A feature of all modern human societies is the wearing of clothing, a category encompassing a wide variety of materials that cover the body.

The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the elements. Clothes also enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hiking and cooking, by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Clothes also provide a hygienic barrier, keeping toxins away from the body and limiting the transmission of germs.

Clothing performs important social and cultural functions. A uniform, for example, may identify civil authority figures, such as police and army personnel, or it may identify team or group or even political affiliations. In most societies, norms about clothing reflect standards of modesty, religious practices and social status. Clothing may also function as a form of adornment and an expression of personal taste or style.

Throughout history, many materials have been used for clothes. Materials have ranged from leather and furs to weaved and woven materials, to elaborate and exotic natural and synthetic fabrics.

Articles carried rather than worn (such as purses, canes, and umbrellas) are normally considered fashion accessories rather than clothing, but hats and small dress sweaters can be called either clothing or accessories. Jewelry and eyeglasses are usually considered as accessories , even though in common speech these particular items are described as being worn rather than carried.

Clothing likely originated in the neolithic age. But some recent scientific research estimates that humans have been wearing clothing for as long as 650,000 years.