Bare apparel

Bare apparel

A feature of nearly all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing or clothes, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body. Probably originating in the neolithic age, as mentioned below, the primary purpose of clothing appears to be functional, as a protection from the elements. Clothes also enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hunting and cooking by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Clothes incidentally also provide a hygienic barrier, keeping toxins away from the body and limiting the transmission of bacteria and viruses. Clothing use has been roughly contemporary with the use of furniture, and reducing feces in the shared environment may have had survival advantages (See evolutionary psychology). Outside of their purely functional purpose, clothes often play an important social and cultural 'signaling' role (e.g. easily identifiable police and army personnel). Most societies develop norms about modesty, religious practices, behavioral appropriateness, social status, and even political affiliations in which clothes may possibly improve the probability of that society's survival prospects. Finally, clothing functions as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style, on which caprice the vast modern fashion industry prospers.