Don’t be so sure about how well men understand what prostitutes wear while working. Clearly, prostitutes dress however they dress to signal availability, but some men are clueless. One time, when I was in my 20s and very naive, I was walking along the street to get to the grocery store. I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, no makeup, and my hair was its usual random self.
A car stopped next to me; I figured the guy wanted directions or something. To my surprise he said, “I’ll give you twenty dollars.” I had no idea what was going on. Why was this strange man offering me money? My first impulse was to say, “OK, hand it over,” but I figured nothing good was going to come of this encounter so I just turned and walked away. It was only years later that I realized he was trying to solicit me for prostitution.
It turns out the particular stretch of road was known (not by me) for having hitchhiking prostitutes on it. I later remembered that a boyfriend had had a related problem on the same road: he picked up what he thought was a hitchhiker, only to discover that she was a prostitute trying to get work.
In any case, prostitutes dress to express availability for paid sex. Nobody, not prostitutes, not anyone else, dresses to get raped.