London Summer Analyst Attire
So in three months, I'll begin my summer analyst internship in London and have begun thinking about what clothes i need to buy for the job. I've carved out the following list:
-2 suits (Navy | Charcoal)
-5 shirts (2 Sky | 3 White)
-1 belt (black)
-Two shoes (Black oxfords | Black Loafers)
-1 tie (Burgundy)
-1 zip neck jumper (grey)
-3 V-necks (Navy | Burgundy | Grey)
-2 chinos (Navy | Grey)
-Socks, airism undergarments etc
Am I missing anything ? I don't want to overdress, nor underdress for the internship, and don't want to seem like a hardo either. I'm not the best dresser when it comes to office attire, so all advice would be super helpful.
Cheers,
PS: Should i get a patagonia vest or not ?
bump
five patagonia fleece vests, and to add some variety, five patagonia puffer vests. preferably different shades of navy
Rotate the patagonia biweekly, can't go wrong
What's a Patagonia
Do not get a vest as an intern
There was an intern where I was who always wore a Patagonia... I found it so tryhard and weird.
Following
In how many BBs/EBs are interns allowed to wear chinos on casual Friday
I'll be on the buyside for the summer, so i'm not really sure whether it applies to my case or not, but I was having a chat with a VP, and he recommended Chinos. So maybe it's more relaxed that BB/EB's
What's airism?
it's this undergarment sold by uniqlo which I hear really protects shirts from sweat stains and whatnot. A bit on the pricey side, but should be worth it
What are the tie colour/pattern recommendations or tie taboos in London. And must an IBD intern wear them everyday?
Depends on the bank, but a tie is generally not needed. Just wear one on the first day to be safe
Interned in a lower-tier BB in London this summer, no one was wearing a tie
My associate got on my case about the windmill patterns on my tie during my SA. Said it was "incredibly offensive" and "illegal in most of Europe."
How often would suits actually be worn on the job
When I was interning, I got three pairs of trousers for each jacket I bought. I didn't really use the jacket too much, but it was great to rotate different pairs of trousers for the same suit. I'd also look at getting side adjusters for your trousers - I found them way comfier than a belt.
What're side adjusters?
Cmon man just google it if you don’t know
Good luck in IB lol
agreed - belts imo don't look good on a suit, especially in finance. just go to a tailor and ask them if they can add side adjusters, they should be able to
Solid list.
Suits - Charles Tyrwhitt, TM Lewin, Hawes and Curtis are all very good value in the £170-300 range. Realistically given how hot it is, you won't be wearing the jacket often. If anything buy multiple suit trousers to rotate weekly.
Shirts - again from the above places, decent value for quality shirts can be brought. White and Blue are the way to go, some Old School bankers are huge into pink shirt Fridays. So perhaps get a pink one just in case, see what people do on the first Friday and then dress accordingly,
Shoes - black loafers and oxfords for sure. Oxfords not brogues
Tie - realistically you'll only wear a tie for the first day
Zip necks/quarter zips/V necks - smart choice, you'll probably wear that more than a suit
Chinos - I imagine for any team day outs/ socials etc
Ie Patagonia vests; in my opinion if you don't want to seem a hardo, avoid a Patagonia at all costs. On the flip side, depending on your bank, you're more than likely to get some stash from the bank so could probably be issued a firm non-branded gilet which people will wear. That will then make ur patagonia purchase (if you do so) pointless.
Are Corduroy trousers appropriate for team socials?
yeah, same boat as chinos. Albeit cords in the summer are very very suffocating
Thank you for the response, should I get one suit or two given that I won't be wearing suits all that often and also, how many trousers would you recommend for the 10 weeks ?
What you laid out here is certainly appropriate. You absolutely have the right type of idea here.
Do you know, at least broadly speaking, what type of brands you are going to go with or do you want some ideas for that too?
I was thinking Charles Tyrwhitt for the suits, jumpers and shoes, massimo dutti or uniqlo for the shirts. Do you have any other recommendations ?
I'd check out Suitsupply
I would add Tyrwhitt for shirts too. For shoes, I can go on forever about. But to keep it simple, Meermin is a very good brand for the sub-$400 market. If you are looking to spend more than that Carmina is a very good option. One nice thing about higher quality shoes (like Carmina and even brands like Meermin) is that if you know how to take care of them they can easily last you 10, 15, 20 years so if you are comfortable spending more up front you can squeeze a lot of value out of them. I would also consider looking at Suit supply for suits. They also have some pretty decent vests if you want something like a Patagonia without doing the "IB uniform" thing.
Meermin shoes look so class, pity they don't seem to have a store in London. I have weird feet so I'm not too sure about ordering shoes online and returning them to france would be a pain in the ass
Your list looks great - I’d wear a navy tie instead of burgundy on your first day just to be extra conservative (really doesn’t matter though).
Thank you. I'll get a navy one for the first day and then gauge how the analysts/associates are dressed and adapt accordingly
2 suits, 4 trousers (including the suits), 5/6 shirts (wear monday-thu, gives you fri-mon to get them ready for the next week and you have 1/2 extra shirts in case of any nonsense). Probably won’t wear a tie except the first day and a picture thing if your bank does one. Good idea to have 2 shoes to rotate between.
Suits/trousers - dark blue/navy/charcoal; avoid light grey/black.
Shirts - try sticking with white/light blue. Plain vs striped/checked, or collar type A vs B really doesn’t matter. Make sure your shirt fits you, that’s what matters.
Shoes - oxfords are a safer bet for online shopping; wouldn’t recommend buying loafers blindly because you need to see how your trousers sit on them. Stick with Black leather.
Don’t know what this “interns shouldn’t wear vests” rhetoric is, the offcycles wear them all the time (though in the colder months of the year - if you wear a vest in July you’re probably doing a bit too much lol). Point is they’re still interns.
Would recommend suitsupply (even the cheaper suits) - they’re generally better quality than CT and fit better in my experience, you can also ask them to add side adjusters to your trousers which is a plus. CT shirts are ok but again if you’re happy to pay a premium Eton ones are good, you can chuck them in the washer without worrying about the collars being damaged.
Assuming you wfh on Fridays/weekends or come in casual attire, this should be about everything.
Eton shirts look really good, though unfortunately it's out of my budget for now. I'll definitely check out suit supply, many have recommended it, so it's likely that i'll end up getting the suits from there
They might even give you a vest depending on bank.
I'd get another belt and tie to keep at the office - you never know if you're rushing and forget one, or suddenly someone invites you to a client even outside the office.
Buy 2 trousers for each suit (trust me in the long-run this will pay off if you don't want to re-buy later) and get a shirt to keep at the office too.
Thank you for your response, should I buy the same trousers (ie: the ones that come with the suit) or a different style ?
Same trousers. Imagine something spills on the 1st pair, or general wear and tear. Trousers are first to go as you don't really wear your jacket as you'll see in summer/after the first few weeks. Comes in hand when say in a year you have an interview, can use a matching suit.
As many will tell you, trying to find trousers for that exact jacket in the future is near impossible.
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