Wait, I'm not even sure if this is on.

Hello? Hello.

Blink if you can hear me.

Ah, excellent.

Well, all right then, let's begin.

This is deeply human.

I'm your host, Dessa.

And today I have donned the complete podcaster's dress uniform.

The petticoat, the bandalier, the two and a half-cornered hat,

the broadsword, the garter belt, the whole nine yards.

Well, ten, if you count the train.

The inquiry at hand, why do we care so much about what other people wear?

Now, you might be thinking, I don't care what other people wear. But imagine for a moment

that your sister shows up in a long white dress to somebody else's wedding or to your wedding.

Or that your first night with your new roommate reveals that he sleeps in a softball uniform.

Or, let's say I start telling the story of a friend who showed up to divorce court in fish

nets, a basketball jersey, and a glow stick necklace.

Wouldn't you lean in just a little to find out what is going on with these people?

If I talk to a lot of my colleagues, they'll say, well, I know nothing about fashion.

You know, it's one of the first things that they'll say to establish that they're not wasting their time on stuff that's trivial or insignificant.

I don't agree with that at all.

That is Professor Richard Thompson Ford.

...