Bare Feet
When Edward takes off work and the couple spends the day together, Vivian convinces Edward to have a picnic in the park. During a montage of their outdoor rendezvous, we see Vivian take Edward's socks off for him and put his bare feet on the grass while he speaks on the phone with someone from his office. In this moment, she is introducing him to the world outside the office, a world of sensation and feeling, a more casual and connective mode. Later, when Edward decides to work with Morse instead of against him, he leaves the board room to think, and paces barefoot on the grass, transformed into a more feeling businessman by his relationship with Vivian. The camera jumps suddenly from Edward's bare feet to Vivian's as she walks across the carpet in the penthouse suite.
Expensive Clothes & Jewelry
New clothes are the primary way that Vivian transforms from a prostitute to Edward's date. Barnard connects Vivian with a salesgirl who helps her pick out a dress for the dinner with Morse. When Edward sees how her appearance has changed, he can hardly believe his eyes.
Later, Edward buys Vivian a number of fancy clothes at an expensive department store, and his doting on her in this way signals his interest in her. After Edward tells the salesman that the couple is interested in spending a "profane" amount of money for the clothes, the staff pays extra close attention to her and showers her with different outfits to try on. She leaves the store newly decked out in the elegant clothes of a wealthy woman, and goes to pay a vengeful visit on the boutique that had discriminated against her when she wore less chic clothing.
Vivian at the opera wearing a red dress and quarter-million-dollar necklace has become an iconic image in film history. The outfit signifies Vivian's ascendance to the world of the wealthy, a fairy tale ballgown for a modern-day Cinderella.
Cars
When Edward drives down Hollywood Boulevard in a Lotus Esprit, Vivian and Kit take notice, and the car signifies a potential wealthy customer. Later, Vivian first piques Edward's interest when she knows more about Phil's Lotus Esprit than he does, and he offers for her to sit behind the wheel. She drives like a pro. The car is a status symbol, representing the extreme wealth that Edward enjoys, and it is also a place where Vivian is in control.
At the end, Vivian returns home in the back of a limousine, weeping as she leaves Edward behind. When Edward rescues Vivian at the very end, he arrives in that same limousine, peeking out the sun roof holding roses.
Money
While signifiers of wealth are everywhere—the opera, a polo match, expensive clothes and jewelry, a penthouse suite—money itself is also a consistent image in the film. At the start, Vivian searches for missing rent money and finds only a few bills in her and Kit's shared hiding space. When she first gives Edward directions, he hands her a $20 bill. When she tries to leave him after Phil refers to her as a hooker, Edward throws a stack of $1000 bills onto the couch, but she does not take them. In the end, she takes the bills.
