Some clothing
indicates the modesty of the wearer. For example, many
Muslim women wear a head or body covering (hijab, bourqa
or burka, chador, abaya) that proclaims their status as
respectable women. Other clothing may indicate flirtatious
intent. For example, a Western woman might wear extreme
stiletto heels, close-fitting and body-revealing black or
red clothing, exaggerated make-up, flashy jewelry and
perfume to show sexual availability. What constitutes
modesty and allurement varies radically from culture to
culture, within different contexts in the same culture,
and over time as different fashions rise and fall.
Moreover, a person may choose to display a mixed message.
For example, a Saudi Arabian woman may wear an abaya to
proclaim her respectability, but choose an abaya of
luxurious material cut close to the body and then
accessorize with high heels and a fashionable purse. All
the details proclaim sexual desirability, despite the
ostensible message of respectability.
Because clothing and adornment have such frequent links
with sexual display, humans may develop clothing fetishes.
They may strongly prefer to have sexual relations with
other humans wearing clothing and accessories they
consider arousing or sexy. In Western culture, such
fetishes may include extremely high heels, lace, leather,
or military clothing. Other cultures have different
fetishes. For many centuries, Chinese men desired women
with bound feet (see footbinding). The men of Heian Japan
lusted after women with floor-sweeping hair and layers of
silk robes. Fetishes vary as much as fashion. Sometimes
the clothing itself becomes the object of fetish, such as
in case with used girl panties in Japan.