Globalized dress styles erase reliable costume-based identity signals in cities

Evidence

In addition, in their search for new ideas, fashion designers have borrowed freely from the dress styles of many countries. Thus, the New Delhi housewife may wear a sleeveless shift, while the Omaha housewife may go to a cocktail party in a sari. The spread of affluence, particularly in the West, makes it possible for large numbers of persons to choose among the abundant variety of clothing styles available. And the absence of legal support for dress regulations allows them to do so freely. — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 448

Categorization

• XREF: Directly connects to the reader’s prior article on ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ — cross-cultural dress moral panics versus the modern absence of dress regulation. — connects to: Seemingly superficial fashions fundamentally organize identity and social life — W. David Marx, Status and Culture: How Our Desire for…, 18
• ADDENDUM: Supports the immodesty article’s conclusion: modern cities lack legal dress codes, which is precisely the condition that lets costume stop functioning as status/identity signal.