I am surprised at several posts here which admit that they "dress-up" when they, or their boss, deem the situation requires it. This to me is disingenuous. Your presentation, including attire, do make impressions, and the impression given here is false.

I know that most companies have some kind of dress code, and that employees are expected to follow it. Thus the attire of employees indicates something about the company (as opposed to the individual).

For example, Steve's T-Shirt wearing faux-pas (as the HR person would believe) does say something about Steve's company (and as Steve is the boss, it says something directly about him!). And given Steve's background, and his audience, his dress seems entirely appropriate.

What I object to is the idea that a company deliberately dresses differently when meeting with external clients. This, to me, is a sham. You are either comfortable with formal attire, and thus wear it every day, or you are not and should not wear it.

Andy