They do see value in buying an iPhone for social cachet, even when they can't really afford one.

他们发现购买iPhone能体现社会地位，尽管有的人买不起。

youdao

Those seeking status want to impress others, feel more important, or gain social cachet from the association.

追逐名利的人在群体组织中希望自己能给人留下深刻的印象，自我感觉很重要，或从中得到社会声望；

youdao

Fair enough: and yet people in every age and culture have always hunted for ways to acquire social cachet.

ECONOMIST: Brands

More than anything, however, it is the academic reputation and social cachet of the older American institutions that inspires copycats.

ECONOMIST: Arabs don't like American policy but do like its education

They disapprove of the vapid notion that spending more on a soft drink or ice cream can bring happiness or social cachet.

ECONOMIST: Brands