UNIT 2: CLOTHING (English 9)

2. LISTEN AND READ

For centuries, poets, writers and musicians have mentioned the ao dai in poems, novels and songs. The ao dai is the traditional dress of Vietnamese women. It consists of a long silk tunic that is slit on the sides and worn over loose pants. 

Traditionally, it was frequently worn by both men and women. The design and the material used for man were different from those used for women. Nowadays, women usually wear it, especially on the special occasions. However, many Vietnamese women today often prefer to wear modern clothing at work, because it is more convenient.

Now fashion designers want to change the traditional ao dai. Some have printed lines of poetry on the ao dai, so they look modern and very fashionable. Other designers have taken inspiration from Vietnam's ethnic minorities. They have visited villages and studied traditional designs and symbols such as suns, starts, crosses, and stripes. They have added these patterns to the ao dai, so Vietnamese women can continue to wear the unique dress, which is now both traditional and fashionable.

5. READ

The word jeans comes from a kind of material that was made in Europe. The material, called jean, was named after sailors from Genoa in Italy, because they wore clothes made from it. In the 18th century jean cloth was made completely from cotton and workers at that time loved wearing it because the material was very strong and it did not wear out easily. In the 1960s, many university and college students wore jeans. Designers made different styles of jeans to match the 1960s's fashions: embroidered jeans, painted jeans and so on. In the 1970s more and more people started wearing jeans because they became cheaper. In the 1980s jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up. But in the 1990s the worldwide economic situation got worse, and the sale of jeans stopped growing. However, jeans have never been out of fashion, and today young generation is still fond of wearing them.