<blockquote>The more I think about it, the more I wonder whether beauty work is coded similarly to other forms of inconspicuous consumption. Education is a prime example of inconspicuous consumption—higher education costs money, and while financial aid makes it possible for plenty of bright, poor high school seniors to go to Ivy League schools, you're also unlikely to run across a whole lot of Rockefellers at the local community college.</blockquote>
via <a href="http://www.the-beheld.com/2014/08/beauty-and-inconspicuous-consumption.html">Beauty, and What It Means: Beauty and (In)conspicuous Consumption</a>.