I agree with the outraged, frankly. It is insulting to those around you when you dress with a level of formality lower than that which you know is expected. Clothing is never just about comfort (if it were it would be optional in all essentials), it is about communicating attitudes of respect and/or conformity to others (and establishing status). I understand why this particular guy did it from a semiotic p.o.v., but, as he helpfully pointed out, he was elected to change old standards through his policies, not his clothing. (Besides, he could have had precisely the same "shocking" effect, without giving cause for insult, by wearing a blue or olive suit or wearing a colored shirt (though departing from white collar is more iffy).)
The implication that sartorial (or social) conservatism is at odds with a modern, westernized economy was strange.
