Proper Law School Attire? Forum

[suralin]

It's the exact opposite of undergrad. In undergrad, you'd show up in sweats and unwashed hair. In law school, you make an effort to dress smart casual.

Yup. I literally wear sweat pants and sweat hoodie with unwashed hair after waking up late. Very relaxing, but unprofessional.

But also just because I'm not able to afford a nice wardrobe at the moment. If I could, I'd definitely want to wear nicer clothing. The sleeping in and bieng late part is comletely my own fault, however. I could chagen that and shower and comb my hair.

Nope. No excuse. Smart casual is pretty damn cheap. Just shop at H&M. It's just about making yourself look slightly more put together. Doesn't even take an extra second to get ready, just a choice about how you want to present yourself to the world.

where's H&M? What's it stand for?

Lol?

[LRGhost]

No no no.

For interviews, you want to be as conservative as possible. Charcoal or navy suit and a white dress shirt with a conservative tie choice (pindots are always a solid choice). The first post of this thread should be required reading for all incoming male 1Ls.

Exactly. For interviews you want to look sharp without sticking out. Also black suits are for weddings and funerals.

FWIW, I hate when people say this. Black suits are not really for weddings and they're hardly exclusive to funerals. If you get a stodgy black suit, sure, but a modern black jacket with slim trousers and a white shirt is perfectly fine attire for going out. I know you're talking about the distinction between a black suit and a dark navy for conservative business dress, but it's just really aggravating when people reinforce this idea that black suits have only one purpose (funerals) meanwhile designers (Hedi, specifically) and fashionable people have been wearing them in other ways for years.

[20130312]

They're fine for going out, but not in any professional setting at all.

[Scotusnerd]

Start on the conservative side of business casual and then figure out what everyone else is wearing.

You'll figure it out within a day or two.

If you go professional, an interview suit with a dress shirt from wal-mart is likely fine. No one is expecting you to look amazing. Just make sure it fits.

[20130312]

FWIW, I can tell the difference between a shirt from Wal-Mart and a shirt from Brooks Brothers, and I suspect big law interviewers can as well.

[Scotusnerd]

FWIW, I can tell the difference between a shirt from Wal-Mart and a shirt from Brooks Brothers, and I suspect big law interviewers can as well.

I can too. It doesn't mean a damn out here, though. I suppose your mileage may vary. Not even our biglaw firms expect you to be rich BEFORE you join their ranks.

[20130312]

It's not about being "rich," it's about giving a damn about how you look. A nice dress shirt can be bought for $40. Certainly doesn't require wealth.

[stillwater]

I am pretty sure the attire at my school is questionable at best. Definitely of lower grade than my undergrad. So TTT.

[LRGhost]

It's not about being "rich," it's about giving a damn about how you look. A nice dress shirt can be bought for $40. Certainly doesn't require wealth.

$40 is a lot for some people, especially for a shirt. But I suspect that most of this can be bought through loans. And FWIW, under a jacket and with a tie, 99% of people won't be able to tell the difference between a JCP/JCrew/Brooks/PS/JilSander button down.

[cinephile]

It's not about being "rich," it's about giving a damn about how you look. A nice dress shirt can be bought for $40. Certainly doesn't require wealth.

$40 is a lot for some people, especially for a shirt. But I suspect that most of this can be bought through loans. And FWIW, under a jacket and with a tie, 99% of people won't be able to tell the difference between a JCP/JCrew/Brooks/PS/JilSander button down.

Just shop sales.

[LRGhost]

It's not about being "rich," it's about giving a damn about how you look. A nice dress shirt can be bought for $40. Certainly doesn't require wealth.

$40 is a lot for some people, especially for a shirt. But I suspect that most of this can be bought through loans. And FWIW, under a jacket and with a tie, 99% of people won't be able to tell the difference between a JCP/JCrew/Brooks/PS/JilSander button down.

Just shop sales.

I agree, but $40 is a lot of money for some people, and some of those people will be or are your classmates. That's really the main point.

[guinness1547]

What kind of price can I expect to, or should, pay for a decent suit?

[cinephile]

I agree, but $40 is a lot of money for some people, and some of those people will be or are your classmates. That's really the main point.

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

Incidentally, I had a friend in college who said she had never spent more than $40 on a pair of shoes. She said this as her fake uggs were falling apart. And it was like she didn't even realize the irony in that - like buying something quality would actually SAVE MONEY as she wouldn't need to replace it so often. It's the same for everything. Get an ugly acrylic sweater that pills, or buy a more expensive natural fiber sweater and you won't need to replace it after a couple washes. Honestly, it's just math, even a law student can figure that out.

[Bronck]

It's relatively easy to spot the difference between shit mall dress shirts and solid stuff like BB.

Higher quality stuff not only looks better, fits better, etc, but it lasts longer. You may be spending the same amount of money over X number of years because you had to replace the shit items.

Shop sales. You can get AEs for $200 or less, e.g. And really, $40 is NOT that much for a shirt. Shop the winter and summer BB sales and you can get 4 shirts for ~$45 each or so.

[A. Nony Mouse]

I agree, but $40 is a lot of money for some people, and some of those people will be or are your classmates. That's really the main point.

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

Incidentally, I had a friend in college who said she had never spent more than $40 on a pair of shoes. She said this as her fake uggs were falling apart. And it was like she didn't even realize the irony in that - like buying something quality would actually SAVE MONEY as she wouldn't need to replace it so often. It's the same for everything. Get an ugly acrylic sweater that pills, or buy a more expensive natural fiber sweater and you won't need to replace it after a couple washes. Honestly, it's just math, even a law student can figure that out.

I don't know how to say this without sounding pretentious/holier than thou/condescending, and I really don't mean to, but: some people don't grow up in an environment where this logic makes sense. And, honestly, some people grow up wearing the sweaters that pill because that is truly what they can afford (and they're not spending $50 on a night of drinking). It's not always false economy.

(I mean, I agree that it's worth spending the money on better quality things, especially interview clothes - if you're taking out however many horrendous loans, the money for interview stuff isn't that much more - but I do think that it can be a luxury to say, just buy the better quality stuff.)

[grace123]

I agree, but $40 is a lot of money for some people, and some of those people will be or are your classmates. That's really the main point.

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

I do not think I have ever seen such a great modern-day example of let them eat cake.

[Bronck]

What kind of price can I expect to, or should, pay for a decent suit?

What's your definition of decent?

Although most people probably can't tell the difference, I would not waste my money on fused suits. Buy half-canvassed at the very least. You can purchase a lot of the higher quality suits on sale as well. I'd think $500-1000 is your price range for the most part.

A lot of designer shops actually don't make the suits themselves (e.g., Burberry suits are made by Hickey Freeman, though they are half-canvassed).

[LRGhost]

What kind of price can I expect to, or should, pay for a decent suit?

If you do BB on sale, you can get one for ~$700. You can probably find some stuff cheaper on Styleforum B&S, but you should pay attention to make sure that you're actually getting a modern suit that fits well. If you don't know what you're doing, just spend the money on BB. It's not the best but it is pretty much the entry level/standard for professional suits.

It's relatively easy to spot the difference between shit mall dress shirts and solid stuff like BB.

Higher quality stuff not only looks better, fits better, etc, but it lasts longer. You may be spending the same amount of money over X number of years because you had to replace the shit items.

Shop sales. You can get AEs for $200 or less, e.g. And really, $40 is NOT that much for a shirt. Shop the winter and summer BB sales and you can get 4 shirts for ~$45 each or so.

FWIW, the whole 'last longer' thing is complete flame and it's not like BB has a great fit. Do they look better than middle of the mall shit? Sure, but if you're wearing it under a jacket and with a tie, at a certain point (and this point is well below Brooks), nobody is going to notice. Really.

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

You're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying that someone shouldn't spend money on clothes. I am saying that you saying $40 isn't a lot of money is ignorant of how a lot of people live, some of those people may be your classmates or will be your classmates. You can say what you're saying in a better way with less entitlement, dude.

[Bronck]

FWIW, the whole 'last longer' thing is complete flame and it's not like BB has a great fit. Do they look better than middle of the mall shit? Sure, but if you're wearing it under a jacket and with a tie, at a certain point (and this point is well below Brooks), nobody is going to notice. Really.

The BB ESF shirts actually fit pretty well. The traditional cuts are like fucking parachutes though.

[LRGhost]

A lot of designer shops actually don't make the suits themselves (e.g., Burberry suits are made by Hickey Freeman, though they are half-canvassed).

Saying they don't 'make' the suits is a bit deceptive. Prorsum is still designed by Christopher Bailey and is going to be much different than a Hickey Freeman suit.

[cinephile]

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

You're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying that someone shouldn't spend money on clothes. I am saying that you saying $40 isn't a lot of money is ignorant of how a lot of people live, some of those people may be your classmates or will be your classmates. You can say what you're saying in a better way with less entitlement, dude.

Sorry buddy, but you need to check your assumptions. I've lived on minimum wage and I can attest to the fact that $40 for an article of clothing is not a lot. There's no way around that. If you make a dollar a day in a third-world sweatshop, sure that's another thing, but no law student will have any difficulty outfitting themselves properly.

[LRGhost]

But it's really not, it's just a question of priorities. Are you going to spend $50 on a night of drinking or are you going to buy a new shirt?

You're misunderstanding me. I'm not saying that someone shouldn't spend money on clothes. I am saying that you saying $40 isn't a lot of money is ignorant of how a lot of people live, some of those people may be your classmates or will be your classmates. You can say what you're saying in a better way with less entitlement, dude.

Sorry buddy, but you need to check your assumptions. I've lived on minimum wage and I can attest to the fact that $40 for an article of clothing is not a lot. There's no way around that. If you make a dollar a day in a third-world sweatshop, sure that's another thing, but no law student will have any difficulty outfitting themselves properly.

Yeah because loans would help, but lol whatever dude. Enjoy.

[A. Nony Mouse]

Living on minimum wage isn't the same as growing up poor. It's not that I think $40 is too expensive for a shirt; but there are people who grow up in a setting where $40 is too expensive for a shirt, and so thinking that isn't because someone's stupid.

[Dany]

lol this thread

[LRGhost]

lol this thread

lol entitlements