Nowadays, clothes normally cover what are termed the four F's in order to meet our requirements. These are fashion, fit, feel, and function. This has changed much from when clothes were first used thousands of years ago, when function would have been the only concern.
Clothes have changed and evolved much to become fashion statements, and in effect, a fashion statement is representative of somebody's position in society. For example, somebody wearing the Goth style of clothing is making a statement of which social group they belong to, and society ladies would never be seen without accessories such as a ladies purses indicating their grouping.
Of course, as well as this fashion statement indicating class or grouping, there is still the functionality of clothes which is highly important. This could be a uniform for the armed forces, or clothes for road working labourers. Each of these styles or ranges has been developed over years to be able to perform a function.
The final two F's: fit and feel, are quite subjective, and do vary a lot from culture to culture. In the western world, tighter fitting clothing is considered better, whereas in the Muslim world, looser fitting clothing serves a dual purpose of hiding the body shape and keeping the body cool at the same time.
The history of clothing is a fascinating one, and the more that one looks at it, the more layers a person discovers. Almost like clothing itself!
