Thanks again, all, for your contributions. RhubarbCommando - I guess you aren't called a pooh bah for nothing. The word I was seeking for indeed was "sumptuary" and here is how it appears in a caption above a vintage photo (circa 1861-64) of an elaborately dressed Chinese couple - a Cantonese Mandarin and his wife, in an article, Images of Old China, found in Architectural Digest, May 1999:

"China's complex sumptuary laws, in wich rank dictated every detail of costume, are reflected in a portrait of a couple wearing their official robes." John Cuadrado