ABSTRACT
The human requirement for covering the body is met primarily by cloth or its equivalent; no sewing is necessary. For large numbers of people in Asia and Africa a simple length of material suffices – dhoti, sari or sarong, for instance. Garments are simple, maybe a bodice or tunic. Fashion consists of slight alterations in the way the cloth is draped. The market for complicated and elaborate clothing in temperate and warm climates developed first among the wealthy, both for themselves and for ceremonial wear – for temple dancers, for example. Shaped and stitched clothing for everyday wear was a feature of cold climates. Stitched leather clothing, not dissimilar to that made entirely by Inuit women in modern times, was used in Siberia in the Stone Age some thousands of years before Christ. A large-scale commercial market for textiles and clothing developed with long-distance trade and the spread of wealth, but until recently ordinary people wore homespun. The adoption of Western fashions by Asian and African countries at the same time as an increased demand for clothes and rapidly changing fashions to stimulate that demand, have greatly enlarged the market for clothing since 1945. The amount of employment generated has, however, been limited by the development of technology, which has been reducing the amount of labour needed.
