I used to be a T-shirt guy. I actively sabotaged any valuation people might make of me based on appearance to force evaluation only of my technical skills. That worked fine for a couple decades.
Now I work hard to maximize the value of the connections I make and the overall value I can provide to others, which is not always entirely technical.
I wear a suit and tie to all meetings now. I wear the same to every occasion when I am actually in an office and even sometimes over Zoom. It sets me apart and shows my interlocutor that I value the meeting and respect his or her time. It sets a tone and I find it is well worth the effort.
Amusingly, I spent those first two decades working for the DoD and there is definitely a dress code and an aversion to wearing suits for some civilians.
The effort that an individual devotes to their appearance does communicate to certain audiences your attention to detail, discipline, etc... in ways that a silver tongue alone won't. We can argue over the accuracy/applicability of any conclusions drawn from that, but in certain domains/problem spaces appearance is a very relevant assessment tool in building trust.
Now I work hard to maximize the value of the connections I make and the overall value I can provide to others, which is not always entirely technical.
I wear a suit and tie to all meetings now. I wear the same to every occasion when I am actually in an office and even sometimes over Zoom. It sets me apart and shows my interlocutor that I value the meeting and respect his or her time. It sets a tone and I find it is well worth the effort.
Amusingly, I spent those first two decades working for the DoD and there is definitely a dress code and an aversion to wearing suits for some civilians.