In conclusion, we have traced the origins and effects of clothes, and we have noted that modern civilization rests on clothing to a far greater extent than is generally realized. This relationship between clothing and civilization will undoubtedly continue in the future, and emphasizes the importance of clothes to the progress of mankind. It also emphasizes the fact that since God helps those who help them- selves, the future of humanity lies in the hands of man himself, aided by the clothing which has contributed to his belief in his own supe- riority and his kinship to God. With this aid, it is not over-optimistic to expect that, despite the swing of the pendulum backwards and forwards, men and women the world over will continue humanity's urge towards learning, legal' and economic justice, freedom of spirit, the development of the arts, sciences and religions, and the liberation of all the other forces which make for a greater civilization and a happier way of life.

Clothing in the future will also play an important part in con- tributing to the happiness and self-confidence of the millions upon millions of peoples who are now too poor to afford good clothing. With the dominion which modern invention has given us over the bounties of nature, it is not going too far to prophesy the ultimate dawn of an era when all the peoples of the world will be well dressed and provided with sufficient food and means to change their "skins" from time to time.

Should we abolish fashion if we could? The alternative to fashion is the uniform, against which humanity eventually tends to rebel. Man has risen from the animal world by his faculty of reason and invention, and has differentiated his clothes from man to man, and from generation to generation. If there is to be a new goal for hu- manity, the uniform man or robot, then by all means do away with fashion, for it is the enemy of the stereotyped individual, the mass- produced mind and the unthinking human product of the propa- ganda machine. But since the world progresses by the progress of its individuals, as well as by its masses, there is reason for optimism in believing that fashion, which is the product of individual taste, exercised without compulsion, will continue to exist as it has in the past as a constructive force in the world of the future.

The present fad of dieting, at once so healthful and so harmful, is part of fashion's method of making its votaries uncomfortable in order to attain superiority. The woman of today often tries to fit her body to her clothes rather than her clothes to her body. Thus the wide posterior and pelvis necessary for bearing children, the buxom breasts necessary for feeding them, and the extra layer of subcutane- ous tissue which nature has provided women for extra protection are sneered at and in older women are referred to contemptuously as "middle-aged spread."

It has been shown by recent studies of Dr. Bergler in New York that many of the male dress designers hate women, and take a special pleasure in making fools of them, knowing that the position of these women in their own circles will be threatened if they do not follow the mode, no matter how ridiculous. A couple of fashionable hat designers who led the mode in hats in New York City were heard a few years ago giving vent to bursts of shrill derisive laughter as they decided to introduce women's hats trimmed with bunches of carrots, turnips, radishes and other vegetables. They did, and for one silly season, they were all the rage!

re the women really "silly" to adopt such monstrosities and abnormalities in clothes under the guise of fashion? By following fashion a woman can proclaim and maintain her social position, her rank and her sexual attractiveness to her husband (and others), and if unmarried, to her admirers. It also enables her to win the approval and admiration of her women friends, for whom she often dresses even more than for the men. Is she to give all this up simply because a fashionable dress designer has designed an idiotic new mode which has somehow "caught on?" Is she going to continue to wear her dull old clothes which are now demode, and make herself conspicuous and old-fashioned to her husband and her friends by refusing to fol- low the new fashion? Perish the thought! She is a creature of com- mon sense and knows her values. She would dress in flags, balloons and bath mats if fashion so decreed, rather than give up the solid foundations on which her home, her husband and her position in society rests.