Theexceptionsunderthisruleofexemptionfromthecorsetaremoreapparentthanreal。Theyarethewealthyclassesofcountrieswithalowerindustrialstructure——nearerthearchaic，quasi-industrialtype——togetherwiththelateraccessionsofthewealthyclassesinthemoreadvancedindustrialcommunities。Thelatterhavenotyethadtimetodivestthemselvesoftheplebeiancanonsoftasteandofreputabilitycarriedoverfromtheirformer，lowerpecuniarygrade。SuchsurvivalofthecorsetisnotinfrequentamongthehighersocialclassesofthoseAmericancities，forinstance，whichhaverecentlyandrapidlyrisenintoopulence。Ifthewordbeusedasatechnicalterm，withoutanyodiousimplication，itmaybesaidthatthecorsetpersistsingreatmeasurethroughtheperiodofsnobbery——theintervalofuncertaintyandoftransitionfromalowertotheupperlevelsofpecuniaryculture。Thatistosay，inallcountrieswhichhaveinheritedthecorsetitcontinuesinusewhereverandsolongasitservesitspurposeasanevidenceofhonorificleisurebyarguingphysicaldisabilityinthewearer。Thesameruleofcourseappliestoothermutilationsandcontrivancesfordecreasingthevisibleefficiencyoftheindividual。
Somethingsimilarshouldholdtruewithrespecttodiversitemsofconspicuousconsumption，andindeedsomethingofthekinddoesseemtoholdtoaslightdegreeofsundryfeaturesofdress，especiallyifsuchfeaturesinvolveamarkeddiscomfortorappearanceofdiscomforttothewearer。Duringthepastonehundredyearsthereisatendencyperceptible，inthedevelopmentofmen’sdressespecially，todiscontinuemethodsofexpenditureandtheuseofsymbolsofleisurewhichmusthavebeenirksome，whichmayhaveservedagoodpurposeintheirtime，butthecontinuationofwhichamongtheupperclassestodaywouldbeaworkofsupererogation；as，forinstance，theuseofpowderedwigsandofgoldlace，andthepracticeofconstantlyshavingtheface。Therehasoflateyearsbeensomeslightrecrudescenceoftheshavenfaceinpolitesociety，butthisisprobablyatransientandunadvisedmimicryofthefashionimposeduponbodyservants，anditmayfairlybeexpectedtogothewayofthepowderedwigofourgrandfathers。
Theseindicesandotherswhichresembletheminpointoftheboldnesswithwhichtheypointouttoallobserversthehabitualuselessnessofthosepersonswhoemploythem，havebeenreplacedbyother，morededicatemethodsofexpressingthesamefact；
methodswhicharenolessevidenttothetrainedeyesofthatsmaller，selectcirclewhosegoodopinionischieflysought。Theearlierandcrudermethodofadvertisementhelditsgroundsolongasthepublictowhichtheexhibitorhadtoappealcomprisedlargeportionsofthecommunitywhowerenottrainedtodetectdelicatevariationsintheevidencesofwealthandleisure。Themethodofadvertisementundergoesarefinementwhenasufficientlylargewealthyclasshasdeveloped，whohavetheleisureforacquiringskillininterpretingthesubtlersignsofexpenditure。“Loud“dressbecomesoffensivetopeopleoftaste，asevincinganunduedesiretoreachandimpresstheuntrainedsensibilitiesofthevulgar。Totheindividualofhighbreeding，itisonlythemorehonorificesteemaccordedbythecultivatedsenseofthemembersofhisownhighclassthatisofmaterialconsequence。Sincethewealthyleisureclasshasgrownsolarge，orthecontactoftheleisure-classindividualwithmembersofhisownclasshasgrownsowide，astoconstituteahumanenvironmentsufficientforthehonorificpurpose，therearisesatendencytoexcludethebaserelementsofthepopulationfromtheschemeevenasspectatorswhoseapplauseormortificationshouldbesought。Theresultofallthisisarefinementofmethods，aresorttosubtlercontrivances，andaspiritualizationoftheschemeofsymbolismindress。Andasthisupperleisureclasssetsthepaceinallmattersofdecency，theresultfortherestofsocietyalsoisagradualameliorationoftheschemeofdress。
Asthecommunityadvancesinwealthandculture，theabilitytopayisputinevidencebymeanswhichrequireaprogressivelynicerdiscriminationinthebeholder。Thisnicerdiscriminationbetweenadvertisingmediaisinfactaverylargeelementofthehigherpecuniaryculture。