Dress reliably signals identity only in socially rigid locales

Evidence

The fact of the matter is, however, that the reliability of the costume (or of any of its parts) as an identity indicator was (and continues to be) highly variable. In some conservative cities of the American Midwest or South, it might have been a fairly good one. In the more faddish climates of the east and west coasts, however, it discriminated rather poorly. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 453

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Simmel’s blasé attitude and the reader’s Lofland project: in faddish urban milieus, appearance stops being a trustworthy stranger-sorting cue, leaving the observer more unmoored. — connects to: Masking and disguise in postmodern art mirror spatial fragmentation and anonymity. — David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity: An…, 2001; Identity salience is dynamic and context-responsive while identification is stable — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 863; Seemingly superficial fashions fundamentally organize identity and social life — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 18
• ADDENDUM: Complicates ‘Complaints About Immodesty’ — implies the moral panic over dress was most justified (or at most accurate) only in conservative regions, not the faddish coasts where the panics centered.