloth was called “bleu de Gênes” (the blue of Genoa).
This is how the pants made with “bleu de Gênes” became known as blue jeans ____ English.
A Man in a Tuxedo in Tuxedo Park
____ wear tuxedos when a formal dress code is required, like for the opera, dinner parties, or awards shows.
The tuxedo likely got its name from Tuxedo ____ one of the first gated communities in New York.
In ____ late 19th century, men usually wore jackets with long tails that reached their knees on formal occasions.
One evening, a man showed up with ____ short black jacket without tails in Tuxedo Park.
The male guests who stayed there were fascinated by the new jacket and ____ to wear the same style.
Later, more people asked their tailors to make them a jacket “like ____ one worn in Tuxedo Park.”
At first, this style ____ jacket was considered less formal than one with long tails.
As more and more ____ wore the shorter style, it eventually replaced the longer version.
Now men’s formal wear ____ the tuxedo.
Isn’t it ____ that the tuxedo was not originally considered very formal, but now it is the most formal clothing men wear?
Flip-flops, Flip-flop
On beaches and at pools, everyone seems to wear ____ shoes with a band across the top of the foot and between the big toe and second toe.
Amazingly, they are one of the oldest shoes in ____
Ancient Egyptian paintings show ____ were worn around 4,000 B.C.
Due to the fact that they have such ____ long history, they have different names all around the world.
The Japanese ____ them zories.
New Zealanders call them jandals, ____ is a shortened form of “Japanese sandals.”
However, ____ the USA, these shoes are called “flip-flops.”
Just ____ around in a pair of them, and you can easily guess why they got this name.
____ rubber soles hit the bottom of your feet as you walk, making a flip-flop, flip-flop sound.
The sound became ____ name of the shoes, flip-flops.
Whatever origins these fashion items have, they are being worn by more ____ more people in various places around the world.
Why don’t you look for other fashion items that have as interesting name origins as those introduced ____