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Summer job coming up in business formal. I have two Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit: 1 navy, 1 charcoal; five ties; 8 non iron slims: white shirts; 1 blue shirt. Financial status: broke. Is this enough to mix it up and not look like the "guy who always wears the same thing?" Or do I have to buy one more suit? Sorry if this seems petty. Just trying to budget $.

rwilson15 wrote:Summer job coming up in business formal. I have two Brooks Brothers Fitzgerald suit: 1 navy, 1 charcoal; five ties; 8 non iron slims: white shirts; 1 blue shirt. Financial status: broke. Is this enough to mix it up and not look like the "guy who always wears the same thing?" Or do I have to buy one more suit? Sorry if this seems petty. Just trying to budget $.

Buy an additional suit (or two, depending on "formal" this place is), a couple more ties, some slacks, and maybe a sportscoat or two. If you don't have cash, wait until the week before your job starts, put it on a credit card, and pay it off once your paycheck comes in. You probably won't get no-offered if you don't buy these things, but you'll need to buy them eventually anyway so may as well start off looking good.

I worked a business formal job last summer. I think you need at least 3. The third suit can be cheaper, but you will want a bit more variety.

On a related question: is white shirt every day considered standard at a large law firm? When I worked in consulting I wore a variety of different dress shirts and only white occasionally. So my professional wardrobe has many different dress shirts, but in all different themes (stripes, checkered, colored, ect.). Will I have to go all white like OP?

I didn't realize many firms still were business formal. Most I interviewed with all were business casual unless client meetings, court appearances, etc.

jbagelboy wrote:On a related question: is white shirt every day considered standard at a large law firm? When I worked in consulting I wore a variety of different dress shirts and only white occasionally. So my professional wardrobe has many different dress shirts, but in all different themes (stripes, checkered, colored, ect.). Will I have to go all white like OP?

This is very firm dependent. At some firms associates generally wear white shirts/conservative ties etc, however at some you see the full spectrum of white/blue/patterned/other colors that looked professional. Unfortunately, like definitions of business casual, it really comes down to the specific firm/office. There are only a handful of firms that still demand business formal.

For the poor law student: http://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal/comments ... _for_work/

ImNoScar wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:On a related question: is white shirt every day considered standard at a large law firm? When I worked in consulting I wore a variety of different dress shirts and only white occasionally. So my professional wardrobe has many different dress shirts, but in all different themes (stripes, checkered, colored, ect.). Will I have to go all white like OP?

This is very firm dependent. At some firms associates generally wear white shirts/conservative ties etc, however at some you see the full spectrum of white/blue/patterned/other colors that looked professional. Unfortunately, like definitions of business casual, it really comes down to the specific firm/office. There are only a handful of firms that still demand business formal.

I didn't notice a standard look at any business casual firms so I doubt you'd feel out of place wearing patterned dress shirts at any of those places.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

ImNoScar wrote:

jbagelboy wrote:On a related question: is white shirt every day considered standard at a large law firm? When I worked in consulting I wore a variety of different dress shirts and only white occasionally. So my professional wardrobe has many different dress shirts, but in all different themes (stripes, checkered, colored, ect.). Will I have to go all white like OP?

This is very firm dependent. At some firms associates generally wear white shirts/conservative ties etc, however at some you see the full spectrum of white/blue/patterned/other colors that looked professional. Unfortunately, like definitions of business casual, it really comes down to the specific firm/office. There are only a handful of firms that still demand business formal.

I didn't notice a standard look at any business casual firms so I doubt you'd feel out of place wearing patterned dress shirts at any of those places.

ty!

So if I get a third suit I'll be good?

And is it OK to get another solid navy or solid charcoal? I saw a navy CK slim fit suit at Nordstrom Rack for like $300 and find pin stripes kinda scrappy looking.

rwilson15 wrote:So if I get a third suit I'll be good?

And is it OK to get another solid navy or solid charcoal? I saw a navy CK slim fit suit at Nordstrom Rack for like $300 and find pin stripes kinda scrappy looking.

When I got a third suit it was another charcoal, but a charcoal herringbone. Still conservative but noticeably different than my standard solid charcoal. But I think you can get another solid with no issues.

Thanks for the tips. Very helpful to us TLS fashion n00bs.

Jos A. Bank is having a deal on some of their suits:

http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Su ... 50_9213000

I like their suits, even though they are not top of the line. Unlike some of my classmates, I cannot afford $5,000 suits. Nor am I willing to spend my loan funds on suits.

kykiske wrote:Jos A. Bank is having a deal on some of their suits:

http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Su ... 50_9213000

I like their suits, even though they are not top of the line. Unlike some of my classmates, I cannot afford $5,000 suits. Nor am I willing to spend my loan funds on suits.

Jos. A. Bank is likely to put the average dude into something that doesn't look good. There are better options out there, and they come much cheaper than $5,000, which I doubt any of your classmates are spending. Also, if you are borrowing at all, you are spending your loan funds on suits.

Tiago Splitter wrote:

kykiske wrote:Jos A. Bank is having a deal on some of their suits:

http://www.josbank.com/menswear/shop/Su ... 50_9213000

I like their suits, even though they are not top of the line. Unlike some of my classmates, I cannot afford $5,000 suits. Nor am I willing to spend my loan funds on suits.

Jos. A. Bank is likely to put the average dude into something that doesn't look good. There are better options out there, and they come much cheaper than $5,000, which I doubt any of your classmates are spending. Also, if you are borrowing at all, you are spending your loan funds on suits.

Yeah, JAB suits are acceptable if they are extensively tailored by your regular tailor, not their in house ones. If you don't want to spend that much money, Brooks Brothers 346 suits are often 2/500 or 2/550. These are their outlet suits and are not technically BB suits, but will last a couple years while being good quality.