I would posit another option: mass manufacture improved the profitability of things manufactured at scale. The bigger the scale, the lower the cost. As such, t

I would posit another option: mass manufacture improved the profitability of things manufactured at scale. The bigger the scale, the lower the cost. As such, the least expensive things will always appeal to the greatest number of people. Plain things are things that most people find acceptable. Ornate (or even just highly stylised) things are things that some will love and some will hate. It's just things being made that are "least polarising".