Wow, a lot going on in this thread. I guess here is my general input about dressing up (or down):

-Dressing up takes effort and shows respect, when appropriate.

-Dress for events tends to follow the type of performance. A symphony has a great deal of focus on a structured and technical performance, so structured and intentional dress seem to fit well. A rock concert, on the other hand, is more relaxed by nature, and so attire follows suit (no pun intended). Imaging showing up in a suit to a Pearl Jam concert . . . Pearl Jam and Beethoven may both be musical geniuses, but they certainly emphasies different aspects of music and it takes a different kind of discipline to perform them well.

-Dressing up is a complement to others. I don't really like putting on a suit, but it's worth it when my wife dresses up because she is totally HOT when she does.

-Dressing nice can give you an edge. Probably the lowest of hanging fruit when trying to impress others is dressing up. I wear suits to interviews (even though that doesn't seem to be the trend these days) or when meeting with clients. I dress nice when I go to buy a house or car. You can insist all you want that it shouldn't matter, but it does and people treat you different. Yes I wish people would just look at my skills, but at the end of the day if I get more respect for dressing up then I'll do it. I once was a project lead over a team with memebers older than me, but because I wore a tie every day they had the impression that I was older and so respected me. In similar situations where I've dressed more casually it has been a lot more difficult to command respect. It might sound silly, but it works and every edge counts.

Having said all of that, I don't really understand dressing up for everyday work (unless you're trying to set yourself apart, say as a manager). I actually did wear a tie for two years just to see if it would make a difference, and I did get promoted. But I have a feeling that would have happened without the tie. The day after my promotion I took the tie off for good and no one said a thing, nor did my work relationships seem to suffer. The only time it really made a difference was when I was trying to lead others; and then it was just about trying to offset my younger age.

I wish I could wear shorts and sandals every day- I think I'd be just as productive. But at least my new job is business casual (and more casual than most business casual I've seen). The exception is one day a month where we all have to wear suits because the big buys (and gals, I assume) are visiting. That's fine with me- it's nice to see everyone dressed up for a while.

Anyway, I suppose I'm just rambling now. I think dressing up is a nice thing to do every once in a while and can be a usefull tool in certain situations. But I'm glad I don't have to do it every day.