In some societies, clothing may be used to indicate rank or status. In ancient Rome, for example, only senators were permitted to wear garments dyed with Tyrian purple. In traditional Hawaiian society only high-ranking chiefs wear feather cloaks and palaoa or carved whale teeth. Under the Travancore Kingdom of Kerala, (India), lower caste women had to pay a tax for the right to cover their upper body. In China, before the establishment of the republic, only the emperor could wear yellow. There are numerous examples throughout history of elaborate systems of sumptuary laws regulating what people could wear.
In societies without such laws, which includes most modern societies, social status is instead signaled by the purchase of high cost, rare, or luxury items, the purchase of which are effectively limited to those with the wealth or status to acquire them. In addition, peer pressure may influence clothing choice.
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