There are several questions here:
1) what is appropriate for Talmid chacham to wear
2) who and when can dress as Talmid Chacham
I think we are very meikel in last generations by historical standards, whether for a good reason or not.
3) some definitions as “dignified”,”clean”,”average” are affected by surrounding society
4) some things are forced on us.
For example, Jews in Muslim lands were supposed to wear black/dark colors not to be confused with Muslims, and size of the turban was limited.
5) something becomes a tradition and stays that way
apparently, some Sephardi communities re-interpreted forced black colors as mourning for Beit hamikdash
Hasidic dress is dignified Polish dress of 18th century, was re-interpreted as “distinct” dress