Don't forget your tie

I was reminded recently to "dress professionally." I've been dressing professionally for almost 7 years now but I just really started to step back and think what is "professional dress?" I get up everyday, put on a nice pair of dress pants (trousers or slacks depending on your age and location), a button downed shirt usually with french cuffs so I can rock my Superman cufflinks and a tie. I often wonder where this practice of playing dress up so that you can work came from and who set the standard of professional.

First off I have to hand it to the women who have to dress professionally. You can come up with a multitude of combinations and can choose from a wide variety of "professional dress." Us men on the other hand are stuck with a pair of pants, shirt, tie and shoes or a suit if you want to get fancy.

Who decided that you must dress a certain way if you want to do business with someone. Am I any less capable of doing a job because I would wear a pair of jeans and a plain shirt? People say looks aren't everything but put someone in a suit and someone in casual clothes in a business forum and see who gets the business.

Don't get me wrong, I think I look damn fine when I put on a good suit and a snazzy looking tie and shirt but I wonder why this uniform choice for the corporate world. How does an archaic piece of neck wear set me apart from someone else? Does my dress give me a certain skill set jeans and a t shirt won't?

So here's the question: Is professional dress still relevant in this world? Or is still necessary to conduct business in this global economy?