Let’s take a look at how to answer this part-one IELTS Speaking question, “What type of clothes do you like to wear?”
In this post, you’ll learn what you can say for a band-seven answer, with 10 great examples (go straight to the answers here).
What You Can Say About Clothes
This will be enough for a good answer:
- Describe your favorite style of clothes
- Explain why you like that style
If you like, you could also talk about:
- How those kinds of clothes make you feel
- How you dress differently for work and in your free time
- How your taste in clothes has changed over the years
- If you follow fashion or not
- Someone you know who has great style
- Anything else that comes to mind
Keep It Simple
In part one, focus on fluency: answer quickly, without hesitation. This will impress the examiner.
You can use simple English in part one. Save your clever, advanced words and grammar for parts two and three.
Many students try to say too much in part one. But part one is just an easy warm-up. You don’t need to say much at all.
You can follow the three-step YES Method for all your part-one questions. Just say:
- Your answer (say what type of clothes you like)
- Explain your answer (say why you like that style) or add more details
- Stop talking (let the examiner know they can move on to the next question)
Each of your part-one answers should just take 20 or 30 seconds, not more.
Example Answers
Here are 10 good example answers for a band-seven score.
Casual
1. I just like to wear casual clothes because I want to feel relaxed and comfortable. I’m not very fashionable. It’s not important to me to look trendy and stylish all the time.
Fashionable
2. I love to follow fashion, so I like any style that’s currently in vogue. I think everyone should try to express themselves through the clothes they wear. I always try to dress to impress.
Formal
3. I’m a businessman, so I usually wear formal clothes, like a suit and tie with smart dress shoes. I like this style a lot because it’s simple and professional, and it looks great too.
Smart Casual
4. I guess my favorite style is smart casual. I often wear jeans with a blue or white long-sleeved shirt, and a pair of designer shoes that match my belt and watch.
Colorful
5. I love expressing myself with vibrant, colorful clothes. Lots of bright colors make me feel so cheerful and alive. I guess I have a sort of carefree, bohemian style.
Elegant
6. I suppose my usual style is quite elegant. I like wearing classy, graceful dresses, or a cotton blouse or sweater with a demure skirt, or sometimes trousers.
Scruffy
7. To be honest, I’m pretty scruffy. I don’t pay much attention to what I wear. I’m a mechanic, so my clothes tend to get quite filthy, so I don’t want to spend much money on them.
Retro
8. My favorite type of clothes are retro, vintage-style clothes from the ’70s and ’80s. They’re so much fun, really cool, and colorful.
Hot Weather
9. I come from Spain, which is almost always extremely hot. So I usually just wear a t-shirt or a short-sleeved dress shirt, and sandals on my feet.
Cold Weather
10. It’s a snowy winter now in my hometown, so I like to wear warm, cozy clothes. Before I go out, I usually put on boots, gloves, a big scarf, and a huge down jacket.
Your Turn to Answer
Now that you have some answer ideas, try to say your own.
Turn on your voice recorder and ask, “What type of clothes do you like to wear?”
Speak for 20 or 30 seconds, using the YES Method. And try not to hesitate at all.
When you’re finished, listen to your answer, think of one way to improve it, and then answer it again.
Keep repeating this process, and you’ll improve rapidly. Soon you’ll be more than ready for part one of your IELTS Speaking test.
