Formby,

Rank is merely a precursor to class before the latter gets codified. People resent class because they often make it personal rather than keep it generic. I do not suggest that only a certain class wears a suit nor would I ever suggest that merely donning such gay apparel would one change their class. At most, one would aspire to be taken for a certain class. Tailored clothes were developed as a back and forth between middle and upper classes. If they had been developed by the remaining 85% in Britain, they would have looked different.

I think a lot of choices tell people a lot about the wearer, accessories, fabrics, colors, fit, quality, upkeep, lack of upkeep. I also think that those distinctions arent always what people think. For instance, I rather think upper class people dont always purchase the best.


You want to know what modern rank is vs class? American Politicos wear the most boiled down, generic suits, shirts and ties to avoid offending to the absolute common denominator.

The suit remains a social garment and a garment of status beyond that which is earned by the wearer. It is not a garment that men wear simply to denote that they are higher in rank in a given institution. It is also a demonstration of their refinement and personal worth both as a result of personal growth and in the hereditary sense, and also in the sense of aspiring to an image of whatever totems and behaviors form an intelligentsia. If that's offensive as a goal, then the suit is offensive.

There's an element of truth in that fxh, but then I thought of the Pre-Raphaelites and you can't get any more closer to immaculate beauty in their canvases.