Another example would be the gulf between the landed gentry and the nouveau riche. You can buy a mansion and a fancy car, but you can't buy class. You'll be spotted as a moneyed prole the moment you open your mouth or pick up a fork.
Among the cosmopolitan elite, conspicuous consumption is considered utterly gauche; status in this subculture is demonstrated through knowledge of art and culture, through holding the right political opinions and being up on the right trends. Those same cultural status symbols would mark you as low-status in a conservative rural community.
A high-status advertising executive instantly becomes low-status if they're in a room full of hackers or conceptual artists, because their status is denominated in the wrong currency - they're just a sell-out. The symbols of their economic status actively undermine their cultural status. In certain circles, driving a Mercedes and wearing Armani are symbols of a life wasted in the corporate machine.
All status symbols are relative and context-dependent.
Among the cosmopolitan elite, conspicuous consumption is considered utterly gauche; status in this subculture is demonstrated through knowledge of art and culture, through holding the right political opinions and being up on the right trends. Those same cultural status symbols would mark you as low-status in a conservative rural community.
A high-status advertising executive instantly becomes low-status if they're in a room full of hackers or conceptual artists, because their status is denominated in the wrong currency - they're just a sell-out. The symbols of their economic status actively undermine their cultural status. In certain circles, driving a Mercedes and wearing Armani are symbols of a life wasted in the corporate machine.
All status symbols are relative and context-dependent.