What would we do without clothing? Besides attract a lot of attention, we'd probably spend at least part of the year shivering. Clothing is our outer layer that we can add to or remove as weather and fashion dictate.

How Does It Work?

Unless you’ve been living in a nudist colony all your life, you know that clothing refers to articles of dress or wearing apparel made from cloth and other pliable materials. Clothing includes shirts, blouses, dresses, socks, sweaters, jackets, under garments, and other apparel that serve both practical and aesthetic functions. Natural (cotton, silk) and man-made (polyester) materials are woven into fabric, then cut and sewn together into articles of clothing.

What Can Go Wrong?

Clothing isn't made to last forever. However, the most common clothing problem that needs fixing is stains, a discoloration caused by food and drink, powders, oils, or dyes. Buttons occasionally need to be replaced. Infrequently, seams (joints between cloth components) fail and tears (within the fabric of cloth components) happen. Additionally, zippers can stick or break. Fortunately, many of these problems can be solved easily and the article of clothing can be returned to service at minimal cost.

Fix-It Tip

Here are some practical tips on dealing with stains:

• Treat stains immediately. Soak any washable garment with a stain in cold water before laundering or applying a stain remover. Some stains, such as blood, coffee, and wine, can set in warm water, making them more difficult to remove.
• Sponge a stain, don't rub it. Rubbing only spreads the stain and may damage the fabric.
• Read and follow clothing-label care directions before applying stain treatments. If it says no bleach, don't even use color-safe bleach on it.
• Test your stain solution on an inconspicuous area of the fabric.
• Check that a stain is completely gone before drying the garment because heat can make stains permanent.