Preindustrial urbanites announced identity through mandatory dress codes.

Evidence

To a degree unknown to moderns, the resident of the preindustrial city literally “donned” his identity. The Roman citizen, for example, expressed the fact of his citizenship by wearing, as decreed by law, the white toga (Tanzer, 1939:9). A “gentleman” in the Colonial cities of America was known by his “perriwig” (Miller, 1966:111). In Lhasa, Bokhara, and urban Korea he was known by his long sleeves, extending below the fingers (Sjoberg, 1960: 185). — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 236

Categorization

• XREF: Directly contrasts with modern civil inattention and the anonymous observer the reader tracks through Simmel/Lofland/Cole.