I've worked long stints where I've had to wear a tie. After a while it just seems natural. I've also worked jobs where jeans and t-shirts were the norm and when I'm there, ties are the devil. And I've also worked where I had to wear a uniform, which in some ways has it's advantages as the company is paying to clothe you. Mostly I've found these things run in cycles, as a labor shortage usually results in relaxation of the dress code.

It might be nice if clothes didn't have connotations of stature or invoke prejudice, but the fact is that they do. Heck, just the shoes you wear are used by others to judge your place in the pecking order. And if you came to work sporting piercings, tatoos and hip-hop clothes (pants that come up to about your knees), you will definitely raise eyebrows among the conservative yuppies.