PTE Reading MC Single Answer: Clothing expresses who you are in symbolic form that is also functional. To say it is “…

Clothing expresses who you are in symbolic form that is also functional. To say it is “symbolic” is to say that it presents to the world a visual image of the quality of your inner being, and one possible quality might be your desire to be part of a social group or to identify with a cultural ideal you admire and desire to adopt for yourself. To say it is “functional” means that it has a practical purpose or use in relation to the world in which you live. When I go to my office to work as a university administrator, I have a choice between dressing formally – suit, tie, and dress shoes – or informally, no tie, sweater instead of a suit, and casual shoes. I opt for the latter style more often than not because I favor comfort over formality, and I think a lot of rules regarding the formality of dress in work situations are not justifiable. They belong to an older, more traditional world, and I tend to be someone who challenges and changes old rules. My identity is that of someone who takes issue with rules rather than following them blindly.