Your point 1 makes sense. But as for your point 2, it seems to me that the observer would need to have just as good social skills in order to tell who is wearing the newest fashion.
Good catch, but maybe recognizing something fashionable is easier than setting it up?
Or maybe, a near miss is much worse than a safe choice, so the people who are not entirely sure will play it safe, but will be impressed by those who take the risk and don’t get laughed at.
The real rules are even more complicated, there is no such thing as universally fashionable; the choice must fit the social situation—you wouldn’t play sport dressed the same way you would go to an opera. The social situation includes other people; if you undershoot, you look like a loser, if you overshoot, you look like you try too hard; the optimum is to overshoot just by little: to look better but in a deniable way.
I think the general rules are that (1) people can judge the level slightly above them, but can’t compare levels too high above them; and (2) trying too hard and getting it wrong is worse than not trying, in the eyes of those qualified to judge you. So you judge those around your level directly, and those too high by how other people higher than you judge them.
People who follow the newest fashion are likely to
be rich (newest fashion is often expensive)
have good social skills (to successfully decode what the newest fashion is)
Both these things make them potentially useful allies and dangerous enemies.
Your point 1 makes sense. But as for your point 2, it seems to me that the observer would need to have just as good social skills in order to tell who is wearing the newest fashion.
Good catch, but maybe recognizing something fashionable is easier than setting it up?
Or maybe, a near miss is much worse than a safe choice, so the people who are not entirely sure will play it safe, but will be impressed by those who take the risk and don’t get laughed at.
The real rules are even more complicated, there is no such thing as universally fashionable; the choice must fit the social situation—you wouldn’t play sport dressed the same way you would go to an opera. The social situation includes other people; if you undershoot, you look like a loser, if you overshoot, you look like you try too hard; the optimum is to overshoot just by little: to look better but in a deniable way.
I think the general rules are that (1) people can judge the level slightly above them, but can’t compare levels too high above them; and (2) trying too hard and getting it wrong is worse than not trying, in the eyes of those qualified to judge you. So you judge those around your level directly, and those too high by how other people higher than you judge them.
(Or maybe I don’t actually understand it.)