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In?rather?more?recent?times,?traditional?class?structures?have?become?blurred?and?critics?like?
 G.?Field?and?G.?McCracken63?have?concluded?fashion?is?now?characterised?by?a?much?more?
 diffused?structure?without?clear?overall?leaders?(see?also?H.?Brumer,?D.?Crane64).65??In?a?
 much?more?complex?society,?it?has?been?noted?for?example?that?upwardly?mobile?groups?
 tend?to?adopt?the?new?status?markers?to?differentiate?themselves?from?the?groups?
 subordinate?to?themselves?(i.e.?the?groups?from?which?they?emerged)?while?the?very?
 highest?status?groups?can?be?indifferent?to?the?latest?fashions?and?thus?are?neither?initiators?
 nor?followers?of?fashion.?66???Critics?have?also?noted?that?fashion?today?can?move?in?a?
 number?of?different?directions:?while?artists?or?designers?may?still?inspire?others?to?adopt?a?
 new?fashion,?inspiration?can?just?as?easily?come?from?certain?adolescent?subcultures?or?
 from?lower?socio?economic?groupings.?67?Many?contemporary?theorists?have?noted?how?
 adolescents?for?example???even?those?from?poorer?backgrounds???may?be?among?the?
                                             
63G.?Field,?The?Status?Float?Phenomenon:?The?Upward?Diffusion?of?Innovation,?Business?Horizons,?Elsevier,?vol.??
 ???????13(4),?1970,?pp.?45?52.?
 ???G.?McCracken,?The?Trickle?Down?Theory?Rehabilitated?in:??Solomon,?M.?(ed),?The?Psychology?of?Fashion,??
 ???????Lexington?Books,?Lexington,?MA,?USA,?1985,?pp?39?54.??
 64??H.?Blumer,?Fashion:??From?Class?Differentiation?to?Collective?Selection,?The?Sociological?Quarterly,?Vol?49,??
 ?????????Issue?4,?Fall?2008,?pp.?275???291.?
 ????D.?Crane,?Fashion?and?Its?Social?Agendas:??Class,?Gender?and?Identity?in?Clothing,?University?of?Chicago?Press,??
 ????????Chicago,?IL,?USA,?2000.?
 ????D.?Crane,?Diffusion?Models?and?Fashion:?A?Reassessment,?Annals?of?the?American?Academy?of?Political?and??
 ?????????Social?Science,?Vol?566,?No.?1,?1999,?pp.?13?24.?
 65?It?should?also?be?pointed?out?that?the?greater?consistency?of?media?throughout?the?world?is?creating?a?more?
 homogenised?world?with?regard?to?fashion.???One?could?think?that?this?observation?would?counter?the?
 statement?that?there?is?more?diffused?structure,?but?to?date?its?impact?has?been?mixed.??While?clothing?such?as?
 suits?and?ties?for?men?and?jeans?have?become?prevalent?throughout?most?of?the?world,?there?are?many?
 examples?of?some?populations?becoming?more?strongly?attached?to?their?local?customs?and?dress?styles?for?
 example?recently?there?have?been?increases?in?the?Muslim?women?wearing?the?hijab?or?burka.??In?part?this?has?
 been?a?reaction?to?the?incursion?of?western?culture?being?rejected?by?Muslim?populations.??
 66??It?is?suggested?by?Barnard?(M.?Barnard,?Fashion?as?Communication,?Routledge,?London,?1996,?p.?10.)?that?
 some?extremely?upscale?groups?(His?example?is?the?English?Royal?family.)?who?maintain?a?very?consistent?look?
 regardless?of?the?fashion?of?the?day.??These?he?labels?as??anti?fashion.???In?this?example,?he?notes?that?Prince?
 Charles,?his?father?and?his?children?all?dress?in?similar?styles.??It?is?also?interesting?to?note?that?much?of?the?
 Royal?families?furniture?is?much?the?same?as?that?produced?in?the?late?C18th.??There?could?be?a?number?of?
 reasons?for?this.??It?could?represent?an?evolution?of?the?fashion?process?from?a?top?down?diffusion?to?a?mixed?
 source?diffusion?or?it?could?simply?mean?that?these?few?examples?have?refused?to?participate?in?the?fashion?
 system.??During?the?time?of?this?thesis,?the?late?C18th?the?process?was?at?the?early?stages?of?the?change?of?this?
 diffusion?from?a?top?down?system.?
 67?G.?McCracken,?The?Fashion?System?in?L.?Welters?and?A.?Lillethun?(eds)?The?Fashion?Reader,?Berg,?Oxford,?????
 ?????2007,?pp.?90?92.?
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strongest?and?earliest?followers?of?the?latest?luxury?fashion.68??This?process?of?diffusion?is?
 not?top?down?but?has?been?labelled??trickle?across??by?C.?King69?and?later?described?a?
 ?status?float?phenomenon??by?G.?Field.70??King?argues?that?now?diffusion?takes?place?within?
 social?groups?as?well?as?across?different?groups?and?it?also?moves?in?all?directions???from?top?
 down?to?bottom?up?and?from?one?group?to?another?of?equal?status.71???
 ?
 C.?King?also?talks?of?different?social?groups?having?their?own?opinion?leaders?or?
 communication?innovators.72??
 ?
 D.?Crane?argues?that?the?process?of?diffusion?probably?evolved?over?time;?from?the?very?
 centralized?form?that?was?present?in?the?C19th?(for?example)?to?the?present?day.??She?goes?
 on?to?suggest?that?one?major?shift?occurred?in?the?1960?s.???
 ?
 ?Until?the?1960?s,?fashion?diffusion?followed?the?top?down?model?and?was?highly?centralized.??From?
 the?middle?of?the?nineteenth?century,?Paris?was?the?centre?for?women?s?fashion,?while?London?was?the?
 centre?for?men?s?styles.?73?
 ?
                                             
68?D.?Crane,?Diffusion?Models?and?Fashion:?A?Reassessment,?Annals?of?the?American?Academy?of?Political?and??
 ??????Social?Science,?pp.?13?24.?
 ??A.?De?La?Haye?and?C.?Dingwall,?Surfers,?Soulies,?Skinheads,?and?Skaters:?Subcultural?Style?from?the?Forties?to??
 ??????the?Nineties,?Overlook?Press,?Woodstock,?NY,?1996.?
 ??G.?McCracken,?The?Trickle?Down?Theory?Rehabilitated.??In?M.?Solomon?(ed.),?The?Psychology?of?Fashion,?pp.??
 ??????39?54.?
 69?C.?King,?"Fashion?Adoption:?a?Rebuttal?to?the??Trickle?Down?Theory?",?in?G.?Sproles,?(ed),?Perspectives?of??
 ??????Fashion,?Burgess?Publishing?Company,?Minneapolis,?MN,?1963,?pp.31?9.?
 70?G.?Field,?The?Status?Float?Phenomenon:?The?Upward?Diffusion?of?Innovation,?Business?Horizons,?Elsevier,?vol.??
 ??????13(4),?1970,?pp.?45?52.?
 71 Two?examples?of?non?top?down?diffusion?of?fashion?in?clothes?are:?
 1. The?designs?of?many?of?the?modern?trainer?shoes?are?known?to?have?come?from?research?conducted?
 in?the?poor?African?American?areas?of?NYC.???
 2. Trousers?that?sit?low?on?a?person?s?body?sprung?from?gangs?in?LA?who,?upon?leaving?prison,?were?
 forced?to?wear?trousers?that?were?too?large?for?them.??Others?emulated?them,?because?of?the?fact?
 that?ex?prisoners?were?held?in?high?esteem?amongst?other?gang?members?and?to?other?people?in?
 their?socio?economic?group?who?wanted?to?associate?themselves?with?gangs.?It?has?since?spread?to?
 the?middle?class?throughout?the?United?States?as?well?as?in?Europe.?
 72?C.?King,?"Fashion?Adoption:?a?Rebuttal?to?the??Trickle?Down?Theory?",?in?G.?Sproles,?(ed),?Perspectives?of??
 ?????Fashion,?pp.?31?9.?
 73?D.?Crane,?Diffusion?Models?and?Fashion:?A?Reassessment,p.?17.?
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The?cultural?critic,?Walter?Benjamin?also?describes?how?fashion?changed?over?time,?
 comparing?the?Middle?Ages?when?clothing?merely??reinforced?social?hierarchy?74?to?the?
 modern?times?(Walter?Benjamin?was?writing?in?the?1930s)?when?clothing?was,?as?he?
 describes?it,?a??constant?striving?for??novelty.?75???The?other?change?Benjamin?noted?was?the?
 modern?emphasis?on?the?fashion?of?youth76.??
 ?
 However,?one?of?the?earliest?times?suggested?by?D.?Crane?when?the?diffusion?changed?from?
 top?down?to?bottom?up?was?perhaps?just?after?the?French?revolution???a?period?which?
 relates?closely?to?that?at?issue?in?this?thesis.??It?was?during?this?period?that?the?mode?of?dress?
 was?shaped?by?the?
 ?
 ??principals?of?liberty?and?equality,?taking?its?cues?from?the?rural?and?sporting?dress?rather?than?the?
 royals?and?celebrities.?77???
 ?
 In?fact?during?this?period,?people?purposely?dressed?down,?in?order?to?disassociate?
 themselves?from?the?ruling?classes?and?the?royal?family.??D.?Crane?points?out?another?
                                             
74?In?some?cases?this?ranking?was?reinforced?by?laws?that?dictated?that?only?people?of?a?certain?rank?could?
 dress?in?a?particular?way?through?sumptuary?laws?(L.?Welters?and?A.?Lillethun?(eds)?The?Fashion?Reader,?p.?6.)?
 S.?Buck?Morss,?The?Dialectics?of?Seeing,?The?MIT?Press,?London,?1997,?p.?96.??
 75?S.?Buck?Morss,?The?Dialectics?of?Seeing,?p.?96.?
 76?Obviously,?this?does?not?directly?relate?to?the?time?of?this?thesis,?however?it?suggests?that?fashions?did?
 change?over?time?and?that?at?some?point?between?the?two?periods?(the?Middle?Ages?and?the?1930?s)?it?shifted?
 from?being?a?strict?marking?of?social?and?political?position?to?a?youth?obsessed,?constant?striving?for?novelty.??It?
 suggests?that?the?C18th?is?somewhere?between?these?two?extremes,?which?most?observations?support.??
 77?It?is?possible?that?there?is?an?earlier?example?that?this?process?was?changing?before?the?French?Revolution?
 but?still?in?the?C18th.??This?example?of?this?is?the?dress?styles?in?both?France?and?England.??In?both?countries?the?
 example?of?the?frock?coat?stands?out?as?a?time?when?there?was?an?upward?push?from?the?middle?class?toward?
 the?upper?classes.?This?actually?became?an?issue?even?to?Marie?Antoinette,?who?changed?her?policy?to?allow?
 men?to?visit?her?wearing?these?coats?despite?the?fact?that?this?insulted?more?conservative?members?of?the?
 ruling?families?(See?A.?Fraser,?Marie?Antoinette,?The?Journey,?Weidenfield?&?Nicolson,?London,?2001,?pp.?208?
 209.)?The?wearing?of?the?frock?coat?was?symbolic?of?the?new?revolutionary?thinking?and?was?popular?in?the?
 then?new?country?of?the?United?States.???????
 ?
 Note:?this?coat?has?an?interesting?history,?during?the?early?part?of?the?C18th?in?Britain?and?America,?a?frock?was?
 a?loose?men's?coat?for?hunting?or?other?country?pursuits?and?was?derived?from?the?traditional?working?class?
 frock.?Late?in?the?eighteenth?century,?however,?it?changed?into?another?variation?with??a?cutaway?front?
 without?a?waist?seam?.??Later,?in?the?early?C19th?,?this?would?further?evolve?into?the?standard?dress?coat?with?
 horizontally?cutaway?fronts?worn?for?daytime?wear?and?still?later?it?would?become?the?modern?coat?with?tails?
 for?formal?evening?wear.?See?http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frock?accessed?10/11/08.??
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difference?based?on?how?clothing?is?manufactured?which?in?turn?drives?differences?in?how?
 the?products?are?diffused?through?to?the?consumer.??Those?making?clothing?at?the?top?end?
 of?the?market?rely?more?on?top?down?diffusion,?while?those?industrial?producers?who?are?
 manufacturing?for?the?other?segments?frequently?rely?on?the?bottom?up?diffusion?model.?
 ?
 In?terms?of?the?period?addressed?in?this?thesis,?C.?Sargentson?herself?points?out?that?there?
 are?theorists?who?do?not?agree?with?the?idea?that?people?follow?fashion?in?order?to?emulate?
 the?elite?classes.??Instead?it?is?suggested?that?sometimes?a?fashionable?object?(for?example)?
 is?taken?up?because?it?is?simply?a?useful?object.78?One?could?argue?that?the?popularity?of?
 writing?furniture?spread,?for?example,?because?they?performed?a?useful?function,?not?
 because?the?elite?households?purchased?them.??
 ?
 It?is?very?clear?that?in?the?C18th,?fashion?was?more?localized.?The?primary?centre?for?clothing?
 as?well?as?design?fashion?was?Paris?and?Versailles,?as?we?shall?see.??London?however?was?
 growing?in?its?influence?but?its?effect?was?still?largely?confined?to?England.??Furthermore,?the?
 furniture?this?thesis?addresses?was?definitely?produced?for?a?very?small?group?at?the?luxury?
 end?of?the?market,?at?a?point?that?marked?only?the?beginning?of?any?type?of?large?scale?
 commercial?production?in?the?furniture?trade.???
 ?
 Fashion?of?course,?can?also?be?regarded?as?a?form?of?communication.?Crane?in?Fashion?and?
 Its?Social?Agendas:??Class,?Gender?and?Identity?(Crane,?2000)79?and?Barnard,?in?Fashion?as?
 Communication?(Barnard,?1996)80?are?advocates?of?this?view,?who?agree?that?clothing?
 communicates?all?that?is?necessary?to?define?us?as?individual?members?of?different?social?
                                             
78?See?C.?Sargentson,?Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets:?The?Marchands?Merciers?of?Eighteenth?Century?Paris,?P.?
 6.?and?C.?Campbell?s?article?Understanding?Traditional?and?Modern?Patterns?of?Consumption?in?Eighteenth?
 Century?England:?A?Character?Action?Approach?in?J.?Brewer?and?R.?Porter,??Consumption?and?the?World?of?
 Goods,?Routeledge,?London,?1993,?pp.?40?57.?
 ?
 An?obvious?example?would?be?that?a?person?tries?a?new?hat?that?is?fashionable?among?the?upper?class?because?
 it?looks?like?it?would?be?warmer?or?more?comfortable???not?because?they?want?to?be?more?like?someone?in?a?
 higher?class?segment.?
 79?D.?Crane,?Fashion?and?Its?Social?Agendas:??Class,?Gender?and?Identity?in?Clothing.?
 80?M.?Barnard,?Fashion?as?Communication.?
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groups?signalling?for?example?our?age,?gender,?profession,?ethnicity,?religion?and?social?
 class.??Other?less?obvious?details?may?signal?our?political?and?or?cultural?perspective.?
 Barnard?argues:??
 ?
 ??clothing?and?dress?constitute?signifying?systems?in?which?a?social?order?is?constructed?and?
 communicated.??They?may?operate?in?different?ways,?but?they?are?similar?in?that?they?are?the?ways?in?
 which?that?social?order?is?experienced,?understood?and?passed?on.?They?may?be?considered?as?one?of?
 the?means?by?which?social?groups?communicate?their?identity?as?social?groups,?to?other?social?
 groups.?81???
 ?
 This?is?not?to?say?that?someone?always?deliberately?sets?out?to?determine?what?an?item?
 communicates???fashion?also?allows?those?outside?the?group?to?assign?meaning?to?a?look.?
 ?
 In?defining?such??fashionable?communication??some?authors?have?gone?so?far?as?to?identify?
 characteristics?that?convey?particular?attributes:??for?example?angularity?equates?to?the?
 masculine,?the?curvilinear?equates?to?the?feminine,?dark?colours?equates?to?seriousness,?
 lighter?colours?equate?to?the?informal,?etc..??However,?such?meanings?may?relate?to?a?
 particular?period?of?time?or?specific?culture?and?may?not?transfer.??According?to?F.?Davis,?
 clothing?also?tends?to??under?code??in?that?clothes?are?designed?not?to?give?clearly?defined?
 meanings,?but?approximations?to?an?aesthetic?code.?82?It?is?clear?that?during?the?late?C18th?
 the?perception?those?certain?clothing?items?communicated?to?others.??Marie?Antoinette?and?
 others?in?her?party?would?frequently?refer?to?their?clothing?by?using?very?specific?
 metaphors.?For?example:?
 ?
 ??a?dress?of?stifled?sighs?covered?with?superfluous?regrets??in?the?middle?was?a?spot?of?perfect?
 candour?come?and?see?buckles?.?A?bonnet?decorated?with?fickle?feathers?and?streamers?of?
 woebegone?eyes.??83???
 ?
                                             
81?M.?Barnard,?Fashion?as?Communication,?p.?69.?
 82?F.?Davis,?Fashion,?Culture,?and?Identity,?University?of?Chicago?Press,?Chicago,?1992.?
 83?G.?D?Assailly,?Ages?of?Elegance:?Five?Thousand?Years?of?Fashion?and?Frivolity,?MacDonald,?London,?1968,?
 ???????p.139.??
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It?is?doubtful?that?this?was?a?serious?assignment?of?these?specific?meanings,?instead?they?
 were?probably?represented?playful?interpretations?based?on?the?shifting?romantic?codes?of?
 courtly?conduct.??However,?clothing?was?frequently?used?to?identify?a?person?s?class?or?
 membership?in?an?elite?group,?as?was?illustrated?by?the?fact?that?friends?of?Marie?Antoinette?
 were?upset?when?she?allowed?men?to?meet?her?wearing?frock?coat,?which?in?some?way?
 indicated?persons?of?a?lower?social?status.84??
 ?
 H.?Blumer?suggests?a?process?that?is?similar?to???but?different?from???that?of?the?diffusion?
 theorists.??He?agrees?that?it?is?usually?an?individual?or?specific?group?who?initiate?a?new?
 fashion?and?recognizes?the?historical?shift?of?influence?from?the?upper?class?as?a?source?of?
 inspiration?for?fashion?to?the?avant?garde?segments?that?launch?fashion:??
 ?
 ?The?efforts?of?an?elite?class?to?set?itself?apart?in?appearance?take?place?inside?of?the?movement?of?
 fashion?instead?of?being?its?cause?.?The?fashion?mechanism?appears?not?in?response?to?a?need?of?class?
 differentiation?and?class?emulation,?but?in?response?to?a?wish?to?be?in?fashion,?to?be?abreast?of?what?
 has?good?standing,?to?express?new?tastes,?which?are?emerging?in?a?changing?world.??85??
 ?
 Contrary?to?G.?Simmel?and?T.?Veblen,?H.?Blumer?believes?that?the??elite??are?not?defined?by?
 class,?but?any?group;?perhaps?rising?singers?or?performers?or?perhaps???early?adopters????a?
 recent?term?used?by?C20th?and?C21st?marketers?to?define?the?first?people?to?try?a?new?
 product?(e.g.?people?who?wait?in?line?for?hours?and/or?pay?a?higher?price?to?be?the?first?to?
 own?a?particular?product.)86??H.?Blumer?identifies?four?different?rules?that?govern?the?
 process?of?fashion:??
 ?
 1. Current?fashions?generally?grow?out?of?what?immediately?precedes?them?(in?the?
 1960s?for?example?dress?hemlines?kept?getting?shorter?and?shorter).??
                                             
84?A.?Fraser,?Marie?Antoinette,?The?Journey,?pp.?208?209.?
 85?H.?Blumer,?Fashion:??From?Class?Differentiation?to?Social?Selection,?p.??281.?
 86?C.?Sargentson?speaks?of?a?similar?type?of?behaviour?amongst?the?shoppers?with?the?Marchand?Merciers.??The?
 Merciers?would?sell?products?at?full?prices?then?slowly?lower?the?price?as?the?novelty?of?the?type?of?item?wore?
 off.??They?would?also?commission?variations?in?order?to?keep?the?line?of?products?new?and?exciting.??See:?C.?
 Sargentson,?Merchants?and?Luxury?Markets:?The?Marchands?Merciers?of?Eighteenth?Century?Paris,?p.?32?
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2. However?there?are?times?when?sudden?changes?occur?that?are?unexpected?(It?has?
 been?pointed?out?that?fads?also?occur?this?way???unexpectedly;?however?in?the?case?
 of?fashions?they?tend?to?last?longer).??
 3. Fashion?always?relates?to?the?current?times.??
 4. Fashion?depends?upon?the?acceptance?or?rejection?by?a?group?of?people?who?have?a?
 similar??collective?taste?.87?
 ?
 This?latter?idea?is?most?important?to?H.?Blumer?which?is?why?some?have?called?his?theory?
 ?The?Collective?Behaviour?Model??in?which?fashion?is?an?ongoing?institutional?process?that?is?
 driven?by?the??elites??and?supported?by?the?imitating?members?of?particular?groups?as?a?
 form?of?collective?behaviour.?88??The?decision?to?copy?a?new?fashion?is?based?on?educating?
 everyone?who?is?part?of?a?particular?social?group?over?time.??As?the?group?becomes?more?
 alike?in?their?thinking,?the?more?they?act?in?similar?ways.?89?
 ?
 To?conclude,?the?collective?theory?of?fashion?diffusion?differs?from?the?basic?theory?of?
 diffusion.??In?both,?certain?leaders?introduce?the?new?fashion.??However,?while?the?
 Collective?theory?argues?that?once?the?leader?establishes?the?direction,?the?trend?is?formed?
 only?as?it?becomes?adopted?among?an?increasing?number?of?people;?by?contrast?the?theory?
 of?diffusion?of?innovations?suggests?that?innovations?are?spread?systematically?from?one?
 social?group?to?another.?
 ?
 As?an?art?historian,?Q.?Bell?did?not?so?much?attempt?a?theory?of?fashion,?as?critique?current?
 theories?and?suggests?alternative?interpretations.??While?most?of?his?writing?is?not?relevant?
 to?this?discussion,?the?one?thing?that?is?important?here?is?that?counter?to?T.?Veblen,?and?to?a?
                                             
87?H.?Blumer,?Fashion:??From?Class?Differentiation?to?Social?Selection,?p.?283.?
 88?G.?Sproles,?Behavioural?Science?Theories?of?Fashion.??In?M.?Solomon,?(ed),?The?Psychology?of?Fashion,?p.?57.?
 89?Others,?besides?Blumer,?who?have?put?forth?similar??Collective?Behaviour??models?of?fashion?include:???
 ? O.?Klapp,?Collective?Search?for?Identity,?Holt,?Rinehart?and?Winston,?NY,?1969.?
 ? K.?Lang?and?G.?Lang,?Collective?Dynamics,?Thompson?Y.?Crowell,?NY,?1961.?
 ? D.?Robinson,?Style?Changes:?Cyclical,?Inexorable,?and?Foreseeable,?Harvard?Business?Review,?Vol?53,?
 November?December,?1975,?pp.?121?131.??
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lesser?extent?G.?Simmel.?Bell?believed?it?was?not?just?women?who?drove?fashion,?but?that?
 men?also?participated?in?the?process.?
 ?
 The?next??theory??relevant?to?this?thesis?is?that?proposed?by?S.?Bikhehandani,?D.?Hirshleifer?
 and?I.?Welch.??Their?theory?differs?in?that?it?does?not?attempt?to?explain?all?aspects?of?
 fashion?but?provides?a?different?viewpoint?by?means?of?a?mathematical?model.??Though?it?is?
 limited?in?its?explanation,?it?does?attempt?to?explain?how?fashionable?ideas?are?transferred?
 from?one?individual?or?group?to?another,?across?and?within?social?groups???and?therefore?
 does?not?follow?the?idea?that?fashions?are?diffused?top?down,?from?the?upper?classes?to?the?
 rest?of?the?population.90??These?authors?also?suggest?a?wide?range?of?social?factors?affect?the?
 issue?of?transference,?including?such?things?as??stigma??or??peer?pressure?.??
 ?
 Finally?it?is?perhaps?useful?to?reference?the?work?of?Pierre?Bourdieu?(1930??2002),?one?the?
 more?influential?of?the?modern?theorists.??From?an?enormous?data?set?collected?from?the?
 cities?of?Paris?and?Lyon?during?the?1960?s,?P.?Bourdieu?developed?a?very?complex?theory?of?
 fashion.??According?to?P.?Bourdieu,?fashion?represents?a?type?of?code?for?social?
 differentiation?or?distinction.??Instead?of?identifying?class?structures?as?drivers?of?fashion,?P.?
                                             
90?Their?theory?which?they?refer?to?as??Informational?Cascades??is?a?mathematical?model?rooted?in?Game?
 Theory?and?Stochastic?Process.?According?to?this?approach,?selections?of?a?particular?behaviour?have?some?
 kind?of?value?to?each?of?the?possible?choices.??People?receive?(frequently?with?imperfect)?information?from?
 others?and?they?make?decisions?to?select?a?particular?behaviour?or?object?based?on?this?information.??As?the?
 information?is?transmitted?from?person?to?person?(through?whatever?means?that?are?available???visually,?
 verbally?etc.)?,?the?probability?of?that?behaviour?repeating?itself?changes.??If?it?is?a?positive?transference?then?
 the?result?is?that?a?fad?or?fashion?will?take?place.??If?the?transference?is?negative?then?the?fad?or?fashion?is?
 stopped.??Other?factors?enter?into?the?equations?to?add?to?or?detract?from?the?probability?of?a?selection?such?
 as??stigma??or??peer?pressure??both?of?which?either?add?or?subtract?from?the?probability?of?emulating?the?
 behaviour?or?making?the?acquisition.?An?example?of?their?process?as?it?applies?to?politics?is?the?observation?
 that?strong?early?poll?results?will?make?a?candidate?for?a?particular?office?more?acceptable?to?a?population.??
 This?is?used?by?Bikhehandani,?Hirshleifer?and?Welch??to?explain?how?an?unknown?(Jimmy?Carter)?could?beat?a?
 large?group?of?known?and?very?powerful?candidates?in?the?US?presidential?election?of?1976.???Carter?did?this?by?
 looking?very?strong?in?the?first?state?primary?election,?which?started?a?cascade?effect?on?the?subsequent?state?
 elections.??This?appears?that?this?process?was?repeated?in?the?recent?US?election?when?Barrack?Obama?
 performed?so?well?in?the?first?primary?election.??The?opposite?occurred?on?the?Republican?side?when?Rudolf?
 Giuliani?focused?on?the?first?large?state?and?ignored?the?running?in?several?smaller,?less?influential?states.??The?
 result?was?that?the?other?candidates?who?won?the?smaller?states?dominated?over?Giuliani?forcing?him?to?step?
 out?of?the?election?process.?See?S.?Bikhehandani,?D.?Hirshleifer?and?I.?Welch,?A?Theory?of?Fads,?Fashion,?
 Custom,?and?Cultural?Change?as?Informational?Cascades,?pp.?992?1026.?
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Bourdieu?talks?about??cultural?capital??which?he?describes?as?a?commodity?reproduced?by?
 society?in?individuals,?primarily?through?education.??Rather?than?class,?P.?Bourdieu?talks?in?
 terms?of?dominant?versus?dormant?social?groups?and?the?uniform?desire?to?improve?social?
 status?through?the?acquisition?of?cultural?capital;?through?dress,?speech,?etc.??Social?status?
 rests?with?those?with?greater?cultural?capital.??Those?individuals?and?groups?more?able?to?
 understand?new?fashions?and?more?likely?to?adopt?them?are?those?who?will?accumulate?the?
 cultural?capital?necessary?to?succeed.?
 ?
 As?can?be?seen,?this?model?(unlike?T.?Veblen?or?G.?Simmel?s?for?example)?does?not?rest?on?a?
 dominant?or?an?upper?class.91?P.?Bourdieu?s?work?is?also?based?on?actual?data;?whereas?
 most?other?theorist?s?works?have?been?largely?based?on?observation?and?critical?analysis.??
 However,?this?use?of?this?data?brings?its?own?problems.??The?data?was?collected?in?two?
 major?cities?in?Paris?in?the?early?1960s?and?since?that?time,?it?might?be?argued?that?both?
 education?and?the?increasing?proliferation?of?mass?media?may?well?have?had?conspired?to?
 undermine?the?value?of?cultural?capital???at?least?in?how?it?is?understood?by?Bourdieu.??
 ?
 One?aspect?of?fashion?that?has?not?been?addressed?completely?is?to?do?with?change.??As?
 suggested?above,?fashion?is?intimately?related?to?change.??However,?most?often?this?change?
 is?based?on?ideas?that?have?been?presented?in?the?past.??As?a?result,?fashion?has?a?tendency?
 to?run?in?cycles,?each?cycle?coming?into?being?and?achieving?some?level?of?popularity?before?
 it?is?dissipated?by?the?next?emergent?cycle.??This?can?be?looked?at?in?two?ways:?one?look?at?
 fashion?as?a?recirculation?of?ideas?or?one?can?look?within?each?cycle?and?identify?rehearsal?
 and?progression.?The?latter?can?certainly?be?seen?(as?will?be?shown)?with?the?Neo?Classical?
 ideas?that?were?to?resurface?in?England?and?France?during?the?late?C18th???and?can?even?be?
 seen?to?apply?to?neo?classical?ideas?that?persist?in?contemporary?architecture?and?furniture.????
 ?
                                             
91?P.?Bourdieu,?(Translated?from?French?by?R.?Nice),?Distinction:??A?Social?Critique?of?the?Judgement?of?Taste,?
 Routledge,?London,?1986.??
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The?process?of?change?according?to?Sproles?in?The?Psychology?of?Fashion?92?is?characterized?
 by?six?steps.93??The?steps?are:??
 ?
 1. Invention?and?Introduction:??This?is?the?source?of?the?fashion?inspiration?and?may?
 be?inspired?by?a?designer,?a?manufacturer,?an?artist,?an?outside?group,?etc.??
 2. Fashion?leadership:??Once?developed,?the?new?fashion?needs?to?have?an?
 individual?or?a?group?able?to?influence?others?into?adopting?it.??
 3. Increasing?social?visibility:??This?is?the?moment?after?a?new?fashion?has?become?
 accepted?within?one?group?and?has?become?noticed?by?other?social?groups.??
 4. Conformity?within?and?across?social?groups:??A?fashion?becomes?established?
 within?a?wider?social?group?and?it?becomes?the?accepted?mode;?the?mass?media?
 has?generally?accepted?and?promotes?it.??
 5. Social?saturation:??Nearly?everyone?has?adopted?the?fashion?and?the?original?
 group?tires?of?it??setting?the?stage?for?its?decline?and?the?growth?of?a?new?idea.??
 6. Decline?and?Obsolescence:??The?fashion?is?discarded?to?be?replaced?by?a?new?
 fashion.??
 ?
 There?are?two?issues?here?with?the?research?on?fashion?that?need?to?be?addressed.??First?of?
 all?most?are?based?on?observations?(albeit?by?very?skilled?and?thoughtful?professionals)?and?
 not?hard?data.??While?it?appears?that?they?have?probably?identified?many?key?components?
 to?fashion,?they?have?not?been?verified?by?any?quantitative?research?(The?exception?is?the?
 work?of?P.?Bourdieu;?but,?as?discussed?before,?there?are?issues?with?his?work.)???
 ?
 The?other?concern?that?needs?to?be?raised?is?that?all?of?these?theories?were?introduced?in?
 the?late?19th?and?early?20th?Centuries?and?as?such?they?are?most?readily?applicable?to?those?
 periods.??That?does?not?mean?to?say?that?they?cannot?be?helpful?in?interpreting?the?late?
 C18th,?as?this?thesis?will?hope?to?show.??However,?it?does?mean?that?we?need?to?remind?
                                             
92?M.?Solomon?(eds),?The?Psychology?of?Fashion,?Lexington?Books,?Lexington,?MA,?USA,?1985.?
 93?F.?Davis,?Fashion,?Culture,?and?Identity,?pp.?121?159.?
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ourselves?that?the?late?C18th?differs?in?many?ways?from?the?present.??Firstly,?fashion?was?
 generally?limited?to?the?upper?and?middle?classes?and?has?limited?impact?upon?the?urban?&?
 rural?working?classes.??In?this?respect,?fashion?in?the?C18th?probably?leaned?more?strongly?
 toward?the??downward?diffusion??model?of?fashion?than?it?does?today???H.?Blumer?for?
 example?believed?that?during?this?time?it?was?only?a?downward?diffusion?process.??
 ?
 While?not?forgetting?these?limitations?to?the?research?on?fashions?there?are?a?few?
 conclusions?that?have?helped?to?shape?the?subsequent?chapters.??First?of?all?fashion?is?only?
 relevant?in?a?historical?context.??It?is?both?part?of?a?continuous?growth?and?development?
 based?on?earlier?styles?and?generally?a?reaction?to?the?fashionable?style?that?immediately?
 precedes?it.???In?this?sense,?a?new?fashion?is?always?initiated?by?something?and?does?not?just?
 appear?out?of?the?blue;?either?an?event?(or?a?series?of?events)?and/?or?a?set?of?conditions?
 stimulate?the?start?of?a?new?fashion?and?allow?it?to?grow.???In?order?for?a?fashion?to?grow?it?
 also?requires?some?kind?of?leadership?and?a?receptive?audience?or?group,?in?order?for?the?
 new?fashion?to?develop.94??Finally,?while?it?is?clear?that?in?the?C21st,?fashions?are?initiated?
 from?a?number?of?different?points?and?spread?both?within?certain?social?groups?and?across?
 other?social?groups,?it?did?not?take?this?form?in?C18th?England?and?France,?where?a?
 hierarchical,?top?down?system?prevailed.??
 ?
 In?the?next?chapter?(Chapter?III,?p.?118),?this?thesis?will?map?the?development?of?the?Neo?
 Classical?style?in?the?late?C18th?against?some?of?the?theories?discussed?here.?More?
 specifically,?it?will?demonstrate?how?the?Neo?Classical?style?came?to?define?the?most?
 fashionable?furniture?of?the?late?C18th.??However,?before?exploring?these?ideas,?some?of?the?
 issues?relating?to?fashion?in?late?C18th?England?and?France?will?be?addressed.???
 ?
  
                                            
94?Since?this?paper?is?only?interested?in?the?growth?of?a?particular?fashion???that?of?the?Neo?Classical?designs?of?
 furniture,?it?will?not?include?in?this?discussion?a?section?on?the?demise?of?a?fashion.?