I really don't understand your point. It's not as though wearing clothing "good enough" to get "social brownie points" is difficult in most places. An ironed, w

I really don't understand your point. It's not as though wearing clothing "good enough" to get "social brownie points" is difficult in most places. An ironed, well tailored outfit and simple color coordination is usually good enough to signal to people that you're credible. Most folks will not need to get into the finer points of fashion like the very latest trends and brand names. So I don't see where sincerity plays in when the bar to just reach the level of "looks like they have their things together" is pretty low. In my experience (I sort of enjoy fashion) most people cannot tell the minute differences between "tailored outfit & basic color coordination" and "total fashionista who keeps up with everything." I can walk around with a fake Coach bag, get compliments all day, most people just do not know. There's exceptions of course, certain offices/fields of work. But it's not common.