Formal dress standards for men are really terrible. Why did it have to be northern European cultures that happened to colonize the world, and to make matters worse, a particularly Puritanical one that happened to colonize North America? Being clothed from head to toe on workdays really sucks in the summer around here in DC. I get that the patriarchy overall is bad for women in thousands of ways both large and small, but it hurts men here and there as well, and dress standards is one: at least women can wear weather-appropriate clothes in the summer, like thin fabrics and loose clothing that leaves a little more skin exposed. The most comfortably men can dress for hot weather in business situations is a short-sleeved shirt with the collar unbuttoned, and even that is dressing down too much for some workplaces.
Personally, I probably dress a bit more formally than most people around here - I'm wearing a tie today and I think my direct supervisor isn't, I start wearing short-sleeved shirts later in the year than some - but I've only ever seen one guy wearing sandals and no men in shorts or even a shirt without a collar here as far as I can remember. I really need to spend quite a bit of time shopping and/or adapt my biochemistry for a Southern climate better.
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