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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

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

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.

Sweater? Its fucking August, dude.

Kobe_Teeth wrote:Sweater? Its fucking August, dude.

Fashion > Comfort.

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

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

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.

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

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

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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:


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

Go here for more info.
http://www.top-law-schools.com/forums/v ... =3&t=38091

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?

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.