Wearing a suit in a business casual environment?

I'm going to be interning in an IBD group in Chicago. I believe the dress code there is business casual...the thing is, I actually like wearing suits, and own a couple. Is it frowned upon for an SA to show up in a suit everyday (or a few times a week) if the dress code is BC? Trivial, I know, but I'm curious.

22 Comments
 

I work for an Investment Manager where the dress is bus. casual. When I wear a suit, or even a tie to work, I get the "have an interview today," "where's the interview" B.S. all the time (pretty annoying).

Milkman, I am the same as you and enjoy wearing suits to work as I belive it exudes a higher level of professionalism, however, I would agree with everyone else's postings and advise you to not wear one.

Good luck with the internship.

 

If you do it, go no tie with the suit jacket pants... but it will appear strange.

In a previous job, I got from someone who assumed I was interviewing, "Well, you must have an interview or a funeral today" yuk yuk. Unfortunately for him, it was the latter, "Yeah, funeral"

dork walks off red-faced and embarrassed.

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

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

Absolutely not. Seriously, end of discussion. You will get non-stop shit and as an intern, it will make it look like you don't understand the concept of "office culture". While I think every bus casual floor has 1 or 2 analysts that like to wear suits for some reason, they are the butt of jokes all the time (to their face and beind their back). This is definitely not a risk you should be willing to take as an intern.

 

Don't do it. I am the same way, and I'll often wear a suit with no tie just because I like the look and like wearing a jacket. Most people don't give a shit, but every once in a while you have some insecure douche who says some dumb shit like "nice jacket, dude" in some sarcastic tone. Shit's annoying. I still do the jacket all the time, but wearing a tie is overkill. You're better off avoiding the trouble and not doing the tie.

 

I met for lunch with some of the current analysts/associates. I wore a suit, the culture is bus/casual and the first thing they said to me was that I didn't need to dress up. It felt a bit awkward so I ended up taking my jacket off within the first ~2 minutes.

 

For me, it's cold in the morning, for now and usually most of summer its not that warm at 745 - 830 am. I wear the suit jacket till the office then leave it on my chair. Plus I hate holding keys, wallet, phone, gum, ipod, anything really, in my dress pants.

 

It may seem awkward to be the only one wearing a suit and tie, but go with it. Who cares what people think. Just don't be conservative when wearing suits: mix patterns, textures, colors, and materials. Even try different shoe lace colors and loud socks. You ought to have the mindset that yes I wear suits, but I'm not an old stiff man either.

 

It's an internship. Just fit in and try to get an offer. Wait to express your personal style until slightly later in your career when you have substance to back it up Nothing wrong with going against the grain, but now is not the time

 

Wear a suit without the tie and take off your jacket as soon as you get there and I doubt it will be a big deal.

You'd basically just be wearing a button shirt and dress pants which won't be that much different than what other people are wearing

 

There will plenty of time for wearing a suit in the future. Trust me.

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

Accusamus sed eius accusantium aperiam voluptatibus qui. Veniam eos dolorum ut sit omnis modi quia. Aut officiis cum quaerat temporibus. Id accusantium aspernatur tenetur vel repellendus. Perspiciatis asperiores quisquam id saepe assumenda ut eos.

Iure deleniti atque ut aperiam ea. Dolorem recusandae quia dolorum sequi libero eius aut laboriosam.

Dolorem labore et quis possimus itaque odit eos. Et sed maxime aspernatur quaerat cum atque sint. Neque est sed eum rerum enim. Aut officiis molestias cumque. Neque explicabo eum aut ut illo.

 

Maxime illo et culpa ut sit quaerat. Quod veniam iure iste saepe maiores. Ad quis aliquam dolores ut. Modi eius sit excepturi in sint enim consequatur.

Ipsam qui laudantium quos quidem quia quis. Voluptas totam deleniti in ut facere excepturi quia. Sit itaque assumenda non enim ad non. Ipsum eos magni consequatur ipsam consequatur quibusdam. Ea ad repudiandae est doloremque incidunt doloribus non rem. Perspiciatis tempora delectus ut.

Animi inventore cupiditate assumenda id. Aut suscipit eius dicta et officiis fugit. Necessitatibus quam non quidem debitis odit. Minima sed amet alias debitis voluptatibus.

Facere magni dolores qui sed et quidem et. Adipisci perspiciatis aut et non vel. Quibusdam dolor nobis harum sunt quo blanditiis. Nobis harum fugiat molestias sunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Morgan Stanley 08 97.8%
  • Goldman Sachs 02 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.8%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (23) $182
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (82) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $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

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
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...”