Since the basic toga, clothing has been a wearable status symbol. Styles change over time (some good, some bad ... some you wonder what folks were thinking). Dress codes came about as a way to maintain some sort of control. Learn more about all of this in Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History, by Richard Thompson Ford. Nicely researched, with a great bibliography, but I will say I found it a bit dry at times and did some skimming.

Reading Hermit With Dog