Some clarifications:
I am in favor of abandoning the black hat-jacket form of dress. I am not naive, it will not happen, but that’s my position.
The color of the fedora is academic, we all know that virtually all litvish yeshiva boys wear some variation of a black fedora.
My question about clean attire raised support, with no one saying that clean fedora-jacket is only optional and not mandatory.
I have seen many thousands of yeshiva boys, like most of you out there. Ponovitch, Mir, Lakewood, Chaim Berlin, Telz, Brisk, and others. I have been in countless small yeshivishe minyanim and batei medrash. Virtually no one is careful about a clean and properly shaped hat, jacket and matching (clean) pants.
My conclusion is that demanding a fedora and jacket because it is the most respectful of attire, and less than that is “a step down” , lies in direct contradiction to what is actually practiced in the veldt. I say forget the uniform, just dress neatly.