This class introduces the student to the multiple meanings of dress and body adornment in cultures throughout the world. A comparative approach is taken to the many forms, functions and meanings of dress in diverse cultural contexts; it as examined as a reflection of society, culture, and the environment, and as a form of aesthetic and spiritual expression. “Non-Western” dress is the primary concern, but fashionable Western forms of the present and past are discussed for comparative purposes, and folk dress and ethnic traditions within Western culture are examined in detail. The impact of cultural exchange on world costume is central to all discussion.