The thing about the charei “uniform” is that its just like many other groups who often dress in a similar manner to show that they are part of the larger group. Its part of the human condition. People need to feel like they belong. Most groups develop a similar mode of dress for that reason.
For example hipsters in Williumsburg wear thick black glasses and skinny jeans, and all the punks in NYU die their hair pink or blue. academics wear tweed jackets with elbow patches. Students at Harvard wear harvard t-shirts and students at Brown U wear brown t-shirst. Even modern orthodox who do wear normal clothes still wear a unifying item, which is the kippa serugah.
Clothing is about in many ways a way to identify a persons alligance. The problem is when it becomes more than that. If modern orthodox want to wear white yalmukas to show they are are part of that group thats all its about, they don’t prescribe any special meaning or value to it. That many frum jews have turned their clthing into a “frum” thing and a spiritual thing, I feel, is well beyond what reasonable and rational. Its actually just part of the large issu that is plaging Jews today which is the focus on externals and unimportnats things in yehadus, instead on the interal and true halachas. The same reason why a frum jew could make his family nuts trying to be extra makpid with gobroktz and and the same time sit at the table and speak loshon hara, or any other possible thing is the same reason why clothing has become such a big issue. Its just people focusing on the wrong thing.