The Enlightenment, among many other things, was characterized by a movement toward simpler styles of attire, especially among men of higher means - i.e. no more

The Enlightenment, among many other things, was characterized by a movement toward simpler styles of attire, especially among men of higher means - i.e. no more high heels worn by men. That sort of dress became seen as superfluous. It was also the beginning of the modern sciences using rational methods, including the modern study of ancient art and archaeology. It wouldn't surprise me, therefore, if Enlightenment scholars and those who followed interpreted ancient aesthetics through their more recently acquired sense of style, or really projected their style on the ancients, since it would have flattered them to think that they shared a style sensibility with the ancients. As a contrast, in India, where the Enlightenment arrived relatively late, the color intensity of ancient aesthetics has been preserved to a far greater degree.