In the programming profession, it is quite the opposite. The worse you dress, the more you make. I limit myself to T-shirts and jeans. But at Emerald Systems, their star programmer programs buck naked. When I was at Jostens, one highly paid consultant ran around in cutoff shorts and no shoes or socks.
Regular bathing seems to be optional for programmers.
Our self-worth is tied up entirely by how well we code. Dressing down seems to be a message to management that we are so good, we can do what we want. We seem to be correct. Want to destroy a good programmer, put him in a tie. Recently I quoted a fund-raising letter written during the depression by Paul Felix Warburg .