Power Suits

Intro

Heading to a job interview? Giving a big speech to a room full of very important people? Oh, dear! What will you wear? Maybe, you should ditch the dresses and ask yourself, WWHCW? What would Hillary Clinton wear? Cool as a cucumber, she’d be in her bold, daring power suit!

Hillary Clinton made the power suit very en vogue. A power suit is a blazer, blouse, and slacks that are all worn together. They are usually the same color or tone. This outfit can look very striking and make a bold statement. Power suits have become a symbol of female power. Wearing this outfit to your job will leave a lasting impression on your boss and co-workers.

Dominique just got a new job, and she’s very excited to go shopping for power suits. Listen as she explains the power suit to Romeo.

Dialogue

Dominique: Romeo, I just got this new job, and, oh, my gosh…

Romeo: Congratulations!

Dominique: Thank you! I can not wait to start. 

Romeo: OK.

Dominique: But, not for the job, but to go shopping for my five power suits. 

Romeo: Wow.

Dominique: I am so excited! I can not wait to pick them out. I want something bold with a nice cut. Something that says en vogue, striking, a bold color. I’m so excited. 

Romeo: So, are you in this for the job or for the shopping?

Dominique: Both! Think, Hillary Clinton…

Romeo: OK.

Dominique: But, way younger. 

Romeo: Oh, I think you could pull that off. 

Dominique: Yes.

Romeo: But, you said…

Dominique: Like, slacks…

Romeo: ...Hillary Clinton?

Dominique: Yes. Slacks, but tailored, with a blazer, and a nice blouse underneath. Oh, my gosh!

Romeo: Cool as a cucumber. 

Dominique: I’m so excited. Like, my very first job, I wish I’d worn a power suit to my first job, but I didn’t. But now that I’m in the know, I am so ready for this. I am going to kill it. You’re going to come with me! We’ll make it a whole day.

Romeo: Oh, I…

Dominique: It’ll be very professional.

Romeo: Yeah, I wish you wouldn’t. 

Dominique: Yes.

Romeo: OK. 

Dominique: All right.

Romeo: This is happening. All right.

Dominique: I’ll bring you to Nordstroms.

Romeo: And I will bring the popcorn.

Dominique: No popcorn.

Discussion

Dominique tells Romeo that she is very excited to start her new job. She is even more excited to go shopping for five new power suits. She wants to buy something bold, en vogue, and striking. She is very excited and can’t wait to look like a young Hillary Clinton. Romeo says she could definitely pull that off.

Dominique wishes that she had worn a power suit to her first job. She just didn’t know about the power suit back then. Now, she is in the know, and she’s going to kill it on her first day at work. She tells Romeo that he should come shopping with her. He’s not sure that’s a great idea, but agrees to go along anyway.

Have you ever owned a power suit? Did it make you feel powerful?

Grammar Point

The Unreal Past

Dominique is talking to Romeo about power suits. She says, “I wish I’d worna power suit to my first job, but I didn’t.” She uses the unreal past.

The unreal past is used to talk about imaginary situations in the past. You can describe what you would have done differently or how something could have happened differently if circumstances had been different.

We use wish + past perfect to talk about things that happened in the past that we wish had gone differently. For example, “I wish I had asked her out before she moved away.”

Dominique is talking about something that happened in the past (her first job) and how she wishes it had gone differently. She really wishes she had worn a power suit!

Which is correct, “I wish I had studied harder for the test,” or “I wish I will studied harder for the test”?