Taphonomy Bay is the capital of Dace, but this is a recent thing. Built on an abandoned iron glade dedicated to the study of the numerous carcasses beached on it's shores, it used to merely be the country's premier port because of its easy waters and predictable winds. The ruling class of Taphonomy Bay was originally made up of the literate, educated house slaves of the Orredin, who emulated the flamboyant and delicate styles of their former masters in order to usurp their legitimacy after the collapse. The general populace by contrast was chiefly made up of laborers, miners, and teamsters who had slaved their lives away building the Helian Empire. These two classes were called The House and The Dust.
Despite the tension between these two classes, the fact of the matter was, The House could read, write, and do arithmetic, while The Dust could not. They were necessary to organize the labor and trade that kept the state alive, and Taphonomy Bay benefited greatly from their presence, even if it created a limited sort of class struggle between the two groups.
As such, the nobility of Taphonomy Bay have maintained many of the traditions, fashions, and practices of their Helian predecessors to this day, as a reminder of their role in society. In many ways, they have become more dandy and decorated than the Helians have ever been, using makeup to disguise the damage done to their skin by the toxic air of Taphonomy Bay, masking the scent of decay with perfume, and keeping the insects off of their faces with elaborate ruffed collars.