### Roman sumptuary laws failed similarly to Prohibition > Roman women’s clothing was also subject to law. Around 215-213 BCE the Lex Oppia dictated that, among other things, no woman could wear a dress of more than one color. Passed during the Second Punic War to curb excess, it was repealed a mere two decades later, in part because it proved difficult to enforce. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01ffr3dxqbdwj156wx389fd3a8) ### clothes in a Korean dynasty defined familial relationships > In most cultures, sumptuary laws helped distinguish nobility from commoners, but in some places they also helped define royal relationships. During Korea’s Joseon dynasty (1392- 1897), when kings had multiple wives and many children, the colors royal women wore helped define their relationship to the king. For example the [colors of the *wonsam*](http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/clothes/clothes.cfm?xURL=official), the ceremonial overcoat worn by royal and high-ranking married women, were strictly codified, with the empress wearing yellow, the queen wearing red, and the crown princess and concubines donning a purple-red color. A princess born to a king and a concubine (or women of a noble family or lower) wore green. These colors made it easier to determine rank from a distance. - [View Highlight](https://mentalfloss.com/article/94521/6-times-sumptuary-laws-told-people-what-wear?__readwiseLocation=0%2F20%2F3%2F1%2F1%2F3%2F1%2F1%2F3%2F19%2F1%2F50%3A1%2C2%2F20%2F3%2F1%2F1%2F3%2F1%2F1%2F3%2F19%2F1%2F50%3A372#:~:text=In%20most%20cultures%2C%20sumptuary%20laws%2Cdetermine%20rank%20from%20a%20distance.)