Fashion, Slang, and British Fads

 

A Starter Pack created by the university's student paper Epigram

This is my final post on this blog (sad), so I hope that you all have enjoyed it so far.  It has been lots of fun to write these posts and reply to your curious comments. Hopefully my posts were just as fun to read. Many of you have asked about fashion in England and how people here talk. I figured that this last post would be a good place to talk about those topics. I'm going to focus mostly on Bristol, but I'll also chat a bit about England a whole.


Fashion in Bristol:

I'd say that Bristol fashion is pretty similar to Portland fashion. It's very hipster thrift-store chic. Basically, people spend a lot of money to make it look like they didn't spend any money at all. Fashion for men honestly isn't that important here, but women have a very specific style. Women's style is made up of a few things here:

• Wavey Garms - aka: anything flared. This mostly refers to flared jeans, or "flares", but can also refer to any kind of flowy trouser (the word "pants" in the U.K. means underwear, so you have to call them trousers)

A Bristol student in her fashionable flared trousers and Filas (photo credit to Bristol Epigram)

• "Moonwalker" (as my friend called it) style shoes. Filas are the most popular brand, but any kind of platform shoe will be popular

 

Fila Trainers

• French bobbed haircut with bangs 

 

My roommate Leah with her Bristol haircut, Filas, and wavey garms 

• Usually some kind of oversized fur or pink coat. Not sure why these are so popular since they really aren't that warm, but they sure are everywhere

The full Bristol Outfit: Fur coat, moonwalker shoes, and wavey garms (credit to Epigram)

 

My Roommate Madi in her Bristol outfit (she's wearing Filas but they got cut off)

Bristol has a wide variety of people, and these trends obviously are not the only fashion trends across the city. There is also a huge punk scene here so there a lot of Doc Marten shoes, leather jackets, etc... For the more artsy people, thrifted clothing is huge and people will go to vintage kilo sales where you can grab a kilogram of clothing for only £10-15. I went to one a few months ago and came away with three shirts and a super cute dress. 

For men, the fashion is a lot more variable, but there are a few general trends. I should clarify though that these fashion trends are kind of all-or-nothing meaning that you're either a guy who wears all of these, or a guy who wears none of them.

• Choppy fade haircuts

 

While there are many other hairstyles out there, this seems to be the most stereotypically British

• Bucket Hats - probably my least favorite fad

 

Photo from a local club

• Wavey Garms (but specifically 80's jackets)

 

You guy's know who Roy Purdy is? Well he basically sums up Bristol fashion for men:

 

There are also some pieces that are popular for both genders: 

• Bum bags - we'd call them fanny packs, but they're weirdly popular here. They're most frequently worn like a cross body bag instead of around your waist 

 

My Friend Josh wearing his wavey garm and bum bag

•  Thrasher shirts - I don't think that anyone actually reads Thrasher, but the logo is on everything

So now that you know how to look like a Bristolian, let's learn how to talk like one!

British Slang:

I've already introduced you to some slang phrases like "alright me lover", but this week I'm going to get deeper into slang here in Bristol (or Brizzle as locals would call it).

To start off, go ahead and try to translate this sign:

 

Sign at a coffee stand near my house

Makes no sense right? This sign is about as Bristolian as it gets in regards to slang. These words are used pretty much nowhere else in the U.K.. Let me break it down for you:

Gurt (can also be spelled "Gert") = very

Lush = fantastic 

Innit = shorthand for "isn't it"

Altogether the sign means "really great weather for iced coffee, isn't it?"

Here are some other British slang phrases:

• Chuffed - meaning "very happy/please about"
• Eg: "I'm chuffed to have won this award"
• Gutted - the exact opposite of chuffed. Means that you're very upset about something
•  Eg: "I'm gutted that I didn't win that award"
• Knackered - exhausted
• Eg: "I can't go out tonight. I'm absolutely knackered"
• Fortnight - no it's not just a video game, it actually means a group of two weeks. Like a month is four weeks, a fortnight is two
• Eg: "Our club meets up once a fortnight"
• Mate - friend
• Eg: "My mates come over once a fortnight to play fortnight"
• Grub - another word for food
• Eg: "Pub Grub" or food served at a pub

 

• Bin - Garbage can
• Rubbish - Trash
• That's Rubbish! - meaning "I don't believe you"
• Smart - usually describes clothing. Means that it's classy/nice
• Eg: When going to a job interview, you want to wear a smart looking shirt
•  Alright? - meaning "how are you?". It's usually a rhetorical question and you typically respond with "ya, you alright?"
• Flat - apartment

So now you know how to look and talk like a Bristolian! You'll fit in perfectly if you ever come to visit. I hope that you've all enjoyed my blog posts over these last ten weeks. I know that I've enjoyed writing them. I can't wait to meet you all next week for our final celebration. Try to think up some questions that you'd like to ask me next week!