As Jerz said, there are no rules - just conventions.
And the basic guideline is this: the lower you are on the totem pole of a company, the more you should stick to convention when it comes to attire, no matter how fashionable you may think you are. And if you have no fashion sense, then it's imperative you stick to convention.
Also, each industry will have a different set of conventions. If you're working on Wall Street (banking, PE, etc.) you can get away with french cuffs (but don't risk it in job interviews) even at the junior levels. In fact, bankers love to dress well (in the classic sense). So what the OP had mentioned is a good *general* guideline, but each industry will have a varying levels of conventions. In some industries, you can (or are expected to) be more fashion forward (fashion, advertising, media, film, music, tv). In others (like banking/PE) you are expected to dress classically well but not necessarily fashion forward. In others, if you dress a bit too well or too fashion forward, you'll stick out (read: tech, maybe some *ahem* industries in the midwest, etc.). And for some it's just casual and anything too formal will be "unconventional".
The more power/authority you have, the more leeway you have -- if you're Warren Buffet, you can come dressed as a chicken mascot and people will still take you seriously.
Fashion isn't just about individual self-expression. It's about showing a sense of respect for the context or circumstance - and without that respect for the conventions of the moment, you will come across as either "showing up" others (by being a little too decked out) or being disrespectful (by not dressing up enough). Think of funerals, weddings, graduations, etc -- and how you are expected to wear a certain kind of attire (that is also specific to a nationality/culture), otherwise you're showing no respect for the moment that is larger than your own individual taste and preference - you wear black to a funeral, and not pink because you want to make a fashion statement (or flip flops because hey, the guy's dead so what's the big deal).