Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP! Forum

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chooch

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Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by chooch » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:51 pm

Note: please forgive my ignorance.

So orientation's this coming Monday and we're suppose to wear business attire. I assumed that just meant wearing a nice sweater, dress shirt, maybe tie, pants, and dress shoes.

But after googling "business attire", apparently I'm wrong. I don't have a suit. And I don't have the money to buy even a cheap suit.

A few questions:

1.) Would I make a bad first impression by wearing the sweater, dress shirt, pants, and shoes?

2.) Has anyone witnessed other students not wearing the business attire at orientation, even though the school asks them to do so?

Your advice is needed and appreciated :D

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ResolutePear

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by ResolutePear » Sat Aug 14, 2010 6:54 pm

dannybang wrote:Note: please forgive my ignorance.

So orientation's this coming Monday and we're suppose to wear business attire. I assumed that just meant wearing a nice sweater, dress shirt, maybe tie, pants, and dress shoes.

But after googling "business attire", apparently I'm wrong. I don't have a suit. And I don't have the money to buy even a cheap suit.

A few questions:

1.) Would I make a bad first impression by wearing the sweater, dress shirt, pants, and shoes?

2.) Has anyone witnessed other students not wearing the business attire at orientation, even though the school asks them to do so?

Your advice is needed and appreciated :D
Advice from another thread was pretty squared away with: BizCas. No jacket. If you can pull off dress shirt, pants, and shoes.. you're pretty much there.

Kobe_Teeth

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Kobe_Teeth » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:02 pm

Sweater? Its fucking August, dude.

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ResolutePear

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by ResolutePear » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:05 pm

Kobe_Teeth wrote:Sweater? Its fucking August, dude.
Fashion > Comfort.

Gawd, weren't you a Fashion-Technology major for UG? Like, uh, GAWD.

Renzo

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Renzo » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:09 pm

ResolutePear wrote:
dannybang wrote:Note: please forgive my ignorance.

So orientation's this coming Monday and we're suppose to wear business attire. I assumed that just meant wearing a nice sweater, dress shirt, maybe tie, pants, and dress shoes.

But after googling "business attire", apparently I'm wrong. I don't have a suit. And I don't have the money to buy even a cheap suit.

A few questions:

1.) Would I make a bad first impression by wearing the sweater, dress shirt, pants, and shoes?

2.) Has anyone witnessed other students not wearing the business attire at orientation, even though the school asks them to do so?

Your advice is needed and appreciated :D
Advice from another thread was pretty squared away with: BizCas. No jacket. If you can pull off dress shirt, pants, and shoes.. you're pretty much there.
Did the other thread involve a specific mandate to wear "business attire" ?


OP: You're not going to buy a suit, so dress it up as much as you can and call it good. Chances are you won't be the only one, but you're going to have plenty of "business" occasion from here on out, so get yourself a suit ASAP.

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chooch

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by chooch » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:17 pm

Kobe_Teeth wrote:Sweater? Its fucking August, dude.

I know, I know, but the sweater looks nice and it slightly helps to hide the belly 8)

Renzo- Yeah, definitely gonna get one or two very soon.

d34d9823

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by d34d9823 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:29 pm

Seems like it's the school's fault for lack of clarity.

Business casual - we all know what this is
Business professional - we all know what this is
Business attire - what the fuck is this?

Renzo

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Renzo » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:32 pm

d34dluk3 wrote:Seems like it's the school's fault for lack of clarity.

Business casual - we all know what this is
Business professional - we all know what this is
Business attire - what the fuck is this?
Huh; I don't think I've ever heard the term "business professional" before. I'd assume that it means the same as business attire, however.

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ResolutePear

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by ResolutePear » Sat Aug 14, 2010 7:48 pm

Renzo wrote:
d34dluk3 wrote:Seems like it's the school's fault for lack of clarity.

Business casual - we all know what this is
Business professional - we all know what this is
Business attire - what the fuck is this?
Huh; I don't think I've ever heard the term "business professional" before. I'd assume that it means the same as business attire, however.
Business professional = Business attire. I've seen companies use both. Either way - OP should get a suit because sooner or later it'll be needed.

If you're into bargain hunting: http://www.overstock.com/Clothing-Shoes ... ID=3668349

I saw that on a website a few days ago and the reviews seem good so I figured why not. Not sure if you'd want black, though.

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jeff5170

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by jeff5170 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:10 pm

Business attire means coat and tie. I'd invest in a blue blazer and just wear some khakis. You can pick up one for cheap that looks nice and that you can wear for a while.

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20160810

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by 20160810 » Sat Aug 14, 2010 8:59 pm

What kind of law school do you go to that's making you wear business attire or orientation? How insulting. Nobody needs to put on a suit and tie just to listen to some prof talk about the difference between state and federal court and how to brief cases.

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SwollenMonkey

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by SwollenMonkey » Sun Aug 15, 2010 11:54 am

dannybang wrote:Note: please forgive my ignorance.

So orientation's this coming Monday and we're suppose to wear business attire. I assumed that just meant wearing a nice sweater, dress shirt, maybe tie, pants, and dress shoes.

But after googling "business attire", apparently I'm wrong. I don't have a suit. And I don't have the money to buy even a cheap suit.

A few questions:

1.) Would I make a bad first impression by wearing the sweater, dress shirt, pants, and shoes?

2.) Has anyone witnessed other students not wearing the business attire at orientation, even though the school asks them to do so?

Your advice is needed and appreciated :D
Hard to say what I'm going to wear since I'm going to be up early and running to and from airports. Definitely not a suit nor a tie. I'll try to wear some nice khakis and a somewhat decent casual collared short-sleeved shirt. I'm wearing some Adidas with the outfit.

My shoes are similar to this style:
Image

If someone doesn't like'em, then I guess I'll know who to avoid throughout the semester and probably the year.

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http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =3&t=38091

lawgod

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by lawgod » Sun Aug 15, 2010 11:59 am

They should have specified "business casual" or "business professional".

In any event, you can get a cheap suit for $75 easy. What city are you in?

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justtotalk

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by justtotalk » Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:14 pm

August and January are the months to buy. Stores that normal people avoid (like JCPenney) will be selling suits for $20-30 at this point. You'd need to go in-store, not online.

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by manbearwig » Sun Aug 15, 2010 1:53 pm

SBL wrote:What kind of law school do you go to that's making you wear business attire or orientation? How insulting. Nobody needs to put on a suit and tie just to listen to some prof talk about the difference between state and federal court and how to brief cases.
+1

What school is this? We start orientation on Monday, and the only time we've been given any sort of dress code is for a special event one evening.

ToTransferOrNot

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by ToTransferOrNot » Sun Aug 15, 2010 3:16 pm

Crazy that your school mandates business attire for orientation.

Even crazier that you are in your mid-20s (at the youngest) and don't own a suit. Fucking seriously?

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20160810

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by 20160810 » Sun Aug 15, 2010 3:56 pm

ToTransferOrNot wrote:Crazy that your school mandates business attire for orientation.

Even crazier that you are in your mid-20s (at the youngest) and don't own a suit. Fucking seriously?
I bought my first suit midway through 1L (age 24). There was literally no need for it before this. I didn't really need it for college (fraternity formal stuff a jacket, slacks, shirt, tie was fine) and for 2 years after college i was a teacher, which doesn't require business attire. No sense spending ~$500 on some clothes until you have to.

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ToTransferOrNot

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by ToTransferOrNot » Sun Aug 15, 2010 4:09 pm

Hm, I wore a suit when I was teaching. Different for band directors, I guess.

I recall needing suits for things when I was a high school brat, though. I didn't wear good suits, but I at least had a suit.

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Rand M.

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Rand M. » Sun Aug 15, 2010 6:24 pm

The whole "business attire" thing seems like muddled language at best. Legal events are usually termed "business formal" (suit) or "business casual" (really broad, but basically means no denim, and no sneakers). I would honestly think a full suit is not necessary for "business attire". It seems like someone is intentionally trying to blur the line between two modes of dress. Just wear something that requires a tie, and I think it's probably all good.

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Tatiana Mendez

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Tatiana Mendez » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:33 pm

I just had my orientation, and most guys wore polos, button downs or nice shirts, but I don't recall any suits. If I were you, I'd try to look professional, but wouldn't stress over the suit.

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Hattori Hanzo

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by Hattori Hanzo » Sat Aug 21, 2010 2:33 am

That's one F'd up school!
I wore a tshirt and jeans the first day of orientation, shorts and a tshirt that said ROCK n ROLL ROYALTY the second day

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SwollenMonkey

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Re: Business Attire for Law School Orientation- HELP!

Post by SwollenMonkey » Sat Aug 21, 2010 9:10 pm

Hattori Hanzo wrote:That's one F'd up school!
I wore a tshirt and jeans the first day of orientation, shorts and a tshirt that said ROCK n ROLL ROYALTY the second day
Make me a sword. I have vermin to slay.

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