If a guy is trying to impress the first date one way to do so is by altering his look. Is he going to go to her door looking like a slob or is he going to show that he can make an effort and dress to the occasion? Chances are if he is thoughtful enough he'll go the conservative route not knowing how indifferent she may be regarding a tidy appearance.
You get a lucky break for an interview at a school where the kids still wear sweaters with an academic crest. Are you going to go in jeans or will you don something that shows you care about how you look? I wouldn't dream of going in with a pair of jeans even though students may because the dress code for uniforms has been relaxed over the past few decades. That may be out of habit but when you are not sure of the current work ethic than the worse thing to do is behave as though you were going to company on dress down day.
Supposing that you get engaged or propose. Are you going to do it in beachwear or will you wed under water with an oxygen tank? To me that still sounds bizarre but there is a whole subculture that will, as well as get married in just about any spot that two people can be united. Apart from this lot there will still be people who like to dress to the occasion. There could be several reasons as to why. It may be what be call tradition too even though the newly-weds will have nothing to do with tradition, in a classical sense. To other people then there are no differences between dressing for one occasion or another as clothes don't make the person.
Would you go to someone's funeral looking like a slob? I have yet to see even the poorest bloke do that. Chances are the poorer guy will make a more earnest effort to dress for that occasion and think of it as respect for the dead even though dead people cannot "see".
So here I have outlined four occasions where people around the world still make an effort to alter their outer garments for something "polished" as if it would make a difference to the majority of the people who will witness the transformation. The question is, does it make a difference to that majority? It would be interesting to know how many people then dress for themselves as opposed to dressing for somebody else. That is probably the catalyst explaining why so many dress in ordinary clothes any time of the year and on any occasion because they say they are dressing for themselves. That may be a short sight because the person who dresses to give pleasure to someone else may also say that he is doing it for himself. It may be a question of lifestyle that can also be debated.
