Evolution of the Dragon, by G. Elliot Smith, , at sacred-
texts.com The cowry and its surrogates were supposed to be
potent to confer fertility on maidens; and it became the
practice for growing girls to wear a girdle on which to suspend
the shells as near as possible to the organ their magic was
supposed to stimulate. Among many peoples 2 this girdle was
discarded as soon as the girls reached maturity. This practice
probably represents the beginning of the history of clothing;
but it had other far-reaching effects in the domain of belief.
It has often been claimed that the feeling of modesty was not
the reason for the invention of clothing, but that the clothes
begat modesty. 3 This doctrine contains a certain element of
truth, but is by no means the whole explanation. For true
modesty is displayed by people who have never worn clothes.
Before mankind could appreciate the psychological fact that the
wearing of clothing might add to an individual's allurement and
enhance her sexual attractiveness, some other c