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... of conspicuous waste, the principle of conspicuous leisure and the principle of up to datedness where waste does not serve human life (Veblen 1992). This idea supports the Marxist idea that fashion only appears when society is so well organised that it produces more than the minimum needed to survive thus this surplus is suggested to show itself in the form of fashion where clothing is concerned. (Braudel 1981) can be seen to support Rouse's theory by his own idea that fashion began by noblemen, squires and the bourgeoisie wearing tunics 'so tight that they revealed what modesty bids us to hide.' The reason for doing this can be seen as a show of male masculinity thus creating an unconscious link between this way of dressing and their power in society as men and as the Elite ruling class. (Wilson 1985) suggests that it began in the 14th Century with the ...