Daily Outfit: Inappropriately Yours

I find myself thinking about what is and what is not appropriate to wear to work quite a bit, especially when I am putting together my daily outfits.

For me, a Public Servant, I find that people are very quick to assume that my colleagues and I spend every day in corporate dress. I guess that is the image that societally we have conjured up for how Public Servants look. However, I was told today by an acquaintance that what I wore to work was not appropriate, and that if I worked for him we would be having words about my inappropriate work attire...

The inappropriate daily outfit I’m wearing today is:

Navy cotton sweater with orange stripes and elbow patches - SoulCal
Sherbert orange button-down shirt – Euromerican Tailors, Hong Kong
Black leather belt – repurposed from wedding outift
Shredded straight-leg jeans – Industrie, a gift from Mags
Black leather military boots – Zu shoes

Here's the thing: I am a very small cog in a very large machine, and despite the fact that I refer to myself as a Public Servant, I have zero interaction with the public; so what does it matter what I wear to work? As long as my dress remains apolitical (no slogan shirts or the likes), what does it matter if I'm wearing these shredded jeans to sit at my desk and do what I do day in and day out?

Do we still live in an age when we feel that corporate dress or a lack there of actually impacts the manner in which we work at all? I'm genuinely curious to hear what you have to say, so please feel free to weigh-in in the comments below.