We also want to keep in mind that there are also degrees of “dressed”. Armani suit is full blown biz dress. Slacks and a nice knit top are considered biz casual. Those who don’t want to be completely decked out in biz attire can still opt for comfy biz/cas clothes and look professional.

Similarly, a nice hawaiian shirt with khakis may be considered biz/cas in various places (esp. hawaii). A wrinkly t-shirt with stained sweat pants look terrible anywhere.

The gist of the comment was that I can see the value of having such a dress code for business students, but I think there’s less practical value for grad students given that the dress norms in academia are so different to begin with. I see professors wearing shorts and sandals, aloha shirts, peasant blouses, etc. all the time. Though I do wonder if those marketing professors always show up in business dress.

Also, an example of when an Armani suit actually makes you look like an idiot: When you’re a contestant on Survivor. There was one contestant who showed up in an Armani suit, having apparently not done one bit of research on the show he applied to be on. Otherwise he would have known it was traditional for the first task to be jump off the ship in the middle of the ocean, swim to a raft, and paddle yourself to shore. Survive with one machete and the clothes on your back.