I'm writing a sci-fantasy novel that starts off in a country whose technological and cultural setting is roughly equivalent to WWII-era America. I grew up comfortable with the classical image of the 1940s working man who leaves the house in a suit + tie and wearing a hat. Obviously I know this was not the case for every American man on every socioeconomic level, such as farmers or dock workers. My question is this: at what point on the socioeconomic scale would a man not go out into public wearing a suit and hat? At what point would he be too poor to have these things, or have them be such a luxury as to only be worn out on special occasions? Relatedly, I was wondering if anyone knew of language resources dealing with historical vernacular. I remember reading somewhere that "Yeah" was one of the major linguistic anachronisms present on the show Mad Men (set in the 60s, for those who haven't seen it), so I would like to make the way my characters speak truer to that time period, if possible. Are there any phrontisteries or thesauruses that cover this sort of thing? Thanks in advance.
