Class distinctions were once rigid, unbending social structures that one had to be born into. In times past, it was difficult if not impossible to move up or down. Breeding, pedigree, background, education, the right schools, the right colleges, and the right Greek organizations (1906-1913) were all qualifications one must have had to be a member of the black higher classes. Looking at photos from any era, one could judge the subjects class by their clothing. Style was indicative to class. Class then was more of a caste, an immobile structure.
The class structures of today are based solely on family salaries. And though most of the buying power lies in the wallets of the white upper-class, it is the black lower class that spends the most money on fashion. For those who grew up near or around project homes, they may remember that the kids who lived there often wore the latest and most expensive clothes.
One reason for this dis-correlation between earnings and spending is television. The entertainment industry has allowed those who normally wouldnt have been accepted into the upper-class to buy their way up. And those people- athletes, actors, singers, dancers, etc- have in turn brought the upper class back to the hood by influencing its occupants to buy upper-class priced clothing.
So the end result is that most families who survive off (in a year) less than what an upper-class family makes (in a month) will continue to spend money on things that they cant afford to emulate people whom they dont know. Thus, the lower-class will continue to grow poorer and the upper-class, who makes and markets these fashions, will continue to grow richer
James R Jones
jjoneswrites@yahoo.com
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