Our possessions and belongings are a key part of our identity, they being both a contributor to and a reflection of our identities (Belk, 1988). Their role as means of self-expression and self-worth has been well documented (Rosenbaum 1972, Van Esterick 1986). McCarthy (1984) concludes that our identities may reside in objects more than they do in individuals. Feeling of identity invested in material objects can be extraordinarily high and they play a role in creation, enhancement, and preservation of a sense of identity (Belk, 1988). People seek, express, confirm and ascertain a sense of being through what they have (Satre, 1943)
This expression and perception of identity via possessions and their close intertwining with the sense of self gives them an important role in signaling status and even self-worth. Whether it might be the case of sumptuary laws in middle ages which defined what grooms & knights could and could not wear (Berry 1994); thus providing visual cues for social status differentiation (Han, Nunes & Dreze 2010) or the astounding wardrobe of Elizabeth I signaling her divinity (McKendrick, Brewer, and Plumb 1983, p.76). Interestingly signaling works not just into social cues but also deeply biological one with Heslton et al (2007) observing that near
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Evolution theory also argues that humans' preference for luxury consumption is attributable to a universal tendency toward signaling characteristics that may increase status (Cummins, 2005; Miller, 2009; Saad, 2007). Wilcox et al (2009) propose that consumers buy luxury brands primarily for symbolic reasons to reflect their individual or social