So? How did the job interview go, Dan? D: It was (1)_________ breeze! I got the job. But the thing is, I start in two weeks and I’ve got nothing to wear. The job involves (2)_____________ important clients. But they won’t (3)____________ me seriously in my scruffy jeans and hoodie! C: Sounds like you need some new clothes. D: I know. But I’m on a tight (4)___________ until I receive my first few months’ salary. C: Well, it’s easy to look good without (5)___________ a fortune. Do you have a suit? D: No, but I saw a suit yesterday for 40% off (6)____________ a sale, so I’ll save almost £100 (7)____________ I buy that. C: Well, you’re only saving money if you buy something you really need. If you’re just buying it because it’s cheap, you’re throwing money down the (8)__________. It’s much better in the long (9)__________ to invest in timeless classics. For example, instead of buying a cheap off-the-(10)___________ suit that you’ll need to replace in a few months, save up for a (11)______________-made suit that will make you look fantastic for many years. D: OK, I admit that suit was a bit cheap-looking. But it was the only one (12)___________ my size. They had some lovely suits in the sale, but they were all too tight or too (13)___________ for me. C: Well, you can always buy oversized clothes – as (14)_____________ as they’re good quality, and then take them in. D: What do you mean, take them in? C: It’s when you unpick the seams, move the pieces of fabric closer together, and sew them back together. In fact, (15)___________ generally, I’d say the best way to look good (16)____________ spending loads of money is to learn to sew. But hang on a second. Didn’t you have to wear a suit for the job interview? D: Well, it was an online interview, so I just wore a jacket from an old suit and a nice shirt and tie to create a good impression. They had no idea I was wearing baggy tracksuit trousers under my desk! C: Haha, no, you’re winding me (17)____________! It’s usually a good idea to mix and (18)__________ parts of different outfits, which can save you a lot of money, but I’d say mixing a suit with a tracksuit is taking things a bit far! Do you still have the trousers to go with that jacket? D: Yeah, I’ve actually got two old suits with perfectly good jackets but trousers that I can’t wear! One pair is coming apart at the (19)____________. The other is completely worn out at the knee. C: Hmm, it sounds like you can start your sewing lessons on those trousers! Then you’ll have two suits in your wardrobe (20)___________ peanuts! That’s actually a (21)_____________ example of how to go shopping in your wardrobe. D: Sorry. Where? C: In your wardrobe. Most people have loads of clothes that they never wear. The trick is to sort them into four categories: love, mend, sell and bin. D: Go on. C: ‘Love’ is for the clothes that make you look and feel great. ‘Mend’ is for the clothes that you need to adjust or repair. ‘Sell’ is for the clothes that you can auction online. And then ‘bin’ is for everything else. Basically you need to get (22)____________ of them! D: OK, I’ve got loads of clothes that I could sell, but I’ve never used an auction website before. Do you think anyone will buy my old clothes? C: You’d be surprised. I mean, most customers on those sites stick to the professional sellers with beautiful tailor-made sales pages created by web designers. But I actually buy most of my clothes from ugly sales pages, created by inexperienced sellers. D: What? Are you saying I should create an ugly sales page for my second-hand clothes? C: No, not at all. The more professional your sales page the (23)___________ you can charge for your clothes. And it needs to be a seamless process for your customers from beginning to end. So as a general rule, when you’re selling clothes, it’s well worth taking the time to make your sales page look good. For example, you can just use one of the off-the-shelf templates from the auction site. Choose a template that (24)___________ your eye – it’s much better than creating your own site (25)_____________ scratch. D: OK, sounds like good advice. And when I’m buying clothes online, to replace the ones I’m selling? C: Then you should look out for newbie sellers with bad photos – they’re usually good for picking up a bargain. D: Aha, yes, that makes sense. So are auction sites the best place to pick up cheap second-hand clothes? C: Sometimes, but the best place to buy them is often charity shops, even though they’re pretty exhausting! You need to know where to go if you want to avoid (26)______________ yourself out for nothing! For instance, the best charity shops are in posh, exclusive neighbourhoods. You’d be amazed what you can pick up there. The trick is to avoid shops in a trendy area or one with lots of students – all the best stuff will be snapped (27)____________ immediately. D: OK, good. What about regular shops? C: They’re fine as long as you’re not too choosy – the big-name stores are often no better than others, but they charge a lot more for the same stuff! But wherever you go, don’t forget to haggle to get the price down. D: What do you mean? C: Ask the shop assistant for a discount. I always ask, ‘Is this the best you can do?’ Many shop assistants are authorised to offer discounts, so it’s always worth haggling. You’ve got nothing to lose (28)____________ your pride! D: OK. I’ll give it a go. Thanks
KEY
1. a
2. meeting
3. take
4. budget
5. spending
6. in
7. if
8. drain
9. run
10. shelf
11. tailor
12. in
13. loose
14. long
15. more
16. without
17. up
18. match
mix and match
to combine things in different ways for different purposes
You can mix and match courses to suit your requirements.
19. seams
20. for
21. good
22. rid
23. more
24. catches
25. from
26. wearing
27. up
28. but
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