How did expensive fabrics make certain clothing styles symbols of prestige?

Expensive fabrics served as powerful symbols of prestige because they were rare, costly to acquire, and difficult to maintain, effectively signaling that the wearer possessed significant wealth and did not need to perform manual labor.1

The prestige associated with these materials was reinforced through several mechanisms:

• Exclusivity and Regulation: Governments historically used sumptuary laws to restrict the use of luxurious fabrics—such as silk, velvet, brocade, and cloth of gold—to the aristocracy and the highest social classes. By legally forbidding lower classes from wearing these materials, authorities ensured that clothing remained a clear indicator of one's social standing.2
• Impracticality: Styles requiring excessive amounts of expensive fabric or complex maintenance, such as ruffs that required daily starching and ironing, demonstrated that the wearer had the resources to employ servants. Impractical designs also signaled that the individual was removed from the necessity of physical work.1
• Display of Wealth: In the Byzantine Empire, the use of silk interwoven with gold and silver threads and adorned with pearls created a "magnificent splendour" that served as a visual testament to the wearer's status and the empire's trade success.3