This paper explains that, in the sixteenth century, clothes were a rigid and unambiguous indication of class; today, some
people still relate clothing and class in this old-fashioned manner but many other people dress to try to subvert the class
boundaries. The author points out that Elizabeth I introduced the
Sumptuary Laws, which were highly specific and restrictive in the colors, fabrics and styles people could wear according to their status. The paper relates that designer clothes are the sumptuary laws of today because of their extortionate prices, but copies of these clothes make them available to lower classes thus reducing their value as a class designator.