37 Comments
 

haha so funny. people here wear cufflinks or silk knots as interns. its not that big of a deal, unless we are talking about 5k tiffany cufflinks that make your bosses cufflinks look like they are from wall-mart.

but true, stay low key, especially if you are an intern.

"too good to be true" See my WSO Blog
 

Are some of you really this dense? Cufflinks are a MUST in every country outside of the US in banking, consultancy, and yes even accountancy.

I was a summer analyst in BB bank and I would say over 80% of us and the full-time analysts wore cufflinks EVERYDAY. As for Big 4, I work in consulting now and again the majority of business analysts and consultants wear cufflinks. As you get to manager or senior manager level, that percentage goes up to nearly 100%.

This is in London, and have seen the same thing in Paris, HK and Singapore. America is wayyyy behind when it comes to business attire and far too casual. Also button collars are a distinct faux pas, as are pockets on shirts for everyone except accountants...and even then do avoid them.

 

PallMall, calling them "a must" is a little much. I agree they carry different stereotypes overseas, esp in Europe, than they do here in the states.

Like a few have said, who cares what you wear as long as you are presentable.... All the insecure douche rockets who work in this industry are the only ones.... Those are the same dudes hanging out in Meat Packing District every weekend and the same dudes who go to the chopping block when times are tough.

 
HFFBALLfan123......or america is ahead of the curve and realized you don't need to dress like you're going to a wedding everyday. If you work in a HF or PE most people just wear a nice button down and slacks, and yes sometimes our button downs have buttons on the collars, o fuck.

Or American just has no fashion style. Cufflinks/double cuff shirts are standard in the UK even as interns, and no one looks like they are going down to a wedding. If you think cufflinks make you look that formal then I am guessing you are on of those that think khaki's with a button down collar qualifies as business wear. As LSO once proclaimed "button down collar, kenneth cole shit".

 

The UK also wears more pastel shirt/tie combos than the GD Easter bunny. Looks like what my mom put on me to go to church when I was 5 years old. Hardly high-brow fashion (or "fashion style" as derivs Engrish so redundantly put it).

And aside from the solids, the Thomas Pink patterned shirts they are so fond of look like a guy tripping acid diarhhea'd on some fabric.

xoxo, hope that helps

 

Future father in law is the equivalent of an MD (and then some) at a Big 4 in NYC. He only wears cufflinks when he goes to London. Just a thought.

If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
 
happypantsmcgee

Future father in law is the equivalent of an MD (and then some) at a Big 4 in NYC. He only wears cufflinks when he goes to London. Just a thought.

Sounds reasonable :) It's actually pretty difficult to get barrel cuffed shirts in London. Paris might also be a good place to wear cufflinks (after all, they call it "french cuffs", eh? :D). While these two cities might qualify for an IBer's "rest of the world", I can assure you that the rest of the world does not wear cuff links exclusively!
 

big four only wear khakis and regular shirts, no tie. Cuff links would look ridiculously strange with that. The only time they wear suits is when they are on a client that requires suits to be worn at all time.

 

Be safe, not sorry. Don't listen to anyone who says it's okay to wear cuff links, it's not. As an intern, someone will eventually notice it even if you are an analyst and it will hurt your reputation in their eyes. End of story.

 

If Jesus was reincarnated and worked for an investment bank as an analylist and wore Cuff-links, Hermes ties, and good forbid Boss suits the general idea here would be "toooool"

 

HAHAH what a tool I've had some friends in BB who bought French cuff shirts by accident and ended up rolling up the sleeves rather than wearing cufflinks as an analyst When everyone else in your class is sleeping 3 hours a night and looking like shit - if you come in rocking cufflinks, a pink tie and grey pin-striped suit - you're getting ridiculed...and staffed.

 

big "no" especially as an intern, maybe if they weren't gaudy but i'm sure as sh*t they were. nylon cufflinks are a nice casuaul look though.

 

I really don't see a problem with cufflinks as long as they aren't big and flashy, small and conservative cufflinks don't make you look like a douche and I think it is a pretty sharp look. Now when you make partner you can step it up to whatever you want, a partner I interviewed with had huge ridiculous cufflinks on and I doubt anyone thought negatively about him for that.

 

Non-US? wear the cufflinks! Non-accounting? (i.e. advisory/consulting) wear the cufflinks, but stay conservative. But if you are (1) U.S. (2) intern and (3) accountant, do NOT wear the cuff links.

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right." -Warren Buffett
 

Hahaha, and when you are on your internship you will also not be taken seriously if you don't act busy, such as for example.. when they ask you to get Starbucks you reply, "I'll consider it, Let me check my schedule and get back to you."

"You are neither right nor wrong because the crowd disagrees with you. You are right because your data and reasoning are right." -Warren Buffett
 

Et voluptas fugit ea reiciendis. Nobis non ipsa reiciendis sequi amet id impedit. Eos est nostrum exercitationem rerum. Aperiam vel officiis est sunt magni.

In non corrupti ratione eum. Soluta et vel ea qui. Libero et quibusdam et porro. Quam voluptatem non odio enim ipsa est.

Quod tempora tenetur qui repudiandae. Minima error doloremque est voluptas et magnam sed. Unde porro recusandae sapiente quod. Quasi voluptatum vitae quasi cupiditate.

Rerum tempora esse similique cupiditate. Maxime optio distinctio veritatis odio ullam voluptas rem. Ratione libero dolorem maxime debitis et aliquid ea.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”