What to wear in law school? Forum

[Verity]

I've been grappling with this question myself, and I'm not really sure what to do...

I'm starting law school this fall, and everything I've read on the forums suggests 90% of people in law school wear "regular" clothes (i e jeans, a shirt, etc) and that most people think the idea of dressing a certain way in law school is not necessary and even somewhat ridiculous.

That's actually not a big deal to me, I do agree that law school ideally should be different from undergraduate in mentality, and perhaps this should be reflected in dress, but if one wants to dress however they feel comfortable, that's fine.

My problem is that I enjoy "dressing up" aka I like suits, ties, the whole nine yards. Unfortunately, I was born in the wrong era, I should have ideally gone to UG and law school some time before the late 1960's, and I would have fit in. I actually just..... like the way suits/ties/etc look, and while to some degree part of my motivation to dress that way is definitely tied to "dressing standards" 70% of the motivation is just because I like how it looks and it makes me feel more confident. (no, I don't need clothes to feel confident, I just said "more" confident).

I don't plan to wear suits or anything in law school, but I was thinking a sports coat, tie, khahkis, and loafers - while definitely more dressy than 99% of the class, wouldn't be overdressed to the point of being completely ridiculous. I'm a pretty friendly and approachable guy, I started dressing like that in college and my friends think I'm crazy, but they all stuck around. Can I hope for a repeat in law school? For what it's worth, I think half the reason people got over it was because they saw I was self-confident enough to outlast all the jokes.

This post is ridiculous, but it's a genuine question I've been thinking about. If law school is different, that's fine, cause haters always gonna hate.

More confident or just super trendy? (maybe a little of both) but yeah you are definitely not the only one rocking the ivy look there are like a million blogs dedicated to it. Guess it depends on where you were in UG but for me at least 20% of the guys in each class dressed this way once it became cool. Not hating I'm just not cool enough to pull it off.

Edited to say that if you are going to law school at an ivy league and rocking the ivy look it might seem a little pretentious. If you're doing it at NYU you'll probably fit right in haha

Wearing a tie is just too much. I wouldn't think a guy is overdoing it with khakis and a button-down shirt. But a tie? It's a useless, uncomfortable piece of decoration. Makes no sense in class, and only little sense in the real world.

[PinkCow]

ITT: People saying it doesn't matter what you wear to law school while bitching about what people wear to said school.

[Verity]

ITT: People saying it doesn't matter what you wear to law school while bitching about what people wear to said school.

They're not the same people.

[ladylegale]

Hell I'm still grappling with what to wear to orientation. Trying to decide the smallest of details now: what color nail polish to wear (I'm thinking a very light powdery pink), how to wear my hair (still going back & forth about this one), what type of jewelry (perhaps a pair of conservative studs), and as far as clothing goes, perhaps a nice blouse (something probably short sleeved, pastel colored, with ruffles), light colored capri pants, and peep-toe flats. Orientation is 30 days away so these things are subject to change of course.

[EarlCat]

Hell I'm still grappling with what to wear to orientation.

They will take your facebook (NU facebook, not facebook.com) photo on the first day of orientation, so dress nice. They'll probably email you asking that you wear "business casual."

There's only two sides of the coin here: if you're not used to dressing up, you can use law school as preparation for the business-formal legal world. Otherwise, you can use law school as a last chance to not give a shit about appearance.

Everyone should at least own a suit or two. Even if you wear pajamas to class, there will be plenty of business-attire events at school starting almost immediately. I bought two suits and some nice shoes before starting school and they came in handy many many times. (I also got some sweet PJs for my CLR memo!)

[ahduth]

Hell I'm still grappling with what to wear to orientation.

They will take your facebook (NU facebook, not facebook.com) photo on the first day of orientation, so dress nice. They'll probably email you asking that you wear "business casual."

There's only two sides of the coin here: if you're not used to dressing up, you can use law school as preparation for the business-formal legal world. Otherwise, you can use law school as a last chance to not give a shit about appearance.

Everyone should at least own a suit or two. Even if you wear pajamas to class, there will be plenty of business-attire events at school starting almost immediately. I bought two suits and some nice shoes before starting school and they came in handy many many times. (I also got some sweet PJs for my CLR memo!)

Is everyone who goes to Northwestern batshit crazy? I really wish I'd applied there.

[EarlCat]

Is everyone who goes to Northwestern batshit crazy? I really wish I'd applied there.

That's UofC. We're batshit lazy.

[msridiculous447]

I can't stand people who wear sweatpants to class. Or pajamas. Or plain, wrinkled t-shirts. Or fucking crocs.

I especially hate men with ponytails.

I plan on dressing something in the ballpark of :

That chick needs to brush her hair and do something about the fact that she looks hungover.

[rinkrat19]

I can't stand people who wear sweatpants to class. Or pajamas. Or plain, wrinkled t-shirts. Or fucking crocs.

I especially hate men with ponytails.

I plan on dressing something in the ballpark of :

That chick needs to brush her hair and do something about the fact that she looks hungover.

Also maybe get rid of the moth colony on her shirt.

[FlanAl]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA moth colony I love it!

[Verity]

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA moth colony I love it!

+1, that was funny. And yeah, she looks kind of zombie-ish.

[23402385985]

Also maybe get rid of the moth colony on her shirt.

I was thinking about that earlier when I saw it. Dear Lord. I am rolling.

[emorystud2010]

.

[rocon7383]

Personally, I see no reason to wear jeans unless you are doing work or a t-shirt unless you are going to the gym but people will always ask why I wear button downs and khakis / chinos. It is a personal thing but I'm not going to pretend I'm about to go work a construction job when I'm not. I used to have to dress that way all the time for work and like looking nice now. If you don't like dressing nice you will fit right in though.

When it's cold I plan on wearing a hoodie to class almost every day just like I had in undergrad. Not just any hoodie, though. I plan on wearing my 70 dollar under-armour one. Get it straight bitches.

The lamest thing I've read in a while.

[SchopenhauerFTW]

Personally, I see no reason to wear jeans unless you are doing work or a t-shirt unless you are going to the gym but people will always ask why I wear button downs and khakis / chinos. It is a personal thing but I'm not going to pretend I'm about to go work a construction job when I'm not. I used to have to dress that way all the time for work and like looking nice now. If you don't like dressing nice you will fit right in though.

When it's cold I plan on wearing a hoodie to class almost every day just like I had in undergrad. Not just any hoodie, though. I plan on wearing my 70 dollar under-armour one. Get it straight bitches.

The lamest thing I've read in a while.

[NeighborGuy]

I love this thread.

[things fall apart]

Since everyone here is a nerd lets put it in admissions terms:

If I were to be punny I'd say the 25-75% should be:

(25%) Non pj/exercise pants and shirt (t-shirt or otherwise) - (75%) formal pants/skirt and nicer shirt/something collared.


But I'm not in LS yet so I may not be clothes


Thank you thank you
--ImageRemoved--

[EarlCat]

Since everyone here is a nerd lets put it in admissions terms:

If I were to be punny I'd say the 25-75% should be:

(25%) Non pj/exercise pants and shirt (t-shirt or otherwise) - (75%) formal pants/skirt and nicer shirt/something collared.


But I'm not in LS yet so I may not be clothes


Thank you thank you

[rocon7383]

Tinfoil hats.

[jess]

.

[rayiner]

Hi,

So I am starting law school this September and I was wondering whether law students dress differently than they did back in undergrad? For example, is it OK if I wear a hat during class like I did back in undergrad? Thanks and sorry if this is a dumb question.

People in law school dress like grown ups. That means no athletic gear and no hats. But you don't have to dress up. Jeans, sneakers, and a polo or button down is a common look. I rarely see people in sweatpants except during finals, but this might be a "Northwestern is full of olds" thing.

[twenty]

Did you get accepted to Boalt? If so...

[kaiser]

Here is the easy answer to "what should I wear in law school": The same shit you wore in college

Not sure why you would think that its any different. Class is class and school is school.

[AreJay711]

Here is the easy answer to "what should I wear in law school": The same shit you wore in college

Not sure why you would think that its any different. Class is class and school is school.

Meh, I looked like a bum in college because I could get away with it. That said, the real answer here is the less you wear the better.

[Bildungsroman]

Hi,

So I am starting law school this September and I was wondering whether law students dress differently than they did back in undergrad? For example, is it OK if I wear a hat during class like I did back in undergrad? Thanks and sorry if this is a dumb question.

People in law school dress like grown ups. That means no athletic gear and no hats. But you don't have to dress up. Jeans, sneakers, and a polo or button down is a common look. I rarely see people in sweatpants except during finals, but this might be a "Northwestern is full of olds" thing.

Yeah, I rarely see people in sweatpants at UChi, and I don't think I've ever seen someone in pajamas at the law school. You don't want to be the tool with elbow patches every day, but the bar is also slightly higher than in undergrad.

Also, I don't think anybody here wears a baseball cap as part of their all-day every-day attire like in undergrad, which is good because it makes you look shitty.