A century ago, Thorstein Veblen articulated the notion of Conspicuous Consumption; that people will deliberately acquire or cultivate things that indicate high status to the rest of the world. Case in point: The extremely long fingernails of Chinese mandarins ... the long fingernails were proof that person didn't have to work - or do much of anything - with his hands. Another example: The Fred Astair walking stick or the military swaggerstick ... carrying this useless item meant that he couldn't be expected to carry or use his hands for anything else. Pretty much the same deal with elaborate hairstyles - for women of any color; these convoluted and delicate hair arrangements tell the world that the woman (a) has enough spare time to sit still for this time consuming hairstyling, and (b) isn't ever required to do anything that would spoil the hairdo.