attire vs clothing

attire and clothing both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
attire	Yes	No	Yes	No
clothing	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, clothing is a hypernym of attire; that is, clothing is a word with a broader meaning than attire:

Other hypernyms of attire include article of clothing, habiliment, vesture, wear, wearable.

attire (noun)	clothing (noun)
clothing of a distinctive style or for a particular occasion	a covering designed to be worn on a person's body

attire (verb)	clothing (verb)
put on special clothes to appear particularly appealing and attractive