What Would Veblen Wear?

Abstract

Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class is largely based on his explication of emulation whereby individuals of lower status imitate people of higher status. The proliferation of identity categories and the democratization of consumer credit complicate the application of emulation to contemporary consumer behavior. Veblen is ill-equipped to describe consumption related to social categories such as race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity. The phenomenon of dressing down within dominant American culture reveals the limits of Veblen's ideas when applied to less privileged social categories. An exclusive focus on individual choices ignores the interaction of structure and agency that characterizes the practice of consumption in contemporary society.

Keywords:

• agency
• consumption
• cultural capital
• structure