[matwood]

I haven't worn a tie to my current job, but routinely wear button up shirts and sport coats. The other engineers might joke if I have a job interview, but no one will tell you to not dress that way.

I'm not sure how I would respond if someone said I was not allowed to dress nice. It just seems like a completely foreign concept.

[Crito]

It is more than possible that you work at a company that actually has an no dress code / a permissive dress code. I think those workplaces exist and I appreciate and value the concept. What concerns me is reverse dress codes that sometimes hide in plain sight, disguised as "no dress codes".