Pragmatically, no social action or act of ornamentation seems necessary. But in reality it is. We have a choice...we can fit in...or stand out...or try to create our own norms (very difficult).

tomorrow i might try to go to work naked... i mean im going as myself aren't I?... why should I be ashamed of my body...why do I need clothes on those muggy cloudy summer days? I can picture myself now...in all my glory...opening my boss's office door to say ..."HIYYAAAA PETE".

Pragmatically we are animals who are always ashamed of what we do when it doesnt fit the norm of our immediate cultural society.

These are all SOCIAL COSTS that have existed in society since man first organized into groups...it also visible in many social animals. many animals in the animal kingdom look for conformity...because conformity entails survival (which is the reason you cannot tell the difference between two Zebra's in a police line-up)

I was reading in a scientific journal once (i am unable to locate it)... that humans shave themselves because of evolution...because of divergeant evolution we wish to distance ourselves from primates (i know it is a wild theory)

but consider this:
Homosapiens have lost much of the hair on their body over the course of 3 million years because of the changes in our habitats and the invention of clothes.

Another physical cost is that of sexual selection
be prepared to be rejected and take it in stride.

whether you shave or not is a personal choice, and i am against the teasing...just tease back or ignore it...again your choice.

cheers