he male genitals. But discussion of the origin of clothing leads very quickly to discussions of clothing as moral or quasi-moral statements that have nothing to do with protection. That is, a human psychological component enters the picture:
There is an element of class-consciousness in the very earliest developments of male attire. Even the most humble member of the community, however, decorated himself in some way. No man, it would seem, is too primitive to take delight in, one cannot as yet say, 'dressing himself up' but in 'dolling himself up', if the phrase be permitted."
This conception of dress is as an extension or representation of the wearer's idea of how he projects himself into the world. Until the fourteenth century, that projection in Europe was quite uniform, with elites retaining many attributes of ancient dress, notably loose-fitting robes and cloaks. However, two important practical inventions for Western clothing occurred in that century: knitting and the button, both of which fostered change in weatherproofing and a decline in infant mortality. By the sixteenth century, stockings and hose had evolved toward knee breeches, while a tailored tunic called the cotte and a loose-fitting blouse called a rochet had evolved toward what by the nineteenth century had become the coat and vest. From the early seventeenth to late eighteenth century, men's highly decorated and large-sleeved coats and vests gave way to less complicated clothing in general and more tailored bodicewear in particular.
It was in the eighteenth century that the Western fashion industry per se can be said to have emerged, mainly in the exchange of fashion cues between England and France exchanging fashion cues. Laver cites the invention in France in the 1770s of the fashion plate, originally a the term of art designating engravings in magazines of what the well-dressed aristocrat should wear--not, as the term has evolved in the modern period,...