We depart from our posts «об истории Киева» [about the history of Kiev] to talk about… «одежда» [clothes]! Don’t worry, I will resume telling you about the history of Kiev in another post very soon.

«Я типичная девушка» [I’m a typical girl]: «я очень люблю ходить по магазинам» [I really love shopping]. «Я также люблю одежду» [I also love clothes], so you can imagine that I really like shopping for clothes. But what are the words for various articles of clothing «на русском» [in Russian]? Let’s find out!

«Во-первых» [First of all], the basics. Whether you are «женщина» [a woman] or «мужчина» [a man], you’ll probably wear «брюки» [pants (for Americans) or trousers (for Brits)]. Conveniently, «брюки» can refer to different sorts of pants (since I learned American English, I’ll just stick with the American form of the word), like pants you would wear casually or pants you would wear to work. But if you want to be really casual (and cool!), you could wear «джинсы» [jeans]. «Я часто ношу джинсы» [I often wear jeans].

The other basic item of clothing you need is a top. You could wear «футболка» [a t-shirt] or «майка» [this also refers to a casual shirt like a t-shirt]. If you need to be more formal (and you’re a woman), you would wear «блузка» [a blouse]. Or you can wear just a shirt in general, which would be «рубашка».

What if you need to get dressed up? If you’re a woman, you could wear «юбка и блузка» [a skirt and a blouse] or «платье» [a dress]. And you could also wear «шарф» [a scarf] with your nice outfit. If you’re a man, the options for dressing up are pretty limited: «костюм» [a suit], which consists of «пиджак» [a jacket] and «галстук» [a tie] in addition to «брюки». We mustn’t forget shoes: both men and women can wear «туфли» or «обувь» and «носки» [socks].

As we all know, «погода в России очень холодная» [the weather in Russia is very cold]. If it’s just a little chilly, you’ll want «куртка» [a short jacket] or «свитер» [sweater]. If it’s colder, then «пальто» [a coat], «парка или анорак» [a parka or anorak] or even «шуба» [a fur coat] will be needed. For accessories, you’ll need «шарф» [a scarf], «перчатки» [gloves] or «рукавицы» [mittens], «сапоги» [boots] and «шапка» [a hat].

What if the opposite is true and you decide to «отдыхать в Крыму» [vacation in the Crimea]? You’ll have to bring warm-weather clothes, such as «шорты» [shorts], «плавки» [swimming trunks], «бикини» [a bikini] and «сандалии» [sandals].

I think I’ve covered most of the basics here–let me know if I missed any specialized terms or overlooked anything. Next time: «Киев» [Kiev]!