hich the connection between ego and clothing is discussed. But before seeing how these various connections are made, it may be useful to examine something of the role clothing and fashion have played in human experience, and by extension the elaboration of human ego concerns.
One view of clothing is that it was employed by human beings as a means of protection, as for example of the male genitals. But a number of discussions of the origin of clothing lead very quickly to discussions of clothing as moral or quasi-moral statements that have nothing to do with shelter or 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." Dress, on this view, is an extension or representation of the person's idea
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