Apparently, if you want to be the new "George Clooney of finance" (remember Mark Carney?), BNP Paribas is your place to be!
Research by Emolument suggests nearly 40% of BNP bankers are still wedded to formal dress at all times, compared to just 20% at J.P. Morgan. ...From this article
In London, insiders suggest BNP staff are more sharply dressed than the rest because a comparatively high percentage are from France or Italy, where sartorial rectitude is more highly prized than in London or New York.
One French trader tells us he always has at least 15 white shirts with his initials embroidered on the cuff, for example.
Is the "Italian/French = Stylish" axiom still valid though? Honestly, I have seen many more bankers in Milan dressing chinos or sweaters rather than in London. Quite a stereotype imo.
I'd agree on the stereotyping. Confirmation bias? probably.
"I don't see why I need a a stylist When I shop so much I can speak Italian" - Kanye West
I'd rather be business casual than socialist and have gov't mandated 30hr work weeks
just my €0.02
Lol capitalistcuck I’ll take the free time and you can keep slinging pitch books
We had guys come in from Deutsche in Moscow. Not sure if that's how they do it daily back in Moscow, probably purposefully making us feel and look "cheap", but they were quite the sight...
Obnoxiously bright Charvets, freshly-made extra tight shiny suits. One guy brought a ridiculous monogrammed LV briefcase with his (gilded) initials engraved right in the middle. It was all extremely pompous and over the top. But the "cherry on top" was the guy in charge who sported an enormous sapphire ring while repeatedly stuffing his massive Cartier watch in our faces. We were so stunned by the display didn't even know whether to laugh or cry.
I don't know why, but Eastern Europeans are usually more bling (or tasteless) for some reason.
Because they are all new money over there so such behaviours are the acceptable standard in their society (among those who can afford it).
And I'dd add that two further aspects to consider are that they made a lot of this new money, and in ways which may not be perfectly honourable, considering Russia's moral and institutional decay after the USSR.
We don't embrace such things because US has largely been a leader in goods & innovation for decades. As the saying goes, "Communism is waiting in line to get a loaf of bread. Capitalism is waiting in line to get your iPhone".
I asked an older Russian co-worker about Russians and their excess. He said it has nothing to do with crudity. It's just that Russia was closed off from the rest of the world for years. So Russian people (USSR era and beyond) sat in mass deficit and struggle on food rations, etc. with no access to products (foods, electronics, etc.) that the rest of the world deemed basic for generations. And when Russia "globalized" in late 90's suddenly Russians had access to this huge sea of amazing goods. So with their newly-gained mass wealth the oligarchs became like children in a toy store for the first time. They want to buy and try it all, and boast it in front of their friends in the process. I guess the sentiment spilled into the younger generation.
I've seen American teams in Hong Kong who'd be on par with your Russians. You've got pompous asses in every nationality.