Consumption and Status: Shopping for Clothes in a Nineteenth-Century Bedfordshire Gentry HouseholdMidland HistoryPrize Essay 2010

Abstract

The profound link between consumption and status is well established, particularly in economic terms, yet the motivation of the consumer continues to cause much debate. Various recent studies, often using gender, class and/or geographical region as filters, have contributed to our understanding of the complexities of consumer motivation. Utilising the wealth of evidence left behind by one genteel family, the Gibbards of Sharnbrook in Bedfordshire, this study expands on their findings, providing an insight into the consumption habits of a rather neglected social group, the rural lesser gentry, at the end of the Georgian period. A focused analysis of their consumption of clothing reveals a close connection between consumption and identity and uncovers a complex and thoughtful purchasing process. The Gibbards displayed taste, thrift and good judgement in their interaction with the marketplace, applying various skills in the art of shopping. The nature of their relationship with each supplier links closely to their status and directly relates to location and the type of goods or services provided. The influence of fashion seems to have been tempered by prudence and propriety with the findings suggesting that their motivation to consume was more likely to have been founded out of a desire to maintain rather than to enhance their status.

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