I used to dress down at work because that's how everyone else dressed and I just wanted to fit in. But at some point I stopped doing that because I was caring way too much about what other people were thinking.
I dress nice because I like it. It makes me feel good about myself, but has nothing to do with compensating.
People react differently towards me depending on how I dress. It's quite noticeable. The sensible thing to do is take advantage of it.
And the best way to take advantage may be by unmasking the people that are incompetent enough to not assess others competence by looking at their work, and instead just look at their clothes.
But well, it's context sensitive.
Yes, I hear that a lot. Might as well push on a rope, though.
In my early career years, a fellow employee came to work in track shorts and flip flops. He was a very, very good programmer. But he never got raises, and never got promoted, and complained to me about it. I suggested it was the way he dressed. He said the same things you wrote.
A couple decades later, I ran into him again at a conference. He ran his own quite successful company. He also was dressed sharply.
Things that make you go hmmm....