Consumerism relates to finding a mate?

According to Geoffry Miller's The Evolution of Consumerism, people shell out money for brand name products to display social dominance and, ultimately, to attract a mate. Miller states that people who buy brand-name, top-of-the-line products "understand that their price is a benefit, not a cost." He argues that we buy expensive products "for the impressions they make in the heads of others."


Miller goes on to compare expensive head-phones to peacock's tails and nightingale's songs. He is saying that how we choose to spend our money directly reflects how we want to be seen by potential mates. So, if Joe Average can't afford a Mercedes Benz, but his neighbor can, his neighbor will have a better chance at finding a quality mate?


This is a fascinating article, but will having a Louis Vuitton bag really help me find a better man? Would most men even recognize a Louis Vuitton bag if they saw one? I'm not so sure.
I agree that top-of-the-line products are often a display of social hierarchy. I purchased a D&G bag at a purse party last year and, although I hate to admit it, I tend to get more respect from other women when I take it out with me. Men, on the other hand, never seem to notice. In my opinion, most men are more likely to notice if a woman's dress is short or low cut than if took out a second mortgage just to afford it.