Around the nation, school districts that had not considered them before are rushing to reinstate dress codes. The schools would do well to go even further, all the way to uniforms. The actor Laurence Olivier once said that he could not become a character until he had decided upon the right nose. Clothes do the same for all of us. We dress for church or synagogue to convey the importance we attach to prayer.
Clergymen go further.
Religious vestments help invest the wearer with both authority and spirituality. It is nearly impossible to imagine a man draped in a tallis using coarse language or engaging in vulgar conduct. The same goes for a clerical collar. We are only human. We are affected by surface things.