At the same time, China is proving a boon to Coach's sales, as residents that have become more affluent buy the retailer's status-symbol bags.

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His distinctive designs, featuring folded metal exteriors in free-form shapes, are a billionaire's latest status symbol.

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"Because it's Michael Graves, it's a status symbol, " pipes Nicole Schumann, a sales agent for the Impala, which went on sale in March.

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It's not exactly a status symbol any more, at least not in the U.S., after it got left in the dust by the iPhone.

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For most Chinese, eating shark's fin still remains a status symbol.

BBC: Hong Kong shark fin trade declines

Although whisky producers claim to detect the first signs of a revival, selling Scotch as the liquor to drink while playing pool or cruising the dance floor poses a risk to the drink's long-term status as an international symbol of success.

ECONOMIST: Scotch whisky

Then there's a geekier crowd looking to flaunt the ultimate techie status symbol: brains--both their own, and those they've bought.

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While some have seen sales hits, industry observers say the rhetoric is unlikely to have a major impact on Apple's iPhone sales in the country as the handset remains a fashionable status symbol.

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More recently, Silicon Valley's tech elite has taken to buying and flying their own planes as a status symbol.

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Embellished dragonflies were subtly placed on some of the shoes remember Burch's roots are in accessories making them an instant, must-have status symbol.

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