We live in inflationary times, but one of those items, that has consistently not been hurt by inflation is clothing, which remains quite affordable, and that is indeed a very good thing because society demands that we wear clothes, not only for the basic reason that clothes protect us from the elements but that they also provide us with necessary functionality by having, for instance, pockets, while serving to protect our privacy because we are wearing clothes, thereby not displaying certain body parts which are considered to be not only bad form to do so in public, but can if so exposed to others, be considered to be a crime.
Another salient reason why people need to wear clothes has got to do with the fact that never has there been so many very old people in society, but also never have there been so many people that are quite overweight, of which, these people are typically not going to have the physical look that would appeal to many. They may be seen, in fact, as having bodies that necessitate that they wear clothing because their look does not measure up well to societal expectations and norms.
So too, the thing about clothes is that clothing can do a stellar job in bringing out our best features as well as doing an excellent job in disguising well those features that we don’t favor. Clothes play a very important role in allowing us to be ourselves, and to be about our business, without being unnecessarily noticed, by basically serving the good purpose of allowing us to blend in with society and the general clothing rules of that society, by following those rules, which permits us to adhere to society norms, better.
Indeed, while we have been taught not to judge a book by its cover, the truth of the matter is that many people do exactly that, which is one of the reasons why certain people are especially diligent in the selection and the wearing of their clothing, because they are trying to put forth a certain image, and the right clothing can do that quite well for them. We do so find then that there actually is a reasonable consistency in the character of the person as displayed through their clothing with the overall look that they present, thereby providing people with a fair window as to who and what they really are, even without knowing that person.
Additionally, never have there been so many options for the clothing that we choose to wear, which is indicative that by having the freedom to wear the clothes that we do wear, we are, in a certain sense, expressing our freedom to do so, which is, believe it or not, something that has not historically been true, not only because society norms have previously limited the choice of the clothing so worn, but also because the availability of certain clothes wasn’t nearly as vast as is represented today.
In sum, we need clothes, not only because clothes cover our body or expose such to our satisfaction, but also because they provide us with the utility that those clothes typically represent, thereby permitting us to present ourselves to the general public, in a way and form, that conforms with our identity.