Need Help- Budget Wardrobe for Summer Analyst Internship!!!

Hey Bario, as a summer analyst last summer here are my thoughts.

Suits: Suit supply is the way to go. The quality is superb, but it's also about the fit. Suits from sears/macys are going to be boxy. I can easily tell the difference now and so can most of the people at the bank.

Shirts: Charles Tyrwitt or TM Lewin. Get them on sale. Again, this is about quality and fit for a reasonable price.

Pants: This is the one area that I don't have much luck in. In the past, I've gone to outlet malls and really like pants from Calvin Klein and Banana Republic. That's about all I got though.

Shoes: Allen edmonds. Just leave it at that. Get a pair of 5th aves or park aves when theyre on sale. Yes it's expensive, but it will last you a life time.

A lot of these pieces are long term investments ie the suit and shoes. They will be items that you can wear all your life, rather than getting something cheap and then a year later when you start full time, you'll be like "What was I thinking????" and never wear them again.

Agreed with the above recommendation for TM Lewin for shirts. I'd recommend getting more than just 4 shirts, in case there are any stains/other accidents, or if you are ever too busy to do laundry. To save money on shoes w/o them being total garbage, I'd recommend Florsheims. I got my pants from Bonobos, and you might want to take a look at Uniqlo's dress pants if you're really on a budget.

Don't spend a single cent on Zara clothing, everything I have ever bought from there falls apart and looks too edgy the second you are unable to return it. Suitsupply would work, or go to a Macy's or secondhand shop and get your suit cleaned and tailored.

Might not hurt to apply for a Macy’s card or something - and then pay off your wardrobe during the summer

My attire for FO at a BB is 1 Navy & 1 Grey suit from Massimo Dutti but one from TM Lewis/Charles Tyrwitt would work too I guess. Got 7-10 shirts (doesn't matter as long as you have enough for the week) all white but that's personal preference you can get some light blue ones - from Charles Tyrwitt (they fit me better than TM Lewis). You can buy 1/2 ties from TM Lewis/Charles Tyrwitt Shoes buy any decent leather shoes usually in black (fits more situations than brown ones imo) - if you want to pay a lot to get some awesome quality ones that will last a lifetime go for it but that's not required.

Men's Warehouse has some crazy deals where its like buy one get 3 free on suits, pants and shirts most of the time. Worth looking into.

IMO this is how, specific to your situation, I would go about it. Obviously people will have different ideas but this is how I did it for both of my SA positions. All of the below lasted both summers and throughout college. Will replace some before I start but a lot of them are still in great shape

Suit: Get a navy suit and an extra pair of pants so you have a backup when one is being dry-cleaned. I recommend SuitSupply but if you want to go cheaper it shouldn't be an issue, just make sure you get the pieces tailored to you. People are right, Macy's style suits are usually boxy so take it to a different tailor to get them fitted. Fit matters more than brand name for your SA internship, and quality isn't that important as long as it gets you through the summer. You can buy nicer new suits before you start FT

Shoes: Allen Edmonds are great shoes but they are expensive. I personally just wore Johnston Murphy's during my internship and no one noticed. Got them on sale and they were about $150-200. Personally, I would say get AEs when you start FT. For color, just get one pair of black shoes and you're good to go. Buy a matching black belt. Make sure the shoes are cap-toe oxfords. Safest way to go

Shirts: Go to Charles Tyrwhitt for shirts. Do not pay more than $30-40 a shirt, there are tons of codes you can find online like 3/$100. Usually have these in airline magazines so they're posted all over the web. Get 8-10 shirts, keeps a nice rotation when the internship gets busy and you don't have time to get them washed and pressed for a bit. The non-iron shirts are great and you can just wash them in your apartment if you have a laundry machine. I got half of mine plain light blue, half plain white

Tie: Just get 2 nice ties, SuitSupply sells really nice ones for like $80. You won't need them in the office, only if you get pulled into a meeting or are sent to drop books at a client site in the city (rare but happened to me). Also will need a tie for your mid-summer and final review

Since there’s probably no Charles Tyrwhitt store near you, and definitely no TM Lewin, you may be wondering how to figure out your best fit, since each of these fine brands have four different options.

If you know your basic measurements (collar, sleeve, jacket size) you can get a free automatic recommendation here

If you need help with basic measurements, try this Blog post

Not sure if this fits the budget but I personally always have luck at the following stores:

1. Cole Haan Outlet Store- I got black toecap dress shoes for around $100-130ish
2. Charles Tyrwhitt dress shirts 4 for $200 (great quality and will last a while if you take proper care of them) I would also recommend buying in euro's since the conversion is usually cheaper.
3. I lucked out and got 4 suits for $200 back when Jos A bank when bankrupt (also their outlet store).
4. Banana Republic also run crazy promos for their chino's and dress pants.

Just a few pointers- I would not skimp out on dress shoes these will last you a very long time with proper care and resoles. Good suits are very hard to come by so be patient and shop around (I would recommend sticking with navy, charcoal, and light grey). Try downloading the honey app extension on google chrome to run promo codes and find the cheapest price available.

Suit: check Nordstrom rack for any deals, express suits are slightly less professional looking I’d say. You can find a J.Crew Factory suit on the cheap as well if you wait for discounts. Navy/Charcoal is your best bet for colors. ($300~)

Shirts: honestly 1W/2B will work until you have cash to get more. I’ve had success with uniqlo, banana republic factory moreso than CT shirts. (90-120$)

Pants: Again would suggest hunting for deals at Nordstrom Rack. Banana Republic/J.Crew and their Factory stores have good deals as well. Uniqlo is solid. Looking at 30-40$ per pair. Would go with navy, charcoal, gray. (90-120$)

Shoes: Nordstrom rack is hit or miss. perfectly ok to go with cheaper shoes if your budget isn’t high and upgrade later. (70-100$)

Looking sharp will really come from finding clothes that have good fit or tailoring them to fit better. A cheaper suit that fits well will look 100x better than an expensive poorly fitting suit.