Crossword Genius

Earl wears clothes for men (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

dudes

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'men' is the definition.
(dude is a kind of man)

'earl wears clothes' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'earl' could be 'e' and 'e' is present in the answer.
'clothes' could be 'duds' (duds is a kind of clothes) and 'duds' is located in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'for' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for dudes that I've seen before include "American dandies or city dwellers" , "American blokes" , "Civilians, to a cowboy" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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