English setter better without clothing decoration (9)
I believe the answer is:
epaulette
'decoration' is the definition.
(epaulette is a kind of decoration)
'english setter better without clothing' is the wordplay.
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'setter' becomes 'paul' (Paul is a Guardian crossword setter).
'without clothing' means to look at the middle letters (the two letters which clothe the rest are removed).
The middle letters of 'better' are 'ette'.
'e'+'paul'+'ette'='EPAULETTE'
(Other definitions for epaulette that I've seen before include "badge of rank" , "piece of uniform" , "Military shoulderpiece" , "coat ornament" , "Military decoration" .)