Step 1: Understand the task.
We must choose the meaning of the given proverb (lokokti) about showing off.
Step 2: Recall how proverbs work.
A lokokti carries a deeper moral meaning beyond its literal words and often exposes human tendencies like pride or hypocrisy.
Step 3: Read the proverb literally.
The saying about a merchant's boast and a rented dhoti shows a person acting grand while owning almost nothing.
Step 4: Interpret the contrast.
The clash between proud display and borrowed clothing points squarely at false, hollow pretension.
Step 5: Weigh the options.
Shame, no remedy, and fashion all miss this idea of fake grandeur, so they are rejected.
Step 6: Conclude.
The proverb means putting on artificial greatness, banavati badappan, option D.
\[ \boxed{\text{D. } \text{banavati badappan (artificial greatness)}} \]