Clothes is the general word for the things that you wear such as shirts, dresses, trousers, etc. Wear is used to describe the clothes that are suitable for a particular activity. You need to mention the activity:
I tell people that France is in the north of Spain.
In the north of means in the place you are talking about but in the north part of it. North of means outside the place you are talking about in the direction of north.
I live in the north of England, near the border with Scotland.
I don’t live in Southport. I live 60 kilometres north of Southport in a town called Preston.
These three sound the same, but they are different. Some time talks about a long period of time. Sometime talks about an unknown period or an unspecified period of time. Sometimes talks about how often something happens.
For some time now I have been trying to buy a new house.