Outline:
- The reasons for wearing clothing. Adornment, protection.
- Different requirements in different climates.
- Various materials, silk, wool, cotton, etc.
- Clothing not so vital in hot as in cold countries.
The chief object of clothing is to cover the naked body of man which is less protected naturally than the body of any other animal. In a cold climate, clothing must be warm and is mostly expensive. In India, and Pakistan the problem is more easy for the poor man. But man does not wear apparel merely as protection against the elements. the object of dress has been not only to clothe, but to adorn. Even uncivilized man has always found delight in adorning himself with strips of beads, feathers, and other trifles. How familiar is the word “garment”! Have you ever searched your dictionary for the meaning of the word? It means “furnish” or “adorn”. A garment is thus an adornment. Other familiar words used in connection with clothing are “habit” and “costume”. These words clearly indicate that certain items of apparel are worn because it has become the habit or custom to wear them. To-day, as ever, the human being is truly “the creature of fashion”.[the_ad id=”17141″]
Clothes do not give us warmth. What they do is to prevent the heat of the body from escaping as rapidly as it would if no.clothes were worn. Why, then, do we say that certain clothes are cooler than others? Such clothes are made of material that permits the head of the body to pass through readily. It follows, that some materials therefore are good conductors of heat, whilst others are bad ones. Let us now consider the materials used chiefly for apparel, and learn why they are suitable for the purpose they serve.
Woollen fabrics are very suitable for clothing, because they are bad conductors of heat. They do not allow heat to be conducted rapidly into the body, neither do they permit it to be conducted rapidly out of the body. Such clothing will also absorb a far larger amount of perspiration than any other of the materials used. Thus there is less danger of the wearer taking cold because of the moist state of the garment.
Silk, linen and cotton are all excellent fabrics for the clothing of mankind. Cotton is the best of all for the masses in Pakistan and India, and Pakistan since garments made from cotton are suitable for a to climate, are cheap and are manufactured largely in the country. Silk and fine woollén clothes will continue to be luxuries for the rich till our factories supply cheap cloth for the masses.
