The Class of 2004/05 research by marketing agency Fish Can Sing pinpoints 10 types of people within Britain's middle class, not based on their background but on how they consume brands. The Class of 2004/05 examines purchasing habits and attitudes and claims that class status is no longer attributed to someone's career, income and property.
Instead, it is which kind of BMW you drive or would choose to drive, which brand of sportswear you favour and where in Spain you have been on holiday this year.
If you answer Barcelona rather than Magaluf then you are probably a member of the "Hornby Set", iPod-loving former left-wingers who would cite the election of a Labour government as the greatest achievement in Britain in the last 10 years.
But you really need to visit the online to find out which of the 10 class-defining categories you slip into.
The survey, and the book that comes with it, argues that the country's middle class is the biggest of all classes now that the rigid layers of lower, middle and upper that once existed are now collapsing into each other.
Being middle class is not longer about how much cash you have, but how much taste and sensibility you are able to demonstrate.
The trend has been is identified in a unique new guide to Britain's middle classes written by leading social commentators such as: Richard Benson, former editor of The Face; GQ writer Alex Bilmes; novelist Miranda Sawyer; and style guru Simon Mills.
The report argues that everyone in Britain really is middle class now from former Posh Spice Victoria Beckham to Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The 10 categories:
White Vain Man and No Sugar Babe - Both 29, married for five years, with a baby called Rio. He works for his father's business, while she is a beautician hoping to open her own nail bar next year. He wears a Tag watch, has a native American tattoo and loves brands like Polo Ralph Lauren, Paul Smith jeans and Adidas trainers. She wears Miss Sixty jeans, Top Shop slogan T-shirts and a Von Dutch baseball cap.
(Jamie) Oliver's Army - Living in a small Home Counties town, they met at university or school, with jobs like a sport instructor or teacher. They keep a close eye on their money and love all-inclusive holidays, while driving a Renault Clio. They love metallite-effect wall paint, M&S nibbles and their B&Q card.
The guide says: "Oliver's Army probably won't give you any trouble -- they just want to be thought of as good eggs, generous and a little bit trendy -- but you might find them disappearing quickly if you show them your piercings."
Loft-wingers - Aged between 18 and 40, this group will go to any length not to be middle class and love people like Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke and Shaun Ryder for their integrity. Living in a scruffy warehouse or Victorian conversion, their friends call them trendy, but they prefer "creative" because they work in the arts or media. Their dress sense is experimental, weird or scruffy.
Notting Pillbillies - Living in a fashionable part of town, they are in their early 40s and have extended their youth into middle age, concentrating on interior design, their car and even the soap they use. They are a fashion-conscious version of Hyacinth Bucket. Both have given up high-pressure careers for more down-to-earth jobs in an organic cafe and as a masseuse.
Suburberrys - Grown-up versions of Essex Man and Woman of the Eighties. They come from modest backgrounds and want to work hard and do well for themselves. Probably self-employed, with three children, they like restaurants with big tables where they can entertain friends and family.
Normal Actuallys - In their mid-30s, but actually turned 40 at the age of 22. Live in a semi in tree-lined street on outskirts of major conurbation, probably Esher, Surrey. He works in the City, while she brings up the children single-handed, doing charity work in between. Drive an Audi Allroad and love the latest gadgets like digital camera, XBox and flatscreen TV.
Hornby Set - Indirect descendents of ban-the-bomb, bra-burning parents, they buy Abyssinian flatbread, fresh houmous and Rioja for an anti-war picnic. They want to make trade fair and cancel third-world debt, but also have a Polish cleaner.
Saga Louts - In their mid-60s, having the time of their lives. With generous pensions they are more hedonistic then they have ever been. Fridge stocked with cooked chicken, pickles, salami and chocolate cake. Always improving their house, they take three holidays a year, including a big cruise. They have embraced new technology, although they can not work the video.
Fair-to-Middlings - He's a 63-year-old chartered accountant, now doing a four-day week, she's a part-time magistrate and loves amateur dramatics. He likes Church's brogues for work, rubber-soled Clarks for weekends, she likes short hair, M&S underwear and cardigans. Favourite brands include BT, the National Trust, Tesco and the BBC.
Alt.Middles - A completely new type of middle-class person whose anti-cliched behaviour has become a cliche. They hate anything that is popular, but like a VW Golf (not GTi), Smile bank, Oyster travel cards and old maps. They dislike modern-business speak, Busted, camera phones and alcopops. They have an overwhelming desire to have been born in a different period of history.
Howard Beale, partner at The Fish Can Sing, said: "Class of 2004/05 is a guide that has identified 10 types of people within the middle class according to how they consume brands."
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