Status symbol

For example, before the invention of the printing press, possession of a large collection of laboriously hand-copied books was a symbol of wealth and scholarship.

In later centuries, books (and literacy) became more common, so a private library became less-rarefied as a status symbol, though a sizable collection still commands respect.

Special colors, such as imperial yellow (in China) or royal purple (in ancient Rome) were reserved for royalty, with severe penalties for unauthorized display.

In academic circles, a long list of publications and a securely tenured position at a prestigious university or research institute are a mark of high status.

Now that workers usually do less-physical work indoors and find little time for exercise, being tanned and thin is often a status symbol in modern cultures.

Ancient Central American Maya cultures artificially induced crosseyedness and flattened the foreheads of high-born infants as a permanent, lifetime sign of noble status.

Examples may include a mansion or penthouse apartment,[9] a trophy wife,[10] haute couture fashionable clothes,[11] jewellery,[12] or a luxury vehicle.

In the Soviet Union before the fall of the Berlin Wall, possession of American-style blue jeans or rock music recordings (even pirated or bootlegged copies) was an important status symbol among rebellious teenagers.

Certain brands are so highly valued that cheap counterfeit goods or knock-off copies are purchased and displayed by those who do not want to, or are unable to, pay for the genuine item.