Much of it is just for show. Back in the 80s when people actually dressed up for Mass, Easter Sunday was like a fashion show. People I had never seen before would show up with their little ones dressed to the hilt. One particular family who were the rich magnates in the Parish would show up late for Mass with the entire family, and the father would be dressed in a white suit and his family would be dressed in the most dressiest clothes and hats you can imagine. They would also drive themselves there in their white Rolls Royce and park illegally on the medium while the rest of the peons would have to park blocks away. He would never get a ticket because he was friends with the local sheriff, another fact he flaunted.
That should read “median”, not “medium”.