The Lil' Abner comic strip (now being re-run in fits and starts on
comic.com) plays even the direst situations for laughs, but the strip
in which Daisy Mae weeps bitterly because she can't afford to dress
like the city girls is dead serious.  It's a pity that that strip
won't come by again before we've long since forgotten this
conversation.

Our society has fashion rules too.  They're more complex because we
are filthy, rolling-in-it RICH and can afford to change clothes as
often as we please -- I actually have *two* pairs of black oxfords,
two pairs of party slippers, three pairs of sandals, and special shoes
for riding my bike and special boots for walking in snow.  In the era
we are discussing, I polished my school shoes every Saturday night so
that they would look nice for church, and never thought of having more
than one pair.