A man’s necktie and suit grooming encoded class standing in 1950s New York

Evidence

In the late 1950s in New York City, for example, one might have been able to make some assessment of a strange male other’s class standing on the basis of such clues as the following: I. Upper-Middle and Upper Class: well-groomed, clean, latest style clothes (especially suits and ties), subdued colored clothes which are neatly pressed, of good quality, not worn and are of matching colors (using as criteria the present men’s fashion advertisements). II. Lower-Middle Class: less well-groomed, clean, wearing suits and ties but of out-dated style, colors not so subdued, clothes showing some wear, fair to poor quality, less well pressed, articles of “clashing” colors. III. Working Class: not so well-groomed, clean wash trousers, no suit coat (a waist jacket usually), no ties, “clashing” colors. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 475

Categorization

• SEED: A concrete period taxonomy (suit cut, tie, grooming coding class) could anchor an essay on how wearable signals of class have collapsed or migrated since the 1950s.