What clothes tell about people?
Clothes can tell us a great deal about a person’s background. his social status. his aesthetic tastes, his mood and even about the climatic conditions he ordinarily lives in. They can also indicate whether he has been recently bereaved or not. at times it is possible to find out the marital status of women by the way they dress. If a person is wearing black it is indicative of some bereavement. Of course now black bands are also worn to indicate resentment of the policies of a firm or an association. White is associated with a large number of emotional states. In many Asian societies it is considered to be a colour of mourning and amongst the orthodox Hindus white is the colour of widowhood. At the same time white stands for purity and chastity. White is the colour for bridal dress in the West. In tropical countries it is a colorful scene that meets the eye. The lush greenery of the landscape in Malaysia, in Singapore and in Burma is matched by the floral designs of the sarong and the bright colors of the blouses and the shirts. Bright colored clothes besides providing a contrast to the greenery, also reflect the heat and are cooler to wear. Similarly it has been noticed that people living in sand colored surroundings of the desert are inclined to dress up gaily and are conspicuous amidst their surroundings.
The quality of the material used and the tailoring at once indicate the social status of the man. If the clothes are of a good quality but are worn and threadbare then obviously the man has fallen on evil times. If they are new but not well cut and the wearer doesn’t carry them with ease then it would be fair to say that here is an upstart who is learning the ways of the rich. Poets and Bohemians carry clothes with a subtle indifference and cultured women impart a grace all their own to the clothes they wear irrespective of the quality or the cost of the clothes. It should be understood that in the tribal world, the aborigines do not pay excessive heed to clothes. They belong to the world of civilization and consciousness. they belong to the post-lapsarian period when Adam and Eve had become acquainted with good and evil. The European gypsies – though colorfully dressed do not make dress their prime concern. In the civilized and highly sophisticated societies, however, clothes have acquired a disproportionate importance.
Sartorial differences have been minimized to a very great extent. The use of synthetic fibres and cheaper imitations of expensive garments have flooded the market. Imitation furs and jewelry add to this effort at camouflage. It is not always possible to judge correctly the social background of a person due to these reasons. People are consciously dressing according to the accepted standard in order to benefit from class prejudices. Though this may pass in many cases, the truly naive and the truly sophisticated don’t join in this effort and even if the naive do, they are not successful. For when a man fresh from a rural background tries to acquire an urban exterior, the rest of his behavior will give him away.
Clothes, like language, can be used both for deception and expression. They can express a personality transparently: they can also help achieve a disguise and carry through a deception. If the attempt is to deliberately deceive people, clothes can go a long way in doing this and this hypocritical behavior may one day become reality. As far as human integrity is concerned it is best to follow Thoreau’s advice: “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes”, for clothes may well destroy the man within.
