The Invention of Clothing

“The Invention of Clothing” tells the story of the clothes we wear and how they came to be. In these pages are the origin of denim and why jeans became an American icon; a Chinese Empress who unravels the secret of a cocoon to discover silk; and the creation of Velcro after a walk in the mountains. Author Arthur H. Neufeld, PhD, is informative and entertaining as he writes about how wearing clothes helped us conquer the world, and what dressing sexy is all about. 


Neufeld begins “The Invention of Clothing” with a NYC cocktail party at which clothing greats from across the centuries come together for an evening. Their conversations set the stage for intriguing topics that tell us about what clothes do for people – such as protection, symbolism, and sexual attraction. As the book progresses, the author examines everything about clothes; from fibers, fabrics, and labels, to the psychology of wearing clothes. After all, clothes are daily forms of self-expression and we are judged by how we dress – stilettos and sneakers send two very different signals. Neufeld exposes the messages in clothing, right down to underwear. To fulfill the lifecycle of clothing, the book ends with where your clothes go when you are dead.

 

Grounded in facts and history, “The Invention of Clothing” takes readers on a journey covering why early humans invented clothing, to the clothes in Rembrandt’s portraits, and through the origins of the garment industry. The making of clothes has had huge social impacts all over the world. The book weaves us through the historical demand for clothing that led to the Civil War, the Industrial Revolution, the Audubon Society, and tragedy in Bangladesh. And, tells the stories of the invention of bras, pants, zippers, bikinis, and Gore-Tex. 


His thoughts about writing “The Invention of Clothing” began when Neufeld came across a droll witticism by Mark Twain, “Naked people have little or no influence on society.” Neufeld wondered: Where would we be without clothes?