If this sort of thing comes up again, in this context or another, do some research on sumptuary laws.
You can read Wikipedia's article on sumptuary law here. The sumptuary laws were most noticeable in regard to clothing. I couldn't necessarily see if you were eating, drinking or consuming luxury goods--but i could easily see if you were wearing clothing which were prohibited to your class. In the end, authorities in Europe found it impossible to enforce sumptuary law as the middle class became more affluent and more socially powerful. But the idea was that certain types of clothing were restricted to the nobility or the monarchy, and uniform codes of dress were enforced on certain trades. The use of certain specific types of dress by members of trades continues to this day, although not as widely-spread as it once was. The tall, conical hat which we associate with witches was at one time the type of hat worn by doctors, and it became associated with witches because so many were lonely old women who dispensed herbal medicines, and who were mocked as they were executed by being made to wear the hat.
This page gives information on sumptuary law as practiced in England in the reign of Elizabeth I. Some habits persist . . .
In this painting from 1874, the women who are taking their dinner outside the factory were they are employed all wear a blue skirt, and a "smock," which is combination of a shirtwaist and an apron. Even as recently as that time, employees were often expected to meet an employers dress code, and one's profession could be identified by a casual passer-by in the street. Carpenters, for example, wore square caps with no brim, and thereby proclaimed their profession to the world as they went out into public. This can be seen in this image of "The Walrus and the Carpenter" by Lewis Carrol:
This extended to military uniforms, eventually, which were not common before the late 16th century. In the United States, for example, the facings (the collar, lapels and cuffs of a dress uniform coat, as well as the stripe on the trouser leg) declared the branch of service of the wearer--light blue for infantry, red for the artillery and yellow for the cavalry.
Your interest here is relevant to sumptuary laws and customs because you specify the early 16th century, when governments still attempted to enforce sumptuary law, and when one's profession was still easily identified by the clothing one wore. Although sumptuary law eventually proved a failure, the idea that one could be identified, either as regards one's social class or one's profession, endured for long afterward. Just as three brass balls proclaimed a pawnshop, or a red and white striped pole proclaimed a barbershop to the illiterate, the garb one wore would also tell anyone in a society who and what one was.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace