In my world, there are anthromorphic animal people, similar to the ones in Skyrim. There are many types, so I will just call them all this. Due to them having fur, most specifically the cat people and dog people, I was wondering how I can have them wear clothing like humans, and if the clothing can help the users in any way.
Note: This is just for clothing, armor does not count since it would have a use.
Do you want to get goo all over your fur? Is the mud hard to comb out? Do you really HATE taking baths, and the hours trying to get your fur back the way you like? Clothes cover up to protect. Do you work in a hospital? Are you afraid of strangers coughing all over you? Wear PPE. Fireman? You better have the gear.
Do you like it? It cost a fortune, but you really do have to set yourself apart from the commoners. I heard the deer people don't even WEAR clothes. Poor, pathetic losers. Do you think a deerskin vest would look good? Fur is murder, but it's SO trendy!
Those French cats wear short skirts and berets. You can always tell the African tigers from the Indian ones by the sarongs. It's hound, not dog, any proper British hound wears a vest and carries a pocket watch. What, are we German DOGS to be running around in leather like some kind of werewolf?
Dying your fur is complicated and messy, so if you want to show your colors, or team spirit, and still be able to go to work in Monday, it's easier to put a shirt or a robe on.
The prophet said to wear robes, and whatever the prophet says, goes. Civilized people wear clothes, and just because your ancestors didn't, does that make it right?
Dogs are mangey beasts with no clothes. Just because there's a resemblance, doesn't make me a DOG. Humans wear clothes, monkeys don't. Wearing clothes sets you apart from the beasts.
A police officer is recognizable because of how he dresses. A preacher wears vestments. A doctor without a coat gets no respect.
I CAN'T STAND the males staring at my eight nipples all day! You'd swear they never saw a female before. The boss runs around waving THAT THING in everyone's face, and we're not supposed to complain? He rubs up on my ass, that perv, and there's nothing between me and him. THAT'S IT! I'm buying a dress.
Fur can cover up one's natural shape, so a tight-fitting body suit accentuates your muscular thighs and is slimming around the waist. Perhaps some mystery around genitalia is alluring. Or maybe puffy fur is sexy, and a faux fur coat makes you look REALLY hot. Human clothes could be a fetish, or a female wearing the skin of a prey animal might excite some guys.
The animal people started out as humans and in human society, branching off by genetic engineering. They never got rid of the social pressure to wear clothing. If humans are still around, those baselines might impose their demand for clothing on them even.
How do we tell others at a glance who we are? Clothing is an easy way to show who we are or which social group we belong to. How to identify the Police? Their Uniform of course! How to know they are military? Uniform! How to spot the punk or goth or anime fan? Their choice of clothes is telling!
The best reason to wear some clothes is pockets. Pockets are needed to carry around all the amenities of society and their demands, such as money and ID. The pockets might be a piece of clothing on their own, or they might be part of the clothing.
Laws demand to cover up some areas of the body in public. They might be ancient and predate the advent of animal people.
Same reasons we humans wear makeup, dye our hair, and also wear types of clothes. Not to mention whiten our teeth as well as coloring other parts of our bodies (like ancient Egyptians dying eyes, ancient Japanese dying teeth black, etc.).
Look, I am trying to say it's fashion. Different fashions exist for different cultures with different values. Clothes can display status, show off wealth, and increase attractiveness. All good reasons to be fashionable when not strictly needed.
It is cold.
Best reason for clothes I can think of.
Bad fur.
I have some friends who must wear clothes to hide their bodies from the world. It is how it is. They have great personalities. So too your dog people. Some are mangy or have compulsive fur licking habits. These wear clothes to avoid having people gawk at them when out and about.
Why do humans wear clothes in most cultures, even when there is no practical reason for it?
In many parts of the world it’s warm enough – at least some time of the year – that going naked would be possible or even advantageous.
But in most locations and cultures it’s frowned upon or even outlawed.
So I don’t think you need any rational reason at all for clothing.
The animals have initially developed a sense of prudery which have them cover themselves and their secondary sexual features, and later, like in humans, the clothing itself has become a way of calling for attention or giving non verbal communication.
Imagine what a scented attire could do for a canine person, for example, or what a multispectral gown could do for a bee person, in non verbal communication with con-specifics.
Sweaty Smelly Hum-Animals
Everyone knows dogs and cats don't sweat. But Humans do. And horses do.
Extra: Some horses already wear clothes. The owners shave their horses when it is hot:
Then on cold days they use a horse blanket
Some people only shave the part that goes under the blanket.
Hum-Animal people sweat too. Even the cat and dog people. They are closer to pure humans in this regard.
Civilised hum-animals do not like the smelly sweaty smell that smells sweaty, any more than humans enjoy the body odour of other humans.
The cat and dog people bath frequently. But with their long hair it takes days to dry off. Instead they trim their coats on their body to be short and easier to clean, and cover it up with clothes to keep warm.
Clothing has alot of purpose besides just covering one's skin. After all, in many places it is now acceptable for men to be shirtless, and in some for women to be shirtless, and yet the vast majority still wear their shirts all the time.
Clothes help protect us from minor injuries like scratches and scrapes, as well as from the heat or the cold. It's true that these animal people would likely have fur (or at least many of them, idk if you're including reptiles or furless mammals), but even those with fur such as dogs still have places which can be rather sensitive such as the lower belly, the genitals, and the paws. Gloves/shoes and shorts would be very protective clothing.
Clothes are also an excellent way to wear your belongings which otherwise would have to be carried. Your wallet, a favorite pen, an ID, a handy tool, a weapon, and more can be carried in pockets or bags, built-in or attachable (or wearable as a separate piece, like a purse). Clothing is sometimes used to include jewelry as well, such as necklaces.
Lastly, clothes can be a great way to really trim out your look. Letting your hair grow wild can be an attractive option to some, but some people keep themselves trimmed up, and some like to wear specific clothes simply for how it changes their look. Animal people, to me, would essentially behave like people but look like animals; therefore, they would care very much about how they appear to others. If the right gloves could give you a look of superiority or finesse, I can't imagine some of them not wanting to wear them.
(Edited "most" to "many" in the first paragraph for better accuracy)
Over time, some parts of their bodies have lost some of the fur coatings that they otherwise would have had, similar to how hominids had lost theirs, though maybe not to the same extent. As a result, the imperfect coverage requires some clothing to maintain climate protection.
These kinds of adaptations can happen simply because of advantages due to comforts of civilization, posture changes, or even just chafing from walking upright. Regardless of how it happened, now if they don't wear clothing, they tend to feel rather drafty in public, and do show some skin here and there, but still have a good deal of residual fur.
