The Concept of Conspicuous Consumption

Researchers in recent years have explored the idea of inconspicuous consumption. In some ways, perhaps because luxury goods have become so widely available, you can no longer compete with your neighbor by buying a fancy car. And so you come up with new ways to compete using what people inconspicuous consumption are called codes. For example, dressing downin when you're n a position of power is sort of counter signalling - look, i don't need to show off because i'm wealthy.