The constant corollary to costly apparel has been social hierarchies. As in the past, so now at this point. The same package of cultural desires and assumptions that has conflicted with the Nephite religious ideal of egalitarianism in the past returns with the desire for costly apparel. Indeed, the two cannot be separated, as the costly apparel is used to visual demarcate the social hierarchies. Of course the division into classes is the destruction of the egalitarian process. Every time Mormon has described this set of circumstances, it has led to conflict in the Nephite lands due to the conflict with the religion. It is now introduced as the pivot on which Nephite history turns from a millennial-type perfection to a disastrous apostasy and destruction.
Historical: Historically and archaeologically, we would see the result of this change as an increase in the size and opulence of permanent architecture. From our modern perspective, the cities that we see after this time will look bigger, better, and more impressive to us. The things that Mormon saw as the downfall of Nephite civilization are precisely the things that impress us in the archaeological record.
“Inscriptions indicate that by AD 200, or perhaps a bit earlier, the first known dynasties of Maya kings were established at a few great Lowland centers such as Tikal, so it is convenient to begin the Classic period at AD 250. Thereafter royal lines proliferated as new centers were founded, and traditions of elite culture in the form of architecture, art, iconography, and writing spread widely at the same time. Rulers increasingly celebrated their distinguished descent and their participation in ritual and war on the inscribed monuments they commissioned.” (David Webster. The Fall of the Ancient Maya. Thames & Hudson. 2002, p. 45).