One example comes to mind from the recent thread[1] about hiring for older programmers - someone gave an example of an older friend of theirs who started getting substantially more offers once he changed the way he dressed:

> It began with a friend who was in the job market as a 50+. More on the hardware side. This guy has some cool experience. He gets lots of interviews, they go well, but no offers. As his frustration grows, he grows desperate to try something different. He dyes some color back into his hair, gets some tinted glasses, and lets his daughter take him shopping for some more hip interview clothes. A month later and he's in bidding wars for who to hire him. He said the difference was night and day. He was now pointing out his age in interviews "are you sure I'm not too old?" and the interviewers were like "no way man."

In a case like that, fashion has clear social utility and a very real, tangible value to that person.

1. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23320974