When I started working for my current company, they permitted a dress code consisting of either jeans or khakis and a polo shirt. About a year ago, something unrelated happened in which the CEO was pissed off and he decided to punish everyone for the actions of the few. An e-mail was sent out stating that the dress code for everyone would be shirt and tie.
I have been abiding by this dress code for about a year and have hated every minute of it. As an engineer who does not interact with any external customers or visitors that would warrant such a dress code, it does not make any sense to me. Furthermore, I easily get dust/crap on my fancy clothes with the work that I do and throwing stuff in the washing machine is much easier than dry cleaning.
I was recently looking through our employee manual and discovered that it is apparently up to my manager's discretion as far as how I dress in the workplace. I am planning to send him an e-mail requesting permission to return to the former dress code which was much more comfortable.
I am looking for help in how to phrase this request appropriately to my manager.