Learn about many different types of clothing and how to stay in style.

Where would we be without our wardrobes? Protection from the cold and rain are some basic and essential functions that clothing performs, but it also serves a more refined cultural purpose by giving expression to our identity, personality and background. You can generally tell how old a person is, the sex and often the ethnicity as well, simply from dress. Clothing is adaptable and can easily take form to suit an occasion or an activity. We use colors, styles and fabrics for everything from a wedding to a funeral. Sportspeople such as cyclists, swimmers, footballers and baseball professionals depend on their clothes for both protection and performance. You cannot ski in everyday clothes! Children who skateboard in normal clothes risk injury and even amateur fitness enthusiasts would be lost without their workout clothing!

Birds teach us the role that plumage can play in sensuality and arousal. There may be no rational justification for theprices that we are willing to pay for the briefest stretches of lace and satin, but who can deny a surge of the pulse that seductive lingerie or a jock strap can induce in a flash? Clothing need reveal nothing to attract attention: women are especially good at flaunting their feminist forms with creative ensembles of flowing skirts, extravagant scarves and the most striking accessories. A man properly dressed for an expedition on a Harley-Davidson, can rival every woman when it comes to making heads turn through outfits!

Clothing is one of the best ways in which we can describe ourselves without saying a word. You would not expect top executives of chemical companies to dress in hemp! Hippies and punks declare their affiliation and values at first glance. Teenagers and people on vacation in a tropical island are the same, albeit in a more sober way! However the reverse can also be true: a clever tailor can use dark shades with a generous cut to hide the slovenly eating and exercise habits of those of us with a few pounds of flesh to hide! Clothing meets essential expectations as well, though often in an understated way: would you believe in the culinary expertise of a chef without the signature hat and coat?

Clothing reaches its zenith not when we buy things for ourselves, but when we shop for infants who depend on us and on that we dote. There can be nothing more delightful than baby clothing! This is the only genre when adults can feel happy when something no longer fits! And yet, clothes that infants have outgrown have value that rivals even vintage clothing, so you might yet bitterly repent having given away that bib and tucker! Some people show their attachment to animals by doing more than just essential cover for their beloved pets.