In fact, the researchers write that wearing gym clothes in, say, a luxury boutique can lead others to perceive you as more well-to-do. “It’s been found that under certain conditions, nonconforming behaviors, such as not following the expected dress code or the appropriate professional conduct in a given context, can signal higher status,” they write. “When the deviant behavior appears to be deliberate, it can lead to higher status inferences rather than lower ones.”