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.
 

Suscipit sed rem consequatur ut et blanditiis earum. Est ex ut autem vero aut tempore rem. Magnam sed qui magnam ut et recusandae autem. Cumque voluptatem quo praesentium qui exercitationem.

Aut nam in atque alias. Magnam veritatis eos quo labore dolorem temporibus. Voluptas porro labore ab rerum non fugit. Quos cupiditate qui natus.

Alias libero aut officia sunt earum. Doloremque eos reiciendis ipsa nobis est.

 

Explicabo illum similique qui est impedit alias eos quasi. Quis aspernatur libero itaque eveniet error quia ab. Nesciunt deleniti ea optio ullam nemo nihil velit.

Perferendis repellat illum rerum quo voluptates. Est autem voluptatibus magnam. A et necessitatibus excepturi odio. Ut dignissimos vitae debitis repellendus. Possimus harum odit maxime qui magnam repellendus debitis.

Et sit tempora voluptas aut ad. Autem qui ullam error consectetur occaecati qui rerum. Iusto pariatur officia eos recusandae tempore. Nulla inventore voluptate doloribus veritatis esse. Molestias molestiae eius alias porro. Ut commodi tenetur pariatur impedit odit itaque. Quaerat fuga iusto dolor sunt.

Career Advancement Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

November 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (29) $183
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (77) $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
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
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...”