How many dress shirts should one own? Forum

[reasonable_man]

i started out my 1L summer with 3 suits and one blazer and about 10 shirts with about 15 ties. I'd day my current count (in my 2nd year of practice), is about 9 or 10 suits and probably about 30 to 40 shirts and I guess maybe 25 to 30 ties. I tend to buy slowly and add them to the mix and then pull things out as they get beaten up..

[Jessep]

i started out my 1L summer with 3 suits and one blazer and about 10 shirts with about 15 ties. I'd day my current count (in my 2nd year of practice), is about 9 or 10 suits and probably about 30 to 40 shirts and I guess maybe 25 to 30 ties. I tend to buy slowly and add them to the mix and then pull things out as they get beaten up..

This seems like a pretty large wardrobe. Is it a NYC thing? If nothing else, storing that many clothes is difficult in an apartment.

[dcgbm]

khaki is a color. the pants you guys are referring to are chinos. pet peeve....

[reasonable_man]

It's a function of being busy and hating to take a trip to the dry cleaners.

i started out my 1L summer with 3 suits and one blazer and about 10 shirts with about 15 ties. I'd day my current count (in my 2nd year of practice), is about 9 or 10 suits and probably about 30 to 40 shirts and I guess maybe 25 to 30 ties. I tend to buy slowly and add them to the mix and then pull things out as they get beaten up..

This seems like a pretty large wardrobe. Is it a NYC thing? If nothing else, storing that many clothes is difficult in an apartment.

[blackacre]

Im pretty sure I have 8-12 but usually wear the same 3-4. I don't think anyone notices since they are all mostly white shirts.

ew.

[Merriweather]

I really hate the look of ties without jackets by the way. Not sure exactly why.

because you look like the guy who's here to repair the printer. ugh. it's a hideous look.

[ruski]

I really hate the look of ties without jackets by the way. Not sure exactly why.

same. it's because it makes the person look like a 16 year old intern who hasn't got a full suit yet.

[BunkMoreland]

I agree with you guys, but it helps to spruce up the outfit if you are just wearing blue/white shirts. If not, you have to invest even further in sportcoats, and you already are spending alot to get ready for this.

[Bosque]

I agree with you guys, but it helps to spruce up the outfit if you are just wearing blue/white shirts. If not, you have to invest even further in sportcoats, and you already are spending alot to get ready for this.

Or wear more than just blue and white shirts?

[20160810]

I agree with you guys, but it helps to spruce up the outfit if you are just wearing blue/white shirts. If not, you have to invest even further in sportcoats, and you already are spending alot to get ready for this.

Or wear more than just blue and white shirts?

Eh. A couple striped ones here, but blue and white are the standards for a reason: They look better on most guys than all of the alternatives. Just make sure you don't wear black shirts with a black suit. You're a summer associate, not Johnny Cash.

[motiontodismiss]

i started out my 1L summer with 3 suits and one blazer and about 10 shirts with about 15 ties. I'd day my current count (in my 2nd year of practice), is about 9 or 10 suits and probably about 30 to 40 shirts and I guess maybe 25 to 30 ties. I tend to buy slowly and add them to the mix and then pull things out as they get beaten up..

This seems like a pretty large wardrobe. Is it a NYC thing? If nothing else, storing that many clothes is difficult in an apartment.

Surprisingly, NY apartments may be the size of closets, but they have pretty roomy closets. A lot of the nice buildings have at least double-wide closets and a good majority have walkins. Pretty nice thing about NYC apartments-a shit ton of closet space for the amount of space you get. Like, a 450sf studio will have a 40sf walkin closet.

10 suits doesn't sound like a lot, probably not enough IMO...unless people normally wear them more than once before they send them off to the cleaners....?

Then again, what do I know, I've never stepped foot in biglaw before (I'm still right about the closet thing though).

[Jessep]

Are you implying that you only wear a suit once before dry cleaning it? If so, not only is that unnecessary, it is bad for the suit.

[Bosque]

Are you implying that you only wear a suit once before dry cleaning it? If so, not only is that unnecessary, it is bad for the suit.

THIS. You are ruining your suits if you clean them too much. You should be wearing a undershirt AND a dress shirt. If your pits sweat so much that it reaches the suit, you have a problem.

[kopper]

I think 10 good ones is a nice round number.

2 work weeks.

2 work weeks is the minimum so you can coordinate with dropping off shirts at the cleaners. and don't launder your own shirts. have them professional cleaned.

[plenipotentiary]

I agree with you guys, but it helps to spruce up the outfit if you are just wearing blue/white shirts. If not, you have to invest even further in sportcoats, and you already are spending alot to get ready for this.

Or wear more than just blue and white shirts?

Eh. A couple striped ones here, but blue and white are the standards for a reason: They look better on most guys than all of the alternatives. Just make sure you don't wear black shirts with a black suit. You're a summer associate, not Johnny Cash.

I am not a dude, so this advice doesn't apply to me, but I love the Johnny Cash look.

[jchoggan]

I don't know if these exist outside of my native Ohio but Jos. A Bank has some baller work clothes.

They do, but I hate them.

+1

When you buy 3 suits for $200, it's going to look like you bought 3 suits for $200. Sometimes for true basics like white dress shirts, places like Jos. A Bank and Men's Wearhouse (sic) are acceptable, but generally speaking, it's just not a good idea to wear cheap clothes to work. No need to rock an Armani tux to your summer associate gig, but go to Macy's or Nordstrom and drop a few bucks. Men's professional attire never goes out of fashion (unless you buy weird shit like knitted skinny ties or those shirts from the '70s with huge lapels, which, as an aside, I think look pretty cool), so there's no great reason to skimp.

+100

Any clothing store that offers "BUY ONE GET FIFTEEN FREE!!" every other week is crap.

[midwestls]

Actually, there's one approach worth knowing with Jos. A. Bank.

Their Signature Collection Suits - which start at $1,200 sticker price - are hand-sewn and better than almost anything you'll find at Macy's, etc. (if you doubt it, go try on both). I know several V50 associates who have Signatures in their rotation.

When Jos. A. Bank has its 3-for-1 sale, and you can get three of the Signatures for $1,200, that's a good deal and can be a good start for a young law student or attorney who has no other formal wear. Don't get them tailored at Jos. A. Bank, however - go to a real tailor.

I also vote for 10-12 shirts, with the majority of them white. Non-button down for me.

[dougroberts]

Are button-downed collared shirts appropriate (e.g. sport shirts) in a business casual firm?

I saw one of my interviewers (a partner) wearing one. Of course, you shouldn't wear a button down shirt with a tie, but perhaps it would be nice to have a couple of button-down shirts to go along with traditional shirts.

[vamedic03]

Are button-downed collared shirts appropriate (e.g. sport shirts) in a business casual firm?

I saw one of my interviewers (a partner) wearing one. Of course, you shouldn't wear a button down shirt with a tie, but perhaps it would be nice to have a couple of button-down shirts to go along with traditional shirts.

Not to get into this discussion here, but 'button-down' collar shirts can be acceptable even with suits and ties, see e.g., J.Press and Brooks Brothers.

[edcrane]

Are button-downed collared shirts appropriate (e.g. sport shirts) in a business casual firm?

I saw one of my interviewers (a partner) wearing one. Of course, you shouldn't wear a button down shirt with a tie, but perhaps it would be nice to have a couple of button-down shirts to go along with traditional shirts.

Yes, a decent number of associates wear button downs. I think it's a very professional look.

[transferguy]

i started out my 1L summer with 3 suits and one blazer and about 10 shirts with about 15 ties. I'd day my current count (in my 2nd year of practice), is about 9 or 10 suits and probably about 30 to 40 shirts and I guess maybe 25 to 30 ties. I tend to buy slowly and add them to the mix and then pull things out as they get beaten up..

Are you serious? This seems like massive overkill.

[SpAcEmAn SpLiFF]

at least enough for 2 full work weeks so you dont have to do laundry every week

[johnny-boy]

It all depends on how often you want to drop by the cleaners. I try try to keep 15 good ones rotating all the time and still have a few left in reserve just in case I forget. I get a couple of shirts when there is a deal at my favorite dress shirt spot. http://www.muglers.com

[kryptix]

Haven't started at a firm yet but in biz casual IB I would keep about 10-20 shirts but only 3 white 3 blue the rest classic patterns with a few probably more suited for clubs etc (silk etc).

I find that I like to do cleaning like once every 2 weeks and I'll wear 4-5 shirts for the 2 weeks. I can usually look fine with a non iron shirt wearing it 2-3x before cleaning if its not white.

Feel like any less and it's too much of the same shirt.

[Sup Kid]

Nothing like a thread being brought back after 2+ years (at least its a useful one though...)

Just to add something that at least I didn't realize before starting work is that if you live in a doorman building, there will absolutely be a dry-cleaner or two nearby that will both pick-up and drop-off your clothes within 1-2 days. Lots of Biglaw attorneys even use the same cleaners to do standard laundry at like $1/lb. Therefore, the idea that you need weeks of clothes to avoid going to the cleaner just doesn't make sense - there are plenty of reasons to have more than 2 suits and 5 shirts, but worrying about cleaning them should not be anywhere near the top of the list.