He held his father's gaze for a few seconds as he shook his head twice, then lowered his eyes and ignored the five men in their flannel lumberjack shirts. They dressed like that to show their solidarity with the workers. His father criticized Lee's top hat as anti-working class, as a symbol of the plutocrats who rule this country. It's a hat. Your flannel shirts aren't symbols either, their anachronisms.
Factory workers wear blue collar work shirts.
The proletariat haven't worn flannel shirts since the depression. The men looked at one another's clothing but kept poker faces. Lee's mother took the milk from the 'fridge. Lee, I want you to apply to graduate school. Lee shook his head.