@Annalee Yes, in a nutshell. Here's how it came about...

Founder hired a retiring cop for position of HR director. (!) Dude had no previous HR experience.

Dev made questionable work-attire choices while founder was trying to sell the company and potential buyers were visiting. (Pajama bottoms 😬)

Founder demanded a dress code, so ex-cop googled and copied the first one he found into the employee manual, so now we can't wear bandanas or flashy athletic shoes.

But at least it's mostly ignored.