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one ’ s wealth and newfound status , in order to preserve their current station or to go beyond it . The choice of clothing was complicated by a multitude of factors , and “ numerous sartorial requirements had to be fulfilled ; not just the kinds of textiles and embellishments worn , but also whether the clothing was appropriate to the context ” ( Currie , Ch . 4 ). Fashion became bogged down in minute details . Just like the stripes , bars , and insignias that decorate army uniforms and that designate military rank , fashion during the Renaissance was used to denote status within a hierarchy . Just as a soldier would be able to properly recognize and address a general based on his uniform , the citizens of the Renaissance relied on fashion to correctly identify one another . For the nobility whose power was being challenged by the rising merchant class , “ the promotion of new families offered more opportunities to contest honor and consequently increased the need to define and demonstrate it more clearly ” ( Currie , Introduction ).
Feeling threatened , the nobility sought clear rules . Sumptuary laws were an effort by those at the top of society to minimize the blurring of the social lines and to define social groups through fashion in order to maintain the social order . The laws had to be very precise and allowances varied depending on one ’ s social level . They were necessarily detailed in order to classify the subtle differences that emerged within the spectrum of society , from the lowest to the highest . The nobility were quick to respond to sumptuary laws which were too permissive , or failed to discriminate between social levels to their satisfaction . The social mobility of the time made the nobility anxious to hold onto their power , as citizens with newly acquired wealth began to affect society and threaten their own positions .
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