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Literary notes about Apparel (AI summary)

In literature, the term "apparel" functions not only as a descriptor of clothing but also as a symbol of identity, status, and transformation. In some narratives, it highlights opulence or refinement—for instance, characters don the richest or finest apparel to signify their elevated position ([1], [2], [3])—while in other contexts it contrasts wealth with poverty or modesty, as when plain or mean apparel underscores humility or social disadvantage ([4], [5]). Additionally, apparel is sometimes instrumental to themes of change and disguise, as characters swap garments to mirror inner transformation or conceal their true selves ([6], [7], [8]). Thus, across a range of literary works from classical epics to modern novels, "apparel" is imbued with layered meanings that go far beyond mere physical coverings ([9], [10], [11]).
  1. So each of them clad himself in the richest of his apparel, and they went forth, followed by three memlooks, and repaired to the garden.
    — from The Thousand and One Nights, Vol. I.
  2. Elated at the prospect of immediate liberty, she decked herself and little Emmy in their best apparel, and accompanied him with a joyful heart.
    — from Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northup
  3. 17 it is said that, at the transfiguration of our Lord, Vestimenta ejus facta sunt alba sicut lux, his apparel was made white like the light.
    — from Gargantua and Pantagruel by François Rabelais
  4. For if there shall come into your assembly a man having a golden ring, in fine apparel; and there shall come in also a poor man in mean attire: 2:3.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  5. The peasants are poorly lodged, meagre in their looks, mean in their apparel, and remarkably dirty.
    — from The Expedition of Humphry Clinker by T. Smollett
  6. But doth he know that I am in this forest, and in man's apparel?
    — from The Complete Works of William Shakespeare by William Shakespeare
  7. And she arose and went her way: and putting off the apparel which she had taken, put on the garments of her widowhood.
    — from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete
  8. My apparel having been wet, the menials at the command of the king gave me other clothes.
    — from The Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa, Volume 1
  9. "The apparel oft proclaims the man;" the voice always does—it is one of the greatest revealers of character.
    — from The Art of Public Speaking by Dale Carnegie and J. Berg Esenwein
  10. when the weather is a litte warm this robe is thrown aside and the leather truss or breech-clout constitutes the whole of their apparel.
    — from The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 by William Clark and Meriwether Lewis
  11. Tea at the Beehive apparently involved a complete change of apparel.
    — from A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

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