We say a lot of things with the benefit of hindsight :) You suggest we, "...see exactly what kinds of dress we freed ourselves from in order to become what we are now."

I'm not sure about this notion of freeing ourselves. I'll give an example.

In the short period of history through which we live, with its media images of the recent past readily available, we're given to looking at them and reflecting - "did we really look that silly?" when looking at fashions of, say, the 1970's (you have to be of a certain age to appreciate this :) ) As fashions change, we always seem to see ourselves as ridiculous, "back then."

Yes, we can laugh at it but aren't we're still on the same treadmill; the fashions still change, carrying us along, driven by the forces of economics and human desires?

So, do we ever free ourselves from the past fashions and do we ever "become" what we are now - or are we trapped in a hamster wheel of apparent change, driven by the forces of economics and human nature?