Final answer:
Political symbols during the French Revolution were reflected in clothing, with the sans-culottes wearing long trousers to oppose aristocratic culottes, and the red flag signifying republican labor. The top hat also emerged as a class identifier for the bourgeoisie.
Step-by-step explanation:
The political symbols of the French Revolution were vividly reflected in the clothing of the time, signifying one's social status and political allegiance. The sans-culottes, representing the radical working and lower classes who couldn't afford the knee-breeches (culottes) of the aristocracy, adopted long trousers as a symbol of their class and revolutionary ideals. This rejection of aristocratic attire symbolized their opposition to the monarchy and the socio-economic structures that oppressed them.
Additionally, after the capture of the royal family and the fall of King Louis XVI, the red flag emerged as a powerful revolutionary symbol, representing the laboring class and a republic free from monarchical rule. The red flag became a target of rage for the old order as it flew over the Hôtel de Ville, marking a significant turn in the revolution's progress.
The top hat later became an iconic symbol amongst the bourgeoisie, signifying a specific "uniform" of respectability and class identity by the mid-nineteenth century.