10. The sumptuary laws dictated both manners and dress
Under the sumptuary laws, which were encoded in the mid-17th century in New England, the community elders mandated how people could dress. The dress restrictions were based on class standing. Those considered to be of the lower class, “…of mean condition, educations, and callings” were forbidden to “take upon them the garb of gentlemen, by the wearing of gold or silver lace, or buttons, or points at their knees”. In other words, the poor were to dress as the poor, as it was their rightful place as determined by their status at birth.
Women of the lower class were forbidden to emulate their social superiors by wearing “tiffany hoods or scarves”. The law in Massachusetts was similar to one passed earlier in Connecticut, and carried financial penalties for those found in violation. A person’s social status was determined by the value of property owned. Taxes (which were less affordable by the poor) were enacted on several goods in part to ensure that the less affluent were unable to consume them. Among the goods taxed by the sumptuary laws were lace, sugar, spices, and wine. The Puritan elders considered tobacco to be an idle luxury, and though grown in New England, especially along the Connecticut River, it was taxed as well.