Do not make yourself uneasy, my dear cousin, about your apparel. Lady Catherine is far from requiring that elegance of dress in us which becomes herself and daughter. I would advise you merely to put on whatever of your clothes is superior to the rest…she likes to have the distinction of rank preserved.
– Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 29. Mr. Collins tells Elizabeth this when they are invited to dine with Lady Catherine de Bourgh at Rosings. The ridiculous snobbery, vanity and obsession with social rank of both Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine are beautifully satirized in this passage where Mr. Collins suggests Elizabeth doesn’t have an elegant dress.