old man, that’s a very big “if” to assume. Who said a black hat and a jacket are the “only” respectful outfit for a man?
There was an interview, I believe with R’ Yosef Tendler zt”l, where he was asked about the early days in Lakewood. One of the questions asked was if the boys wore black hats. He responded that only the Roshei Yeshiva wore black hats, and the bochurim felt that it would have been extremely chutzpadik for them to wear one!
You can also read the interview given a few years ago by R’ Aaron Rakeffet, where he talks about learning in Lakewood during its early days. He says that even R’ Nosson Wachtfogel zt”l didn’t wear a black hat – only R’ Aharon Kotler wore one. He also said that the boys didn’t wear white shirts or black pants. He said the following:
“But when all is said and done, the chassidim conquered America. The Litvakim lost. In the Litvishe yeshivas no one dressed the same. When I learned in Lakewood, the only one who wore a black hat was Reb Aharon Kotler.”