IN THEIR REJOINDER, COELHO, KLEIN, AND MCCLURE (CKM) mistake colorful descriptions of fashion for an explanation of fashion, confuse signaling with the chest-thumping of individuals who have nothing to signal, and attack innocent simplifying assumption without asking whether changing those...

The paper argues that fashion demand is cyclical because of the signaling role of fashion. Agents use fashion goods to signal their type—e.g., their wealth—and to screen the type of other agents. A fashion good is an effective signal as long as its price is high and only high types...