Daily Cascade

Clothes and Cats

Prompt: clothes
What do you think about clothes in general and what types of clothes do you think are the most comfortable to wear? On the other hand, which types of clothes are not comfortable to wear?

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I happen to think that we humans are so off with just about everything, and especially our clothes! This may be due to our make-up NOT being environmentally friendly, since our skins alone could not, did not fully protect us, ever. So we came up with the idea of clothes, envying the lush fur of the felines.

Why were our skins not good enough, is another somewhat related question. Now here, goes wild my imagination all the way to us being outer space people, but let's just stick to our earthly clothes for now.

Clothes show cultural and social identity. This type of identity, however, belongs only to our species, I'm afraid. I've seen all kinds of house cats with all kinds of markings and colors act friendly with each other. Their relationships did not involve the fur they had on. Yet, if the humans were cats, they would probably choose the cats with markings and colors similar to their own, so they could make friends with them. That is why in many societies, clothing fulfills cultural expectations of modesty and provides a sense of privacy. So here is my deduction as an answer to clothes being emblems of social and cultural identity for us humans: Our thinking is warped and cats are smarter.

Another thing that is warped may be the fashion trends. Just watch an artsy fashion show and you'll be embarrassed by the thought that outer space aliens are watching, too, and laughing their heads off. Not to mention the idea that what we wear shows status and symbolizes to which group or class of society we belong. For example, if attending a professional or formal event, would you dare to walk in wearing old jeans or a housedress, while everyone else is clad in suits, ties, and formal dresses?

All this is because, we human dummies prioritize appearance over comfort. To be fair to the latest generation of us humans, there is that influence of history, butting in from the background. Many uncomfortable clothing traditions and choices stem from the historical practices, and whether we acknowledge this fact or not, they influence modern designs.

Then, even the very idea of comfort depends on one's personal likes and dislikes. To me, comfortable means I don't think about what I am wearing or be pinched or itched by what I am wearing. This is why I applaud the growing trend toward more comfortable clothing, based on functionality and personal preferences with a tad of acceptance for social considerations.

Just maybe, we might be learning, at last, from watching other species such as house cats and all other felines.