So if there's 90 million diff threads running on men's watches/ties/sleeve type (really?!?) etc, I figured it's totally legit to start one measly thread about women's attire. I realize I have a lot of questions but advice would be VERY welcomed.
Random questions as I start to buy my FT banking wardrobe (I was S&T last summer, it's been my experience that the dress is pretty diff for women in banking).
1) what kind of bag do you guys carry to work? a larger purse? i'm thinking about splurging and buying something decent, do people actually care?
2) how often do you wear suits vs: separates?
3) if a dress is fitted but has sleeves, comes down to your knees and is made of appropriate material - can you wear it to work? or should i opt for less form fitting silhouettes (caveat, before any of the guys make snarky comments - assume that the girl in question can pull of said slim fitting dress). what about colors or patterns? is a red, wool long sleeved dress fine for work? or must i always wear black, navy, etc?
*example of questionable dresses: http://www.jcrew.com/catalog/product.jhtml?id=pro…
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/store/catalog/prod.jh…
4) how does attire shift in warmer months - hose? open toed shoes at times (peep toed?).
5) has anyone ever darted out of the office to hit up a midtown/garment district sample sale for like 45 minutes? the thought of being 5 blocks away from 75% of theory and not being able to go is more than a little bit painful.
6) any general tips would be great.
to newbie female bankers even more clueless than me (or cross dressing traders), here two tips of my own:
1) i used to think i was priced out of neimans & saks for work wear, because let's be honest 600 suits weren't really my cup of tea. however their last call/clearance section online has amazing deals on theory etc. i just got two theory dresses for 115 a pop. also, they let you return to the stores for free and most of the time have a free shipping promo running so it's really not a bad deal.
2) and one cheap suit tip for women - i don't know why they aren't mentioned on this forum often, but united colors of benneton has great inexpensive suiting (i know there's one in the seaport - i drunkenly bought a suit there last summer). personally i think their stuff is way more professional/tailored than ann taylor, express or limited or any of the other cheap suit standbys. if you're skinny, randomly, victoria secret can also look polished if you buy VERY, very discriminatingly - but i'd only advocate that if you're on a very tight budget.
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.
Ah. And here we have a conflict. I believe the initial question was how to dress for banking, not how to dress for appealing to men. The two are actually not the same.
Ladies, wear flats if you want to. I don't, because I'm not a tall woman, but it's up to you. They are perfectly professional. As are kitten heels.
Also: "don't wear skirts if you're even a pound over average weight for your height"? Where does this come from? You know the statistically "average" woman is overweight, right? I think you probably meant to say this in a different way. Still, I'm curious as to what difference a single pound makes. This reminds me of the silly girls in college that thought that if they ate two cookies, their bodies would suddenly splurge out into Jabba-the-Hut shapes and stay that way forever.
At any rate, we should all understand that everyone has to look at things that people may find "disgusting". Is male-pattern baldness as "disgusting" as a girl with thick calves? Is a male gut pushing the shirt front out as "disgusting" as a female soft upper arm? While I definitely prefer looking at male models and Hollywood actresses to looking at bankers, I have to remember that banking tends to make people less attractive. I don't want to look at bald spots or bulging behinds or pimples, but such is life. We're all experiencing enough pain already -- to try to tell us we should all be beautiful plastic people on top of it all is just unconscionable.