It is your right to think he is a douchebag, it is also my and his right to think that you are an idiot for spending stupid amounts of money and time on the way you look.
If this were me saying, "he wore a Men's Warehouse suit to the restaurant and not Hugo Boss?! What a degenerate!" then perhaps what you're saying would be a valid point. But I did not. We are literally talking about someone wearing pajamas to an upscale restaurant or a t-shirt and jeans to a wedding. Go take $10 and buy slacks and a nice shirt from Goodwill. It's not about being the most dapper gentleman in the room, it's about making an effort as a symbol of respect for the event or the establishment.
There are plenty of places in the world where eating with ones hands is fine. You should really avoid travelling to India as their entire population would be disgusting to you. You are actually helping to make OPs point here, your social norm is incredibly limited.
That's... literally exactly what I said.
Eating with forks and knives is actually more of a Western-specific societal norm than the concept of formal dress.
India was a bad example to bring up. Ceremonial attire, amongst both guests and the bridal party, is extremely important in Indian culture. Do you know where you'd get kicked out of a wedding for wearing jeans? India.
were far more concerned with survival than fashion
So by your logic, why did Native American tribes have ceremonial dress? They were perhaps the most preoccupied with survival of any society, yet they had intricate ceremonial costumes and regalia. Why? That contradicts your argument.
The level of obsession over fashion in modern society is absolutely a new thing
Except it's not and you don't know what you're talking about. Explain the history of Chinese foot binding or neck-ringing in African tribes if the concept of self-adornment and fashion is such a modern invention.
There are some fucking major problems in the world right now but here you are, defending fashion.
Damn, if I was 14, that'd be hella deep.