How dress code matters for a Developer

Most of the IT companies in India have stringent policies for dress code. I have been asking many people in the IT community especially HR’s about the relevance of dress code in an organization. Most of the answers were prevaricating. Some responded that it may not look nice when people are in the casual attire during the client visits. I have seen HR’s who float circulars in the form of emails to all the employees to be in Formal dress (sometimes with a Tie) during client visits. I really do not understand what reward the attire is going to give to a developer during client visit. What really matters is how you primp yourself with good and neat clothing. I agree that for the Senior managers who closely interact with the customers it is important to be in proper attire. This is one woeful side of the story at offshore. On the other piteous side the developers who travel to Onsite (countries like US, UK) are given strict instructions to wear a business suit. I have seen guys who spend a whopping sum to purchase business suits. I myself had made this mistake by wearing a business suit on the very first day when I reported to work at the client’s office in US. I was surprised to see all the clients in the casual wear and I was told by the client not to be uncomfortable in work by wearing business suits. I only have following questions that pops out of my mind

1. The top IT product development companies in the word like Microsoft, Google. Do they have any dress code – No.? I once attended an interview with Thoughtworks, I was surprised to see that the HR specifically told me to wear something which is comfortable for me. Again they are one of the renowned companies in world. The successes of these companies were not due to the dress code.
2. Does what you wear change your logical thinking which is very much required for a developer.

If the company can relax on the dress codes I am sure that the employees will consider it at one of the things which improves the morale of a developer.