Ostentations vestimentaires affirmées et refusées : l’habillement à Recife comme marque de distinction sociale

Abstract

This article is dedicated to a study of class distinction by clothing in Recife in the 1970s and 1980s. Based on personal recollections, observations, and recent interviews with acquaintances from the era, the author seeks to understand what dress choices meant to the city’s social groups at that time. Discussing the classic theories that emphasize the weight of social class in fashion, as well as contemporary studies that highlight the impact of other social variables upon dress habits, this article explains that dress codes served to delineate class boundaries, and that members of the upper middle classes attempted to prevent people of the working classes from dressing well.

Keywords

• choix vestimentaires
• distinctions de classe
• mode
• Recife
• Brésil