No Ames, I don’t think that a person who loosens up in his attire should be loosening up anything else. If that happens, his Yiddishkeit is not particularly strong, is it? Whether I am wearing casual attire or a ballgown, I have to adhere to my standards at all times. My son just went out to learn b’chavrusa before going to work later. He is wearing a shirt, sweater, casual pants, and casual loafers. He went to learn with a friend of his who is disenchanted and disenfranchised to a large degree. I guarantee you that the learning that they are doing together will be as meaningful as any that goes on in the black hat beis medrash. I further guarantee that my 22 year old son is as respectful, menschlech, and a good boy, when thus attired, as he is when he goes to Shul on Shabbos dressed in his beautiful (not necessarily black) suit. He just for the fourth year in a row gave the drosha in our Shul at the seudas neilas yom tov, and probably will for the third year give one of the shiurim on Tikkun Leil Shavuos.
If some of us can get over the “dress” issue, maybe we will understand each other a little better, and be able to dialogue, rather than one-up each other. For my part, I am going to try to understand that some frum people have the need to wear a uniform in order to keep their hashkafic mindset in a certain mode. I don’t have that same need, but I can see that it is very important to others. So, I guess if they don’t mind the sweltering heat or making other people physically uncomfortable looking at them shvitzing, it is not my business what they do. On the other hand, neither should those same people be looking at what we are wearing, and judging us for choosing NOT to get heat stroke, or ruin a serviceable suit while playing ball.