What do Dark Suits and Research Analysis Have in Common?

My philosophical question of the day: why do research analysts have to wear dark suits to work?

Using the assumption that good, disciplined stock selection is really based on reading and creating mathematical formula, what an analyst (of any discipline really) wears to work should be totally irrelevant. The thought has bugged me enough to get out of bed tonight. What does a $5,000 Brooks Brother suit say about your ability to research equities? Absolutely nothing. The problem lies in the causal inference that we deduce from that $5,000 suit. The analyst can afford a $5,000 suit. They must make a lot of money. They probably make all their money picking stocks. They must be a good analyst.

The Brooks Brothers suit and one's ability to research equities are totally unrelated. One might say that the guy who comes to the office dressed down is the best potential analyst or money manager. He is so confident in what he actually knows, he doesn't need a suit to overcome anything. Now I'm not saying wearing the suit is a bad thing. If it makes somebody feel good, feel confident and they can afford such a suit, why not? But I know I'd rather report to the office in khakis and a polo.

So what's with the suit? It's a confidence game. If the guy down the hall is wearing a suit to work and looks good, I better wear a suit and look good. It impresses the office. It (may) impress the boss. It impresses clients. But in reality, it says nothing about performance. It's actually counter to the underlying principles of investing. A $5,000 suit is a lot of money that could have been reinvested in oneself to generate more money in the future (your job). Impressions are everything when they are used to cover weaknesses. No outfit can define an athlete, musician or engineer. Their talents are raw and not masked by impressions. But the business world is stuck in impressions. Impression about how much money one (or a company) makes is irrelevant and fundamentally a negative indicator for how much one could actually make.

Don't buy the man in the suit.

Note: For future business interactions where I have the upper-hand and know my shit, dress like I don't. The adversary will underestimate my abilities.