On Tue, Jun 9, 2015 at 10:26 AM, Brad Rogers <brad@fineby.me.uk> wrote:
On Tue, 09 Jun 2015 07:23:09 -0700
"Kelly St. Clair" <kellys@efn.org> wrote:

Hello Kelly,

>Yup.  It's often framed, as with school uniforms these days, as "we
>must prevent these poor dears from spending beyond their means in an
>attempt to keep up with/outdo their peers", but in practice...

Even with a uniform, besides what you go on to say, it's easy to tell,
after a while, whose family has money and whose doesn't:  The uniform of
the less well off starts looking shabby, or too small, or both.


I'm not sure how well it maps to real life (at least in the current modern day). But I'm also put in mind of things I've read or seen on screen (most recently in the movie "Kingsman: The Secret Service") about exclusive tailors. E.g. you not only need the "right" cloth and the "right" pattern, but you need to have it made by precisely the "right" firm. The presumption is - of course - that said firm only creates clothing for the "right" people, thus making the fact that you were "allowed" to purchase such attire proof of your "rightness."  

--
Richard Aiken

"Never insult anyone by accident."  Robert A. Heinlein
"A word to the wise ain't necessary -- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." - Bill Cosby
"We know a little about a lot of things; just enough to make us dangerous." Dean Winchester