for the girls...

Since I am starting FT in S&T in July (I was an SA at the same place last summer) Here is a brief list of the following items I have purchased thus far:
- 7 pairs of dark colored pants all from BCBG or Theory all on sale
- 2 skirts from same places
- 3 pairs of shoes from DSW
(The outlets are great and Bloomingdales always has sales racks so long as you have the patience to look you can find a bunch of good stuff)
- A handful of random tops

Here are my main issues: Although I do not mind spending 200+ for a pair of pants I have major issues with spending this much on shirts. I am having the hardest time finding shirts that fit, don't look cheap and wear well. I've had some Banana shirts (sweaters and button downs) I find them to wash terribly and wrinkle easily. JCrew button downs are decent but I find their choices hit or miss. Express I find also to be hit or miss? Ann Taylor I think looks too 'Mom' like.

Bag---- I feel like on a trading floor my bag is going to get stuffed under the desk and ultimately get ruined. I don't feel like buying a 600+ bag so that I can step on it. I'm thinking the Tory Burch Totes (175-250) are very cute; Longchamps seem to be a staple on the Trading Floor from what I have seen. A coach tote?

When it comes to heels, how high is too high?

For us ladies with long hair, should we keep it tied up?

From my experience a good bag says alot. I have a black leather gucci with gold chain handles that looks good with everything. It's not too flashy and it looks professional. Although I would hesitate before taking it on to the trading floor and having to shove it under someone's desk! I have a LV that's cream and blue checks but I wouldn't take that in, except perhaps on my last day.

Peep toes are cute, but I'd say only in the summer and with pants, otherwise you look like you're off on holiday.

Where can we get non iron shirts for ladies?

I think skirt suits look great, and I prefer suits to separates. Everyone looks much sharper with a jacket on I reckon.

I, for one, am so happy to see this thread on here. In any case - Lacoste has great shirts for women and they also have some really fun colors. The other thing (and trust me - I know this sounds bizarre) to think about is buying the shirt bodysuits? I know they seem weird but they are sort of the best thing in the world because they stay so flat and neat tucked into pencil skirts all day and then you can't see the outline of your shirttails through your pencil skirt which is the most aggravating thing ever. As for heels - I think 4 inches is totally fine so long as you avoid things such as wood/metal heels as opposed to leather covered ones, weird colors, peep toes and chunky heels (keep them stilettos), weird gold embellishments, platforms etc. Just use good judgment and make sure you're buying something that looks traditional and 4 inchers should be fine. Anything above 4 inches is a no go though.

How do you wear your hair? Do you have to wear it up every day?

Loving this thread, guys...
im also curious about whether its ok to wear non-floozyish dresses to work...and this may be a dumb question, but if i wear a knee-length skirt in the summer, do i have to wear stockings? i think id feel so matronly in nude pantyhose everyday!
also, my two cents: i worked in ib last summer too, and swore by my french connection pants. i have a really hard time finding buttown-downs that dont gape at the chest, but found that i did really well at benetton, and also at thomas pink, actually. they have a big sale every summer, and their styles are a lot more fun than you'd expect. and for the person who asked about bags, I (along with every other generic female) carried longchamps.

Non-iron shirt recommendation: Brooks Brothers! It's not just for guys, I swear. Their new "tailored" cut is longer in the front to stay tucked in and is a lot slimmer than their boxier "classic" fit.

Also, about those bodysuits: I purchased some at Victoria's Secret (don't ask) and they were of horrible quality (you get what you pay for). I'm returning them. srr636, where can you purchase bodysuits of (much) better quality?

@meehgs: wacoal used to make those kinds of bodysuits; i dont know if they still do. they'd be pretty pricey though, probably about $80 or $90 each.

and by wacoal, i meant wolford. i think my mom used to wear them to work.

What about the hair?

Also to workingirl - where is that main image from? I really like what she's wearing.

shirt dresses were pretty common at my office, and most people didn't wear pantyhose during the summer, but i did see some people wearing dark/black hose which is another option i guess... also sweater sets/cardigans were big although theyre not personally my style... as for places i personally have found to be useful: banana republic, occasionally ann taylor, benetton, and i find department store sales to be a great source of nicer staple pieces like better constructed suits and shirts

To the OP- thanks for starting this thread.

The best advice I've seen from the men's threads is to show up in a suit/conservative outfit on your first day and observe. Every bank and group has its own dress code. What most others around you are wearing is what you should be.

Take notes on the differences between what the more senior women are wearing vs. what other women your age are wearing. The more senior bankers tend to have a looser dress code than the younger ones.

--
Suit:
Cut the crap and go to Theory. :)
Like many other posters have mentioned, it's not hard to find Theory and BCBG on sale.
JCrew suits-since a lot of them seem to be online-only, I'd be careful about ordering suits online. I got something basic there and the materials is wayyyy too shiny.

Dresses:
The basic dresses don't much less professional under proper jackets. I'd avoid prints though.

Shirts & Tops:
I like the basic Theory button down. Managed to find it marked down to ~100.
Also, some girls (not me) find shirts at Express to fit well. They don't look nearly as crappy as their suits.
Uniqlo, a Japanese basics store @ Soho (Broadway, Prince) has a good selection of basic shirts and sweaters. By that I mean you have a huge wall of few basic styles (vneck, turtleneck, cardigans) in over 10 colors. Okay quality for sweaters. A bit cheaper than their close-to=identical twins at Jcrew.
Heavy starch helps, especially if you dislike ironing.

Bag:
Longchamp is a staple for..Manhattan. It. Is. Everywhere. Since it's relatively inexpensive, it's a safe one to have for your first days.
Agree with prettyspectacular on the fancier bags: As long as it's dark-colored, and professional looking. Non-monogram-print LV's should work fine.
Avoid too much patent leather, prints, and bright colors to be on the safe side.
Obviously this does not apply if everyone around you has like the spring collection of some designer (read: bright colors, ridiculous materials). Again, observe.

Shoes:
Peep toed obviously means pedicure. I wouldn't combine patent leather with high heels- that screams clubbing, not banking.

Hair:
I've seen it down..a lot. It's probably fine as long as it's not too long and nicely straightened or styled..with no frizz whatsoever. (Slightly exaggerated comment on this one..)
Sephora has a good selection of straightening irons, by the way. They are a bit pricey, but are good investments.
Most drug stores in Manhattan have the salon-only hair products. Having a full set for your hair texture can go a long way.. and save you time on styling.

About warm weather:
Remember that you spend more time in the office than not.. and it's always winter there.

How do girls generally wear their makeup?

That print dress from jcrew looks terrible. I like the classy stuff. I have a trench coat (in dark green to be a little different), a few suits (grey, blue, brown, black and black pinstriped), a few simple dresses that are either brown or black, nude tights (my tights always run, so I gave up on black tights), black purple and red pairs of shoes. I stick with classy stuff. Stuff that even if it's cheap, it still looks good. A lot of my stuff comes from Ann Taylor Loft and Old Navy, but you would never know.

I have shoulder length hair, with blonde highlights that I put in myself. I wouldn't recommend doing that at home, I'm a natural ash blonde so messing up wasn't really able to happen. I just didn't want it looking so dingy.

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

Light.

Cut down on everything if you normally use makeup. Obviously don't cut on concealers that make you look like you actually got sleep. ;)

Curled lashes goes a long way on making you look more awake. Mascara &
Non-heavy neutral (this is b/c some people regularly use like.. blue) eyeliner if needed. Blush.

Invest in brushes- saves you time in application.

I actually own the dress from JCrew the OP mentioned - I don't know how I feel about it being work appropriate (maybe under a blazer?) but in her defense, it's actually cute.

as far as makeup goes - i've found mineral makeup from bare escentuals to be, well, essential. it doesn't get cakey, it's easy to reapply in the bathrooms and it's not going to decimate your skin when you've been at the office and in makeup for 18 hours straight.

True about the offices being ridiculously cold all the time. I keep a fleece and a blanket in a drawer at my desk.

I taped up the a/c vent that was over my desk with duct tape. I got a few laughs when I stood on the desk to do it, but it has made quite a difference!!!

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

I'll chime in...

Suits vs. Separates? Separates. Absolutely. Not a fan of suits anymore. I don't like that pre-packaged look. I like to mix and match and create my own style.

Trousers: Most of my work pants are either from Piazza Sempione, Theory, Akris or Burberry. I hit Neiman's Last Call for great Piazza and Akris. Theory eventually goes on sale everywhere - Bloomingdale's, Saks, Neiman's. Burberry always has amazing sales.

Blouses: Most are either Theory or Anne Fontaine. Theory outlets are the best places to get an otherwise $200 blouse for $80-100.

Shoes: I wear Prada heels most everyday. Prada's pumps generally have that rubber sole which is good for walking city streets. Otherwise, I wear a lot of Tod's dressy flats. Never more than a 2" heel at the office.

Jewelry: Very minimal. Although, I've been wearing longer earrings lately to show off a shorter hair style... yes, I chopped off the locks in pursuit of a classic Katie Holmes style haircut. I love it. Sigh.

Nails: I live in Essie's "Tribeca" color. I religiously get a manicure each week. It's my indulgence. I will say it's nice when both male and female collegues alike mention how nice my nails look. People do notice. (Sidebar: I interviewed a candidate this week who wore gothic purple/black nail polish. Bad decision. While OPI's "Lincoln Park After Dark" might be a fab color, it's not appropriate for an interview! Ladies, play it safe and stick with "Ballet Slippers" ladies.)

Makeup: I swear by Laura Mercier. I swear by Anastasia's eyebrow kit. I am eyebrow obsessed.

Purse: Spend the money. Buy a classic handbag. You can wear an inexpensive Banana Republic pant suit, but if you have the right classic handbag, your entire wardrobe kicks up a notch. Personally, I don't like Gucci or Louis Vuitton or Coach. I just have never been a fan of logo bags. Never liked them. Never will. My bag dejour is Burberry's large dark brown leather hobo or Mulberry's "Mabel". Both fit my entire life and both are suitable from work to casual.

Flaky criticism: I think women always think they have to wear a dark black suit to an interview. This is a misconception. For example, I did an informational interview recently with a young lady who had straight, long, dark hair. She wore a black suit. She also wore a black tank underneath. All black was a bad decision. She looked like she was dressed for a funderal. I kept looking at her and thought she looked harsh, goth, she was Elvira. Had she at least broken up the black suit with a white blouse, that would have been better. Classic gray, much much better.

Wow.

It is amazing to see how extensive these replies are. Women always have a lot to say even if it is on a message board.

Yup. We gab.

What about fake nails, short rounded tip french manicured? yay or nay?

aadpepsi-
I feel pretty pathetic for knowing exactly which colors you're referring to for the nail colors.. and owning 2 of them. :)

Unless this is only applied to men, I thought you're suppose to avoid black suits for interviews, judging by the responses in the other fashion-related threads.

Some of my friends went to this superday a year ago and a female candidate there wore... A red suit.

prettyspectacular-
If it's obviously fake, I'd go with Nay.

A red suit! That's brave. Or stupid.

Maybe she was reppin' her set.

If you blood throw it up.

Lol, I like the ballet slippers color, but I'm leaning towards the french manicure these days.

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

Ballet slippers is a classic :-)

I've never had a french manicure last more than 3 days. Don't know why. It's a mystery.

Dresses:
For the OP: I like the second dress, but whether or not dress code lightens up during the summer depends on your office. If there's someone at work that you feel comfortable talking to at this point, there's no harm in just calling to ask (I did it). My fashion choices have for work have always been a bit bolder than my girlfriends, but my office is a little indulgent. Here are a few of dresses and things I've worn/bought (or very similar), but all with a jacket:
With a fitted black jacket
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod47650055...
With a wide gold belt and the jacket open
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod51920041...
Mine is white above the belt, I wore my own thin green belt and a short, fitted jacket
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2972097/0~2376776~2374327~2374331~6014185?me...
Tucked into a charcoal gray, pinstripe pantsuit:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/2969558/0~2376776~2374327~2374333~2377660?me...

And for the comment about gaping button downs - I know exactly how that feels! If you have your tailor sew a tiny plastic snap button where it gapes, it holds beautifully.

Makeup:
Good makeup is definitely worth paying a little extra for because the last thing I need to worry about is managing my face. But also because:
1. The colors are more concentrated so you don't need to wear as much.
2. It lasts longer so you don't 'wilt' as quickly and require constant preening or reapplication.
3. It goes on your face everyday! You should be picky about it.
Brands I like: Bare Minerals, Make Up Forever, Nars, Dior, Laura Mercier. I think Sephora carries them all.

Bag:
I use a Jack Georges bag and I love love LOVE it. It's sleek, roomy, and has all these great pockets everywhere. And it seems to be indestructible too - after 2 years of abuse it still looks pristine. Best of all, it's moderately priced. I think I paid around $250 for it.

I have the same gaping hole problem! I wear a safety pin sometimes. Sephora has some good stuff there!

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

Sephora used to be a place where you could hang out, undisturbed, leisurely browsing aisles upon aisles for that perfect nude lip gloss. Lately, the moment you walk in a sales associate is on your coat tail, fussing all over you. Annoying. I liked it much better when they left you alone.

Upside is that if you really need help with something...they'd be very helpful, such as this one time when I asked whether I could test out a brush. The sales associate tried to "open" one (aka take the plastic wrapping off and make it a tester), and ended up breaking the thing into two pieces. It was great.

That gaping hole in the blouse is often times the only thing that keeps us fellas coming to work. Please just leave it alone. We've had some great ones in my group.

--------------
Either you sling crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot

This is just about clothing and makeup. You don't even want know what they have to say to each other about you in bed.

in one of the threads for men's clothing, many people were adamant about not wearing black suits. does the same apply to women in banking?

The main image is from Victoria's Secret.
http://www2.victoriassecret.com/commerce/application/prodDisplay/?namesp...

This probably means the photo makes the product look 200x better than it actually is. VS's clothing quality sucks.. but that's nothing new.

I wish I looked like that at work! She looks great (although I agree on the VS quality thing).

I think so. I'm definitely of the persuasion that women should NOT wear black suits unless it's for a funeral.

That said, a black suit (skirt or pant suit) is appropriate for an evening business dinner or networking event - so long as you break the black up and add feminine details, e.g. add a brooch, add a white/colored blouse etc.

I wear black suits sometimes, I like it though. This is because sometimes I spill lunch on myself and wearing black doesn't show stains.

I also had no idea that V.S. clothing was shoddy! Thanks for the protip! I've seen some cute stuff, but never bought anything other than underwear during their sales. Even then, I go for hanes sometimes.

********"Babies don't cost money, they MAKE money." - Jerri Blank********

Where can you get a ladies navy suit? I'm having problems finding a decent one in London..

by longchamps im assuming you all mean the standard synthetic "le pliage" tote?

And does anyone have examples of what you might wear with a suit instead of a long sleeve button down? I find them so claustrophobic, especially in warm weather.

At my own personal risk, I had to point out this unintentional gem.

No, I don't think so. I personally don't think the the "le pliage" is appropriate for work. Its much more casual wear. Longchamp has other tote bags that come in leather. I personally have this one (Roseau tote): http://www.longchamp.com/en/collections/showroom-255.html&genre=femme&ru...

I don't think you need to wear long sleeve button downs in the summer. Just find some fairly conservative short sleeve ones somewhere. I bought a few from Ann Taylor and Banana Republic.

I would like to add that I'm only an intern and not FT at a bank or anything.

Just because the guys have to wear button downs doesn't mean we do! I know several people will disagree with me there, but eh. The pic on the original post has simply layered knits and it still looks good. I usually wear a nice blouse or shell with sleeves and dress it up/down with the right accessories. You can also wear a dress, which I think was mentioned earlier.

I hardly wear button downs. I tend towards dresses or skirts with cardigans/blouses. I have even worn a t-shirt dress - I had dark tights heels and threw a sweater over it, I don't think anyone noticed.

Definitely start conservative but take a look at what the other women in the office wear. You can get away with a lot more than you think you can. Unless you look totally slovenly or slutty, your boss (most likely male) will neither comment on nor notice what you're wearing.

At the end of the day I'm still a young woman and I'm not going to try waste the time of my life when I'm most attractive dressing in horrible unflattering button down shirts that gape at the chest.

I second that.
But aside from the ill-fitting and gaping issues, they're just plain boring.

Re: heel height, I think it depends on a number of factors, including your personality, height, and the style of the shoe. If it's a classic pump or something of that nature I think anything up to 4" is fine as long as you don't look like an amazon . . . if the color/style is flashy you might want to stick with a slightly lower heel . . . and please, for everyone's sake, don't wear exposed platforms to the office!!! hidden platforms are much classier :)

Used to leave my hair down, until my VP told me that when I was an intern, for the first 2 weeks he always thought I wasn't paying attention b/c I would be messing w/my hair - it was completely not intentional. Now I keep it up mostly to remove the temptation

ITA on the good bag - nothing too flashy, agree the LV damier azur is probably a bit much. That said, nothing wrong with a high quality understated leather tote in black/brown/cream. Birkins are always a great choice of course (love the etoupe w/palladium hardware!), otherwise Chanel, Gucci, Bottega and Ferragamo usually have a good selection of classic bags that aren't festooned with logos

I probably would shy away from peep toes in anything but black or nude

In summer, I've found that a shift dress with a blazer makes a more comfortable alternative to the skirt suit, which I tend to reserve for cooler weather

i hate stockings >.<

btw - club monaco has some gorgeous gorgeous dress pants & skirts that are really flattering. i always used to get comments on them from friends - with i could still wear them but their sizes are running a bit bigger now i think. 0 fits like Benetton 38

Here are some gorgeous but still work appropriate bags if anyone's shopping:

Chanel east west collection classic flap
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh291/seahorseinstripes2/blog%20april...

Chanel ultimate soft foldover
http://cn1.kaboodle.com/hi/img/2/0/0/d9/8/AAAAAhliQmYAAAAAANmCWg.jpg

Chanel jumbo clasic flap
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh291/seahorseinstripes2/chanel%20fal...

Prada glazed deerskin chain tote
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh291/seahorseinstripes2/blog%20april...

Ferragamo Sartoria Ginger Satchel
http://ferragamo.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod47...

Ferragamo gancino calfskin tote
http://ferragamo.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod47...

Ferragamo Marisa shoulder bag
http://ferragamo.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jhtml?itemId=prod35...

Bottega veneta new ball bag
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/shoponline/ProductDetail.aspx?productId=744...

Hey girls

I have to ask-are capris or bermuda shorts that hit at or slightly above the knee appropriate? I was hoping I could wear black or white ones with black stockings, but wasn't sure if that would be acceptable...

Any thoughts?

Probably not. And I would think it would look kind of odd with stockings. Stick with long pants or skirts.

If your office is casual about their attire then maybe.
But I agree with City Sophisticate in saying probably not. Aside from the odd appearance, they're a little too casual. You don't want to be mistaken for the coffee girl.

K sincere question...

How do you guys afford this stuff