Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

1/10

http://ctr.sagepub.com

Clothing and Textiles Research Journal

DOI: 10.1177/0887302X90008004071990; 8; 40Clothing and Textiles Research Journal

Jean A. Hamilton"The Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged": The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

http://ctr.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/8/4/40The online version of this article can be found at:

Published by:

http://www.sagepublications.com

On behalf of:

International Textile and Apparel Association

can be found at:Clothing and Textiles Research JournalAdditional services and information for

http://ctr.sagepub.com/cgi/alertsEmail Alerts:

http://ctr.sagepub.com/subscriptionsSubscriptions:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsReprints.navReprints:

http://www.sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.navPermissions:

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

2/10

40

"The Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged":The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

JeanA. Hamilton

AuthorsAddress: Department of Textile andApparel Management,University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.

Abstract

Eighteenth century Scottish data provide rare documentation of the origins of a mass fashion system from the

perspective ofthose who experienced it. This analysis focuses on the conceptual distinction between dress and

mass fashion as a category ofdress, and it uses culture theory topropose a cultural-contextualexplanation of theshift from dress to mass fashion in dress. It explains why dress becomes mass fashion only in the context of an

emergingindustrialized nation state with the

necessaryunderstructure to

supporta mass

fashion system,a

system with very different cultural requirements from dress and from aristocratic fashion.An analysis of Roachand Musas (1980) definition of fashion makes it clear that the distinctions between these terms are far fromtrivial, for each implies different levels of socio-cultural complexity. Parallels between the massfashion systemthat developed in late 18th-century Scotland and those of developing nations today are suggested.

This study is concernedwith the origins ofmass fashionin dress and the cultural context in which a fashion system

emerges. Eighteenth-century Scottish historical data

provide a case study that illustrates (a) the origins of amass fashion system and its impact on the population that

experiences it; (b) the emergence of fashion as a categoryof dress dependent on a minimum level of cultural

complexity, and (c) the distinction between dress andfashion-in-dress as not merely one ofword preference, butas one that implies significantly different culturalcontextual manifestations and calls for more refmement in

terminology.Dress is used throughout this essay to refer to &dquo;the total

arrangement of all outwardly detectable modifications ofthe

body itself and all material objects added to it&dquo; (Roach &

Musa, 1980, p. 11). By contrast, Roach and Musa (1980)defined fashion as a &dquo;form ... and product of behavior

[regarding dress], which is widely accepted for a limited timeand is replaceable by another fashion that is an acceptablesubstitute for it&dquo; (p. 19). Within-class fashion, referred to in

this essay as aristocraticfashion, began to emerge in 13th-century Europe and was fully developed by the early 14th

century in some places. However, across-class fashion, or

mass fashion, took a much longer time to make its

appearance throughout all social classes in a way that

affected the daily lives of virtually all individuals in the

social system. The concern in this work is with describingand explaining the interacting complex of conditions under

which a fashion system emerges and incorporates virtuallyall classes in the social system. The concern is not with any

specific manifestation ofform or style offashion in dress, nor

is it with fashion innovators or fashion imitation-in short,the concern is not with current fashionability. Rather, it iswith the shift from a system of dress to a fashion

system.

Dress is present for all human groups through time andspace and, therefore, exists at all levels of socio-cultural

complexity. Mass fashion, however, is dependent on

particular mechanisms of production, distribution, and

consumption that, in turn, do not exist outside the context ofan industrialized nation state, a highly complex type ofcultural system. The emergence ofmass fashion in late 18th-

century rural Scotland is a case in point. From the middle to

the end of the 18th century, the interactive process between

industrialization and the rest of the cultural system had a

remarkable impact in rural areas on peoples daily lives.

During that 50-year period, especially in rural areas,individuals experienced a dramatic shift from relatively

static dress forms to fashion in dress-that is, to dress formswidely accepted only for a limited period and replaced bynew forms with limited life. Primary and secondaryhistorical sources provide a view of the shift from dress tomass fashion as well as insight into the culturalunderstructure required to make the emergence of fashion

possible.These data also suggest that the longer the time it takes for

the phenomenon of fashion to reach those classes most

socially or geographically isolated from it, the more rapidlythe shift from dress to fashion can occur in those classes

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

3/10

41

once the cultural mechanism required for fashion to function

are in place. Hence, implications of the importance of

comprehending the cultural-contextual precursors of fashion

functioning for contemporary international apparel market-

ing are apparent. In the Scottish case these changes were

perceived at the time as dramatic, occurring almost

overnight, and involved change in both particular dress

forms and in the patterns of production, acquisition, and

consumption of dress.

Cultural Types and Cultural Complexity

History and the ethnographic record present a variety ofcultural types, from those manifesting relatively non-

complex social organizations to ones with extremelycomplex social organizations such as major industrializednations today. The subject of variation in types of cultural

systems has generated much controversy in the history of

anthropology. Nineteenth-century versions of evolutionarytheory have fallen into disrepute for good reasons.

Contemporary evolutionary theory, however, is well

grounded in data analyses and is without the self-serving and

ethnocentric interpretations attached to earlier evolutionaryperspectives. The value of any orienting strategy, such as

evolution, is in providing a perspective with analytical

potential for examining a problem (Wagner, 1984).As an

orienting paradigm, Lewellen (1983) noted that &dquo;the themeof evolution ... remains an implicit assumption underlyingeven the most synchronic of paradigms.... It is virtuallyimpossible to view [societies at varying levels of develop-ment] except along some scale of cultural complexity&dquo; (p.xi).

Service (1972) asserted that there are very few

qualitatively distinct means of integration in human society.Generally, these categories of integration are framed around

the mechanisms human groups use for solving problems thatensure social survival. These categories include facilitatingeconomic exchange, accomplishing the social integration of

society members, addressing problems of conflict and social

disruption, making sense of the unknown, socializing newmembers into the system, devising mechanisms for

communication, and attending to aesthetic and celebratoryfunctions (Cohen & Service, 1978; Hamilton, 1987;Lewellen, 1983; Service, 1972; Steward, 1972). The

particular degree of complexity manifested in the configura-tion of these mechanisms or, as Steward (1972) put it, thelevel of &dquo;socio-cultural integration&dquo; (p. 43), allows for

typological, heuristic defmitions of cultural types. Services

(1972) labels for these are commonly used and includebands, tribes, chiefdoms, states, and industrialized states.Thus human cultural types evolved from simple bandsocieties (non-complex social organizations with minimal

requirements for socio-cultural integration) to industrializedstates (highly complex, highly-integrated cultural systems)characterized by elaborate bureaucracies and increasinglyspecialized labor (Service, 1975).The evolution of cultural forms from simple bands to

complex state systems does not occur in a vacuum. On the

contrary, mechanisms for problem-solving change in rela-

tionship to one another and in relation to other environ-mental and social phenomena (Hamilton, 1987; Harris,1980; Service, 1972; White, 1959). Ignoring the context inwhich change occurs results in a pathetically inadequateunderstanding of a phenomenon, one restricted to mereobservation (Wesson, 1978). It precludes explanationuseful in extrapolation to other specific contexts.

Industrialization could not have developed fully without astate system, one &dquo;associated with ... radical changes in

demography, economics, social organization, and the

utilization of resources that wherever it develops brings withit fundamental changes in political [and economic]organization&dquo; (Cohen, 1978, p. 5). Thus the ability toharness increasing amounts of energy and apply it to both

agricultural and industrial production created a revolution towhich existing social structures had to accommodate

(Harris, 1980; White, 1959), thereby setting the stage forrather dramatic changes throughout the social system.

Scottish Dress in Historical Context:A Case Study

Many changes in the social organization and politicaleconomy of Scotland influenced dress and the distribution of

dress in the period from the mid-17th to the mid-19thcenturies. In the rural areas, especially those north of the

Forth-Clyde line, which runs between Edinburgh and

Glasgow, these changes were so compressed in time thatfrom a modern perspective, they provide a dramatic exampleof cultural change in process. Observers living at that timewere also aware of the rapidity with which change was

occurring, and they were conscious of the symbolicimportance of dress as representative of those changes.The traditions with which Scotland entered the 18th

century defy monolithic description. Geographical variabil-

ity, urban-rural distinctions, and social class differentiations

all served to contribute to the variety in form, production,

and distribution of dress that is revealed in the followinganalysis. Certainly Scots clothed themselves in some ways.Yet, prior to the middle of the 18th century, mass fashion, asused in this essay (Roach & Musa, 1980), was not a part ofthe lives of most Scots living in rural, relatively isolatedareas.

Scottish Dress and Fashion in Dress on the Eve of

Industrialization: Variations in Form and Distribution

The political economy of Scotland during the Middle

Ages was based on feudalism, a sub-cultural type givenmuch study by Scottish historians (Dickinson, 1961/1977;Grant, 1971). However, the feudalism that existed above

the Highland line (running roughly from Dumbarton in thesouthwest to Stonehaven in the northwest) was based muchmore on militaristic obligation than was generally expectedin the Lowlands..In the Highlands, military efforts were

generally internally directed against other Highland groups,while in the Lowlands such effort was usually directedtoward English invaders. Further, disparity in the availabil-

ity of productive arable land separated by the Highland line

required different patterns of social organization in order tosurvive in the North.

Because feudalism is fundamentally a rural form of social

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

4/10

42

organization, more densely populated market centers and

burghs were outside the realm of feudal control. While most

burghs were small in population, they provided a series ofmarket centers throughout the southern and eastern parts ofthe country. Hence, by the end ofthe 17th century, Scotland&dquo;was moving away from a simple economy with a feudal

organization .. , to one where towns and their industries

played a key role in modernization and demandedaccommodations from agriculture&dquo; (Turnock, 1982, p.31).

Lowland/burgh dress and fashion. From the MiddleAges the Scottishmonarchy sought to encourage industry bygranting special privileges to foreigners who came to work inScotland and took Scottish apprentices into their trades.

Weaving was one of the areas in which such privilegesabounded (Grant, 1971). Records from the early 17th

century, for example, report a group ofFlemings who settledin Edinburgh and &dquo; are daily exercised in their art of

making, dressing, and litting of stuffs, and gives great litch

and knowledge of their calling to the country people&dquo;

(Chambers, 1858, 1, p. 421).Continental goods of style and popularity were known and

available to the aristocracy as reflected by reports of their

clothing inventories. Further, burgh authorities were

concerned that the poor quality and style of the dress of

merchants and traders going abroad might negativelyimpress foreigners. In the 16th century, Edinburghauthorities were concerned with the appearance of local

merchants and ordered &dquo;the conservator at the staple town

to see that the merchants there were properly dressed, and if

necessary, to seize the goods of any one whose clothing wasdiscreditable and have proper clothes made for him&dquo; (Grant,1971, p. 558).The distribution ofimported fineries was generally limited

to urban purchasers, primarily in and around Edinburgh, andto special orders placed by wealthy rural lairds (land-owners). For example, one Edinburgh retailers account

book from 1701 lists the items sold to the Laird of Kilvarock

for the marriage of his daughter and included &dquo;seventeen and

a quarter ells [a bit more than a yard] of flowered

silk; ... nine and a quarter ells of green silk shagreen for

lining; ... six and a half ells of green galloon; ... [and a

variety of accessories including] a pair of silk stockings;...

a silk handcurcher; ... and some thirty or forty other

articles&dquo; (Chambers, 1858, 3, p. 241).Rural Scottish dress at the beginning of the 18th

century.At the beginning of the 18th century life in rural

areas of the Lowlands and the Highlands was dramaticallydifferent from that in and around

Edinburgh.Conditions

were generally crude and poor, and most of daily life was

focused on mere survival. Even land owners who operatedrelatively large estates were primarily concerned with the

daily issues of sustenance.An early 17th-century account

describes the lifestyle of a rural laird, noting,

The master of the house ... will wear no other shirts

but ofthe flax that grows on his own ground, and of his

wifes, daughters, or servants spinning; that hath his

stockings, hose, and jerkin of the wool of his own

sheeps backs; ... He never studies the consuming art

of fashionless fashions; he never tries his strength to

bear four or five hundred acres on his back at once; his

legs are always at liberty, not being fettered with

golden garters and manacled with artificial roses.

(Chambers, 1858, 1, p. 495)

For ordinary tenants and cotters, especially those in the

northern areas, conditions were miserable. Nutrition was

poor for both people and stock. Land use patterns dictatedscattered settlements, and individual homesteads were

largely isolated. Hence, self-sufficiency in meeting thenecessities of life was required. The relative isolation and

realities of physical geography made communication withthe outside world rare. The limited trade in merchandise in

rural areas generally took two forms: periodic fairs anddistribution by pedlars.

Periodic fairs in market centers provided merchandise,information, markets, and amusements.A number of

English travelers to Scotland described these in letters. Onewritten from Inverness noted that &dquo;there were four or five a

year when the Highlanders bring their commodities to themarket: but, good God! you could not conceive there wassuch misery in this land&dquo; (Youngson, 1974, p. 51 ). The

wheeled cart was not known in the Highlands prior to 1750,and the first serious attention to road building in the North

occurred in the 1720s as a result of the English militarysdesire for access into traditional Highland clan areas.

Hence, pedlars carried goods on their backs or the backs of

pack horses.Prior to 1750, Inverness was the only town of impor-

trance in the Highlands. There were few shops where evenbasic food staples could be purchased. The result was thatthe increase in wages and the availability of money often

surpassed the availability of goods for purchase. Burt

(in Graham, 1971) described Inverness retail shops,noting,

A few shops were dark rooms with earthen floors,

containing hogsheads of brandy (smuggled), firkins of

butter (well mingled with cow hairs), and tartan plaids,

presided over by a merchant, who might be proud of

his ancestry and high connection, but not too proud to

sell serges by the ell and pigtail tobacco by the ounce.

(Graham, 1971, p. 509)

In these rural areas local apparel production took several

forms that varied by both social class and town/countrydistinctions. The diary and account books of a laird named

Cunninghamillustrate the role of household servants in

apparel production:

Cunninghams &dquo;man,&dquo; was a tailor, and had obviouslyserved an apprenticeship in that craft. He undertook

for twenty pounds Scots annually, and clothes, not

only to serve as &dquo;man&dquo; but to work his masters tailor

work, and in addition to act as tailor for his

wife.... The man was also permitted &dquo;to take in other

folks work to the house,&dquo; ... on the condition that

such work should not interfere with the discharge of

his duties to his master. (Dodds, 1887, p. xxvii)

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

5/10

43

A second form of apparel production, one that lasted well

into the 19th century in rural areas, was provided by the

wandering tailor. Describing the mode of these tailors work,Dodds (1887) noted that &dquo;[they] gained a living by hiringthemselves to sew in households for a limited period,

receiving board and lodging while so engaged, in addition to

a small sum as wages&dquo; (p. xxvii).Most rural tenants and cotters, living ordinary lives of

survival, produced their own textile and apparel productswith little variation in the form of dress from one generationto another. However, major changes in the politicaleconomy of Scotland, which had begun at the start of the

18th century, had a dramatic impact on all aspects of dress

as a cultural sub-system for virtually all Scots by the

centurys end.

The Change from Dress to Mass Fashion in Dress

The Treaty of Union, 1707, resulted in Englandsincreased attention to Scotlands economic development. By1750 dramatic changes had taken place in Scotlands

economy that affected specific regions of the country to

varying degrees. Important to the developing textile industrywas the establishment of the Board of Trustees for Fisheries

and Manufacturesin Scotland, 1727, which put much effortand capital into the development of the wool, linen, and

fishing industries (Mitchinson, 1982; Parry & Slater, 1980;

Smout, 1969). Prior to this time, home-produced wool of a

fairly poor quality was the primary fiber for home-made

clothing, supplemented only minimally by home-grown flax.

However, the new emphasis on government-subsidized flax

production, intended to increase Scotlands share in the

international export market, had a dramatic impact in rural

areas. Spinning schools were established in the Highlands to

encourage flax cultivation and to teach flax spinning; theyalso taught, however accidentally, more worldly values and

images (Brown, 1961; Dean, 1930).The entrance of rural producers into the &dquo;putting-out&dquo;

system through the spinning of flax and the knitting of wool

stockings, especially in the northeast, dramatically changedthe lives of the producers (Bremner, 1869; Campbell, 1965;Hamilton, 1968; Smout, 1969; Turnock, 1982). First, itmade communication with the outside world more frequentand intense by putting the spinners and knitters in regularcontact with a merchant or merchants agent from an urban

or market center. Second, instead of the in-kind paymentthat rural labor was accustomed to receiving, it provided a

regular wage income to spinners in even remote areas.As a

result, the retailing efforts of rural pedlars were betterrewardedby a population with real money to spend, and thenumber of pedlars expanded at the same time crude shopsbegan to appear in rural market centers (Hamilton, 1963;Sinclair, 1795-1814).A second corresponding influential development in

agricultural productivity also occurred in the 18th century

(Mitchinson, 1982; Smout, 1969). The potato, firstintroduced into Scotland in the mid-1700s, had become a

dietary staple by the end of the century. From the middleof the century on, the greater volume of food productionthan was needed for local consumption resulted in food for

market exchange. These food surpluses also encouraged

greater population settlements in market and urban centers

as fewer farm workers were needed to meet the countrysfood demands (Lythe & Butt, 1975; Mowat, 1981; Parry& Slater, 1980; Smout, 1969).The great success in the cultivation of the flax plant

corresponded to great success in the development oftextile technology (Bremner, 1869; Brown, 1961;Campbell, 1965; Warden, 1967). Kays flying shuttle,1734, dramatically increased the speed of weaving,thereby increasing the demand for yarn to keep the weaver

occupied. By the end of the century, home spinners, whocould no longer keep up with demand for spun yarn, were

being replaced by spinning mills. These mills employedthe new spinning technologies of the mule, the jenny, and

the water frame, which, because of their capital

requirements and physical size, effectively removed

spinning from the home to new lint mills, factories locatedin growing urban areas and market centers (Brown, 1961;Campbell, 1965; Hamilton, 1963, 1968; Lythe & Butt,1975; Parry & Slater, 1980; Turnock, 1979).The shift from home to factory production dramatically

altered the lives of those who, for the first two thirds of the

century, were the backbone of the growing Scottish textile

industry (Lythe & Butt, 1975; Turnock, 1979). By the endof the century rural women spinners, who had earlier come

to depend on the wages they received from spinning underthe old putting-out system, were left without the means to

earn money. Those of the younger generation who made

their way to the lint mills, unlike their grandmothers who

spun at home with their own wheels, had relinquished anycontrol over the mode or tools of their production as well

as autonomy over their own lives.At the same time, the

new capital generated by industrialization also built roads,canals, and shops and in turn produced more merchandisefor market exchange (Hamilton, 1963; Marwick, 1964;Sinclair, 1795-1814).Hence, from the middle of the 18th century changes

were taking place that would dramatically alter the shapeof the Scottish world. These included rapidly increasingefficiencies in the developing textile, mining, and otherminor industries; improvements in transportation and

communication; population shifts which decreased ruralareas and that, by the end of the century, swelled the areabetween Edinburgh and Glasgow; great increases in

agricultural efficiencies; and the availability of a.bankingsystem to regulate the abundance of English capital

(Campbell, 1965; Dickson, 1980, Hamilton, 1963; Lythe& Butt, 1975; Marwick, 1964; Mowat, 1981; Youngson,1974).

Finally, the Battle of Culloden, 1745 ended anyremaining Scottish monarchical claims to the British throne.The effect ofthe Scottish defeat was to disperse and forever

fragment recalcitrant Highland clans. One of the results ofthe English victory was The Proscription, a legal ban on the

wearing of Highland garb by any Scottish male. In effectbetween 1747 and 1782, The Proscription had a doubleeffect on Scottish dress. On the one hand it nearly destroyedthe most overt visual symbols of Scottishness, therebyencouraging ideological subsumption into mainline British

society.At the same time it increased the demand for British

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

6/10

44

textiles to replace those now prohibited (Dunbar, 1962;Lenman, 1981).By the end of the century there were shops selling a variety

of agricultural and manufactured goods in market centers

throughout the entire country (Lenman, 1981; Marwick,

1964). Hence, a variety ofchanges in the political economyof Scotland had led, directly or indirectly, to an enhancedstandard of living and greater awareness of and desire forfashion goods. For many Scots living in the last half of the

18th century, these changes had taken place within their own

lifetimes (Dickson, 1980; Hamilton, 1963; Mowat, 1981;Parry & Slater, 1980; Pryde, 1962). Certainly, these

changes were ones that brought most Scots into a market

economy characterized by consumerism and upwardmobility. Plant (1952) noted that, by the end of the 18th

century,

the housewife had no longer to spend hours at the

spinning-wheel, for there were more attractive

materials to be bought than she could make at home.

Her husband, in any case, now scorned to wear

homespun; he wanted the best English cloth, and awatch to put in his pocket. The wages of domestic

servants, among others, had doubled, and the maids

who used to go about barefoot and ill-kempt could now

dress in the best of style. (p. xi)

Still, Plants generalization is somewhat overstated. Bythe end of the century there were still pockets of rural areas

only minimally affected by these major changes in the

Scottish political economy. However, as the followingnarratives indicate, the emergence of a mass fashion systemfor most Scots was a fact with a variety of spin-off effects,some more welcomed than others. Regardless of how these

changes were judged, it is important to acknowledge the

widelyheld

perceptionofthe almost

overnightemergence of

fashion in dress for most ordinary people.

Evidence of a Mass Fashion System from PrimaryAccounts

During the last decade of the 18th century, parishministers throughout Scotland provided a valuable source of

primary data for historians concerned with Scottish life in thesecond half of the 18th century. Each parish minister was

asked by the Church of Scotland to write a narrative describ-

ing his parish. The narratives were collected between 1790-

1798 and published between 1795-1814 (Sinclair, 1795-

1814). While the foci of these narratives generally included

such topics as agriculture, manufacturing, education, and theChurch, some of the ministers reflected on changes in the

lifestyles oftheir parishioners that had taken place, changesthat occasionally were reported to include the shift from a

dress form of relative sameness over generations to fashion

in dress. The narratives of these rural parish ministers

provide compelling descriptions ofboth the form and rate of

adoption of mass fashion. The level of desirability and the

rate of acquisition of dress fashion among rural populationswere a matter of the combined factors of geography

(availability of new fashion), social class (and relateddifferences in wealth and access to external markets), and

age (age-related attitudes to the new fashion).The minister of Marykirk observed &dquo;the sudden change in

dress that has taken place in this parish within the course of15 or 16 years, and the general desire to promote externaldecorations (however strange it may appear)&dquo; (Sinclair,1795-1814, 18, pp. 637-638). The minister of Ceresobserved that &dquo;a great change has taken place in dress withinthe period above mentioned [30 years]&dquo; (Sinclair, 1795-

1814, 5, p. 392). He then explained that

&dquo;the plaid is now almost wholly laid aside by thewomen, and use of the cloak and bonnet has become

general.Among the men, the Scotch bonnet has givenplace to the hat; the servant men are generally clothedwith English cloth.&dquo; (Sinclair, 1795-1814, 5, p.392)

In Logie and Pert, the minister wrote that

&dquo;the mode of dress likewise within these 20 or 30

years past, has undergone a very considerablealteration. Formerly the women ofthe inferior stations

appeared in church on Sundays in bed blankets ortartan plaids; but now they wear scarlet plaids or dufflecloaks and bonnets; and maid-servants are sometimes

as well dressed as their mistresses.&dquo; (Sinclair, 1795-

1814, 9, p. 50)

In a footnote to his description of the state of his parish,the minister of Cluny, in Kincardine ONeil, contrasted thedress of his parishioners at the time of his writing with theirdress prior to the changes, observing,

The dress of the country people in the district was,some years ago, both for men and women, of cloth of

their own sheep wool, Kilmarnock and Dundee

bonnets, and shoes of leather tanned by themselves....

Then every servant lad and maid had a quey or

steer, sometimes two, and a score or more of sheep, toenable them to marry, and to begin the world with.Now every servant lad almost, must have his Sundayscoat of English broad cloth, a vest and breeches ofManchester cotton, a high crowned hat, and watch inhis pocket. The servant maids are dressed in poplins,muslins, lawns, and ribbons.And both sexes have

little else than finery to enter the world with, which

occasions marriage to be delayed longer than

formerly, and it often beings distress along with it.

(Sinclair, 1795-1814, 10, p. 245)

Similarly, the minister from Banff, on the north coast of

Aberdeenshire, included in his narrative a section entitled,

&dquo;Comparative Statements, Etc,&dquo; observing that &dquo;it may

prove entertaining to some readers to trace the progress of

luxury in this parish, and mark a few of the most striking

changes of half a century&dquo; (Sinclair, 1795-1814, 20, p.

363).Among his observations were that in 1748 &dquo;a gown of

linsey-woolsey was the usual dress of a lairds daughter,veiled in a simple robe.... There was only one pair of silken

stockings ... [and the] occupation ofthe milliner was totally

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

7/10

45

unknown&dquo;(Sinclair, 1795-1814, 20, p. 363). By 1798,however:

the decoration of our persons is now become a more

general study among both sexes; and all ranks. Inorder to accommodate their dress to the capriciousrules of fashion, there is a frequent, and sometimes aneedless recourse to the foreign aid of ornament.

(Sinclair, 1795-1814, 20, p. 363)

Finally, evidence of a mass fashion system in process-ofon-going replacement of dress forms with a limited life-is

provided by the minister of Symington inAyr. Referring tothe people in his parish, he observed

They have a taste for dress, and young women of the

middle, and even ofthe lower ranks, would not slush tobe seen in the blue cloaks, red plaids, and plain caps,which only 20 years ago adorned their sex: Nay, eventhe scarlet mantle, which lately was a badge ofdistinction among the daughters of farmers, is now

despised [italics added]; and, 0 tempora!0 mores! thesilk worms of the East must be pillaged, to deck theheads and shoulders of milk-maids. (Sinclair, 1795-

1814, 5, pp. 403-404)

Discussionz

From Dress to Mass Fashion in Dress in Scotland:

Implications for Requirements of the Cultural SystemIn many parts of Britain and Europe a particular level of

complexity in the social, political, and economic under-

structure of the cultural system interacted with incipientindustrialization as early as the 12th and 13th centuries to

generate direct movement toward an industrialized state

cultural type. Characteristics of this cultural under-

structure included the gradual emergence of a multi-class

system tied to increasingly specialized occupational

assignments; increasing interaction with, and economic

dependence on competing polities; and increasing techno-

logical sophistication and specialization within the proto-industrialization of certain incipient industries, particularlytextile production.By the end of the 1790s, most of the population of

Scotland had replaced a relatively unchanging style of dresswith mass fashion in dress. Was it the availability and

knowledge of the new styles in rural areas that made peopledesire the

change,or was it the demand for

changethat

caused clever pedlars or shop owners to begin selling thefashion goods? The question, however naive, gets to theheart of the matter: There is no such thing as mass fashionwithout a mass manufacturing and mass marketing system,one with the capacity to produce and distribute goods to aviable consuming population with a willingness and abilityto participate in it. Similarly, there is no such thing as

fashion marketing without the existence offashion, that is, ofthe expectation of relatively rapidly replaced style changes,

accepted by most people for a limited time. Mass fashion,

therefore, requires a political economy characterized by

effective means of large-scale production, distribution, and

communication.

The language ofthe Industrial Revolution is misleading. It

implies an overnight leap in all the institutions of society that

must work in concert to establish a market-based,industrialized society. On the contrary, the social,

economic, and political understructure required for rapid

changes in production, distribution, and consumer ac-

ceptance of fashion in dress were in place prior to

industrialization. In this regard, Chandra (1983), McKend-

rick, Brewer, and Plumb (1982), and Reddy (1984) haveprovided valuable analyses of the emergence of Europeanconsumer society. In a more general context scholars of

economic history have argued the same point. For example,Lipson (1931) noted,

There is no hiatus in economic development, but

always a constant tide ofprogress and change inwhich

the old is blended almost imperceptibly with the new.

The inventions ofthe late eighteenth century were the

outcome of a long series of industrial experiments, and

to view them in their proper perspective the efforts of

earlier pioneers must not be overlooked. The

&dquo;Industrial Revolution&dquo; constituted no sudden breach

with the existing order, but was part of a continuous

movement which had already made marked advance.

(p. 53)

In a similar way, but with particular regard to Scotland,Smout (1969) warned that &dquo;it must not be imagined ... thatScotland broke out of one, rural, traditional world and

stumbled into a new, industrial, technological one

overnight&dquo; (p. 247). How, then, can the dismay and

bemusement of rural parish ministers in noting the dramatic,rather than gradual, changes that had taken place be

explained? The answer is that Scotland was not a monolithic

whole. On the contrary, at the beginning of the 18th century,there was sufficient variation in cultural complexity in the

land mass known as Scotland to account for the existence of

a variety of different manifestations of complexity in dress

systems as well. By the end of the 18th century, however,&dquo;rural life in many essential respects was radically different

from what it had been even half a century before&dquo; (Smout,1969, pp. 247-248), and certainly dress is one of these.At the start of the century, Scotland can be characterized

by Redfields (1956) distinction between great and littletraditions. Redfield explained that &dquo;the great tradition of the

reflective few... is cultivated in schools and temples&dquo;

while, by contrast, the &dquo;little tradition of the largelyunreflective many ... works itself out and keeps itself goingin the lives ofthe unlettered in village communities&dquo; (p. 70).While most people outside of urban areas had little or no

interaction with the dominant Scottish state, certainly there

were power brokers-lairds, clan chiefs, and politicalfunctionaries--whoexercised varying degrees of control over

the lives of the general population and who mediated

between the world of the dominant state and that of relative

rural isolation with its own social structural mechanisms. In

many respects and for most people, therefore, these two

worlds were quite different.

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.

by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

8/10

46

The populations in the Lowlands and especially in areassouth of the Forth-Clyde line were certainly more primed toease gracefully into the changes in daily life wrought byindustrialization than were those to the north. In the

Lowlands, both the people and social institutions experi-enced the evolutionary processes that brought southern

Scotland to the point of industrialization at the same time

most people in the north were still ignorant ofthose changes.Still, once the system was in place, the little tradition in thenorth could participate in the new order almost immediately.

Sahlins and Service (1960) explained this ability to engagein rapid transformation in their collected essays on culture

change. Of special relevance here is what they called the

Law of Evolutionary Potential. Once a new, qualitativelydifferent means of adaptation is achieved, other less

advanced systems may quickly adopt the new system. In

other words, it is not necessary for every system to gothrough all the same stages at the same rate in order to arriveat the same point.The ease with which these transformations are accomp-

lished varies. This is clear when observing developingnations involved in international textile trade today, nations

that 50 years ago were far removed from any viable

participation in that system. Like Scotland in the last half of

the 18th century, however, these developing nations in the

20th century have been able to shorten dramatically the time

required for movement into an international market

economy, thanks to those developed nations that had

required a much longer time to pave the way. There are other

parallels as well between the Scottish case and developingnations today. In both cases, as these Scottish data and

contemporary development literature illustrate, there are a

variety of unanticipated costs and benefits for both the

affected cultural systems and the individuals whose lives are

affected by such rapid changes. Further, in both instances,

participation in an international money economy results in

an increasingly large international market for fashion goods,but one in which the form and distribution of fashion is

always mediated by and reinterpreted for a particularcultural context in much the same way that sub-cultural

fashion adoption and acquisition are accomplished.

Distinctions Between Fashion and Dress in the Context

of ChangeRoach and Musas (1980) definition of fashion as

something that is widely accepted for a limited period and isthen replaced by a acceptable substitute is appropriatelyvague. It leaves one with many questions: (a) To what extentcan a dress

style undergomodification and still be

considered the same dress style? (b) What is widelyaccepted-widely accepted by whom? For example, the

&dquo;people&dquo; in Platos Republic ( 1974) and the &dquo;people&dquo; asconceived in the U. S. Supreme Court in the 1980s representtwo very different conceptions, conceptions that suggest whythe distinction between fashion and mass fashion is

important. (c) What constitutes a limited period? With what

frequency must change occur-to be considered fashion? (d)Finally, what of &dquo;acceptable substitute?&dquo;An acceptablesubstitute is singular and implies a one-for-one exchange.

Fashion substitution in the last half of the 20th century,

however, and certainly earlier as well is often characterized

by multiple substitutions. Put another way, cannot more

than one form replace an older one suitably? Wisely, Roach

and Musa ( 1980) did not attempt to resolve these questions,nor will this discussion. Yet, some elaboration of them is

useful.

Modification. The issue of style modification by a

particular group of people is related to the issue of cultural

diffusion. Some parish ministers at the end of the 18th

century reported (Sinclair, 1795-1814) that females hadadopted the fashion for English cottons but continued towear their plaids over them as wraps. This is reminiscent of

the photograph in Rudofsky (1947) showing a youngAfrican boy wearing painted-on shorts in British militarystyle. Similarly, while many European peasant groups have

increasing contact with the dominant state, these popula-tions tend to reserve their traditional dress for special

occasions, adopting dominant styles of the state with

increasing frequency. The adoption of a new style ormodification in style may be gender, age, class, or occasion

specific.Among the Karen in Thailand, Hamilton andHamilton (1989) noted that, although men had adopteddominant modem Thai style in dress for most occasions,Karen women generally wore the relatively unchangingtraditional Karen dress.

Wide acceptance. The concept of wide acceptance is

especially problematic. This paper argues that mass fashionis dependent on an industrialized state culture type. Yet,Scottish historical data include reports of concern with

fashion from as early as the 13th century. Further,

throughout aristocratic Europe style changes began to occurwith greater frequency from the 13th century on as the issuesof production, distribution, and communication of the new

styles were resolved. But for whom? For most people?

Writing of medieval Europe,Anderson (1971) observedthat &dquo;aristocrats and peasants did not look to each other for

cultural borrowing. Quite the contrary, the members of theone society seem to have been quite ignorant of the culture ofthe other&dquo; (p. 40). The much quickened pace of changes indress styles in the later MiddleAges had relevance for only afew categories of people at the upper levels of the explodingclass system. In fact, the political economy ofEurope at thattime actively prohibited any natural filtering down of these

new ideas and styles.According toAnderson,

The old agrarian economy would not support mass

affluence. In general, a preindustrial economy gener-ates

only enoughwealth to

support perhapsfive to ten

percent of the total population as noblemen-men

[who were] ... capable of amassing riches and of

consuming luxuries. Commoners had to be denied the

possibility of infringing and diluting these preroga-tives. Given the basic economic limitations, survivalof the system made these attitudes essential. The

result was an aristocratic differentiation that extended

beyond the refusal to share wealth and power withothers. The values or ideas that gave meaning toaristocratic custom were also prevented from

diffusing, since they were functionally bound to

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

9/10

47

activities which could not be shared; and even trivial

borrowing was hindered since any cultural trait mightserve as a symbol of class allegiance. (Anderson,1971, pp. 41-42)

Andersons analysis has important implications for theinterpretation of medieval sumptuary laws and for

explaining their decreasing importance as improvements in

the efficiencies ofboth agricultural and industrial productionincreased. The main point here, however, is that if oneassumes an aristocratic definition of fashion, then fashion

can certainly occur prior to industrialization. On the other

hand, if wide acceptance implies that most people in a social

system participate in some fashion system, rather than justmost people in a particular class, the existence of massfashion requires an industrialized state system.

Limited life. The life span of dress is also problematic.The Roman toga, for example, is a dress style whose shapechanged substantially over the 800-year period from theoutset of the Republic to the demise of the Empire. Yet, in

the space of one individual life it is doubtful that much

variation was discernible. Defining the maximum life spanthat constitutes a definition offashion is not the

point,nor is

it important to do so.Any answer to such a question wouldbe entirely arbitrary and context specific and would requireperiodic redefinition. What is important, however, is the

relationship of the rate of change in dress (fashion) to therate of change in the other societal structures of production,transportation, communication, availability of capital, and

availability of a viable consuming population.Acceptability of replacement. The notion of &dquo;fashion&dquo;

in the past 20 or 30 years has changed from one of &dquo;the look

for Spring&dquo; to one of &dquo;the looks for Spring&dquo; as increasingattention is given to more variation due to age, ethnicity,

political ideology, occasion, and individuality in mood and

lifestyle.In other

words,as the social

organizationof late

20th century industrialized life has increased in complexity,complexity also has increased in the range of suitable

variations in fashion-appropriate forms and in the channels

of distribution for acquisition to fashion. In this regard, too,fashion is both dependent on and is a reflection of the socio-

cultural system of which it is a part.

Summary

Dress is a component of human behavior common to all

human groups; its particular form, function, and meaning,however, are specific to a particular cultural system. Both

aristocratic fashion in dress andmass

fashion in dressare

subsets of dress; in other words, while all fashion is dress,not all dress is fashion. The 18th-century Scottish data

reported in this study provide rare documentation for theshift from a system of dress to a system of mass fashion.

That shift occurred in concert with changes taking place inthe macro-cultural system that not only supported but, in

fact, encouraged the creation of a mass fashion system.Specifically, mass fashion is a function of an industrializedstate system with the understructure to support the

marketing/merchandising/communication of fashion. This

understructure includes a fairly elaborate class system,

elaborate occupational specialization that minimizes theneed to engage large populations in food production, the

efficient use of energy to enhance both agricultural and

industrial production, the availability of capital, a viable

consuming population, and corollary supporting systems of

transportation and communication that enable the market

system to influence consumers attitudes.Additional critical

examination ofthe extent and type of variability in specific man-

ifestations of emerging fashion systems remains to be done.

Between 500 B.C. and 1200A.D., the dominant dress

style in Western Europe for most people was some variationof a simple tunic, one that was most often produced,distributed, and consumed within a few square miles and

within the same kinship group of the wearer. That tunic,however, rarely came close to constituting fashion. Rather,mass fashion, a function of the high degree of socio-cultural

complexity that exists only in an industrialized state culture

type is, itself, more complex than dress. Hence, it becomesmore than an inanity to say that dress, whether relativelystatic or fast-changing in form, is a reflection of society.As a

sub-system of the cultural system in which it is expressed,dress reflects that system just as that system relies on dressfor many social symbolic expressions of itself.As thevariations in dress increase in response to increasing socio-cultural complexity, by meaningful distinctions in age,gender, class, occupational specialization, occasion appro-priateness, ethnicity, and lifestyle variability, so do thevariations in the marketing methods and structure that linkfashion with its consumers.

References

Anderson, R. T. (1971). Traditional Europe:A study in

anthropology and history. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bremner, D. (1869). Industries of Scotland. Edinburgh:A.& C. Black.

Brown, P. H. (1961).Ashort history of Scotland.

Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd. (Original work published1908)

Campbell, R. H. (1965). Scotland since 1707; The rise ofindustrial society. New York: Barnes & Noble.

Chambers, R. (Ed.). (1858). Domestic annals of Scotland

(Vols. 1-3). Edinburgh: n.p.Chandra, M. (1983). From graven images: Patterns of

modern materialism. New York: Columbia UniversityPress.

Cohen, R (1978). Introduction. In R Cohen & E. RService (Eds.), Origins of the state: The anthropology of

political evolution (pp. 1-20). Philadelphia: Institute forthe Study of Human Issues.

Cohen, R., & Service, E. R (1978). Origins of the state:The anthropology ofpolitical evolution. Philadelphia:Institute for the Study of Human Issues.

Dean, I.F.M. (1930). Scottish spinning schools. London:

University of London Press.

Dickinson, W. C. (1977). Scotland from the earliest times

to 1603 (3rd ed.) (A.A.M. Duncan, Ed. & Rev.) Oxford:Clarendon Press. (Original work published 1961)

Dickson, T. (1980). Scottish capitalism; Class, state and

nation before the Union to the present. London:

1990 ITAA. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution.by anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from

8/9/2019 Hamilton J. - ''the Silk Worms of the East Must Be Pillaged'' - The Cultural Foundations of Mass Fashion

10/10

48

Lawrence & Wishart.

Dodds, J. (Ed.). (1887). The diary and general expensebook of William Cunningham of Craigends. T.& A.Constable Printers for the Scottish History Society.

Dunbar, J. T. (1962). History of Highland dress.

Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.Graham, H. G. (1971). Social life of Scotland in the

eighteenth century. New York: Benjamin Blom. (Originalwork published 1899)

Grant, I. F. (1971). Social and economic development of

Scotland before 1603. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.(Original work published 1930)

Hamilton, H. (1963). Economic history of Scotland in the

eighteenth century. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Hamilton, H. (1968). The Industrial Revolution in

Scotland. New York:Augustus M. Kelley. (Originalwork published 1933)

Hamilton, J.A. (1987). Dress as a cultural sub-system:A

metatheory for inquiry in clothing and textiles. Clothingand Textiles Research Journal,6(1), 1-7.

Hamilton, J.A., & Hamilton, J. W. (1989). Dress as areflection and sustainer of social reality:A cross-cultural

perspective. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal,

7(2), 16-22.Harris, M. (1980). Culture, people, nature:An introduction

to general anthropology (3rd ed.). New York: Harperand Row.

Lenman, B. (1981). Integration, enlightenment, andindustrialization: Scotland 1746-1832. Toronto: Uni-

versity of Toronto Press.

Lewellen, T. C. (1983). Political anthropology:An

introduction. South Hadley, MA: Bergin & Garvey.Lipson, E. (1931). The economic history of England: Vol.

3. The age of mercantilism. London: A. & C. Black.

Lythe, S. G. E.,& Butt, J. (1975).An economic history of

Scotland: 1100-1939. Glasgow: Blackie.

Marwick, W. H. (1964). Scotland in modern times:Anoutline of economic and social development since theUnion of 1707. London: Frank Cass.

McKendrick, N., Brewer, J., & Plumb, J. H. (1982). The

birth of a consumer society. Bloomington: Indiana

University Press.

Mitchinson, R. (1982).A history of Scotland. London:Methune.

Mowat, I. R. M. (1981). Easter Ross 1750-1850: The

double frontier. Edinburgh: John Donald.

Parry, M. L., & Slater, T. R. (1980). The making of theScottish countryside. London: Croom Helm.

Plant, M. (1952). The domestic life of Scotland in the

eighteenth century. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UniversityPress.

Plato. (1974). The republic. (H. D. P. Lee, Trans.).Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.

Pryde, G. S. (1962). Scotlandfrom 1603 to the presentday. London: Thomas Nelson.

Reddy, W. M. (1984). The rise of market culture: The

textile trade and French society, 1750-1900. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press.

Redfield, R. (1956). Peasant society and culture. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

Roach, M. E., & Musa, K. E. (1980). New perspectives on

the history of Western dress. New York: Nutri-Guides.

Rudofsky, B. (1947).Are clothes modern?An essay oncontemporary apparel. Chicago: Paul Theobold.

Sahlins, M., & Service, E. R. (1960). Evolution andculture.AnnArbor: University of Michigan Press.

Service, E. R. (1972). Primitive social organization (2nded.). New York: Random House.

Service, E. R. (1975). Origins of the state and civilization.W. W. Norton.

Sinclair, J. (Ed.). (1795-1814). Statistical account ofScotland (Vols. 1-21). Edinburgh: n.p.

Smout, T. C. (1969).Ahistory of the Scottishpeople: 1560-

1830. New York: Charles Scribners Sons.

Steward, J. H. (1972). Theory of culture change: The

methodology of multilinear evolution. Chicago: Uni-versity of Chicago Press.

Tumock, D. (1979). The new Scotland. London: David &Charles.

Tumock, D. (1982). The historicalgeography of Scotlandsince 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Wagner, D. (1984) The growth of sociological theory.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Warden,A. J. (1967). Linen trade:Ancient and modern.London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green.

(Original work published 1864)Wesson, R. G. (1978). State systems: International

pluralism, politics, and culture. New York: The Free

Press.

White. L.A. (1959). The evolution of culture. New York:McGraw-Hill.

Youngson,A. J. (1974). Beyond the Highland line: Three

journals of travel in eighteenth century Scotland: Burt,Pennant, Thornton. London: Collins.

1990 ITAA All rights reserved Not for commercial use or unauthorized distributionby anton kkk on May 21, 2008http://ctr.sagepub.comDownloaded from