A ful fair sighte was it upon hem two;
On halydayes biforn hire wolde he go
With his typet wounde aboute his heed,
And she cam after in a gyte of reed;
And Symkyn hadde hosen of the same.
Ther dorste no wight clepen hire but "dame."
– Geoffrey Chaucer
The Canterbury Tales, The Reeve’s Tale. Together the preening Symkyn and his wife make for quite a sight when they parade themselves around town in their flashy clothes. She in her red gown and he fully color-coordinated with her in his red hose and hood. Oh, and she insists on being called "dame" – meaning lady. Well, if you can inflate your profits in business by cheating your customers, you might as well look successful to the neighbors too.