Social status

In many societies, people of high rank set aside special items of clothing or decoration for themselves as symbols of their social status. In ancient times, only Roman senators could wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple; only high-ranking Hawaiian chiefs could wear feather cloaks and palaoa or imprinted whale teeth. Under the Travancore kingdom of Kerala (India), lower caste women caste had to pay a tax for the right to cover their upper body. In China before the establishment of the republic, only the monarch could wear yellow. In many cases throughout history, there have been intricate systems of sumptuary laws regulating who could wear what. In other societies, no laws prohibit lower-status people wearing high status garments, but the high cost of status garments effectively limits purchase and display. In current Western society, only the rich can afford haute couture. The threat of social exclusion may also limit garment choice.