@sam klein of course we shouldn’t judge, but we do. we naturally do, thats how it is. and the Torah knows that, it says dan lkaf zchuas, mashma that youre going to judge somebody no matter what, so judge positively. when you see an 80 year old man with a frock and an uphat and two bochurim walking behind him youre going to think hes a choshuve rosh yeshiva or something along those lines. is that bad? is that wrong? and more than that, if a person wants to be seen as ben Torah then he should dress like one. if not, then not. the nature of people is to judge.
you also didnt give me an answer about rav chaim or the chazon ish or rav hutner. “There are times when it has a positive effect.”. so you are maskim. if it has an effect on how other people view said person, then its a two way streak. the person is going to also view himself differently, and therefore hold himself to different standards because of the levush he’s wearing. you aren’t thinking realistically. why is that kiruv rebbeim tell bts not to put a hat on so fast? why don’t flip outs who wear hats and jackets have to deal with the same thing that their friends who don’t wear them do? when this guys old friends see his payos and his hat and jacket they know that he stands for something else so he won’t be invited to do the same things as before, otherwise the “raincoat” would simply never work. the very fact that it works it all shows that there is an inherent chashivus and expression of religiosity in wearing it