What to wear during the first week at a new job?

Originally Posted by southbound35

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I'd go with dress pants and a patterned dress shirt shirt (no jacket, no tie) for the first few days, unless you are running the place (in which case you can wear whatever you want). Why dress two steps up from everyone in the office?
I think the idea is that I want to convey that I take the job seriously. Dressing professionally (even if it is a step above what others normally wear) on the first day sets a precedent.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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i say wear a jacket and tie, remove the jacket when at your desk. No reason to put undue wear on your jackets, and you can still look sharp while out to lunch, ect.
Just what I was thinking. It's good to know that others think the same way.

Originally Posted by holymadness

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Tough dilemma, but think of it this way: if you start two tiers down from your favourite level of sartorialism to fit in, and then ratchet it up later, people will think you're being pretentious and weird. If you start right at the top, it may seem strange at first, but you won't have to explain any changes later on. At least it has consistency going for it.
Excellent advice. I'll definitely bring my A-game first couple days. Not enough to make anyone else feel uncomfortable, but just to establish that I take pride in my appearance.

Originally Posted by JayJay

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SF member bmulford has posted in the WAYWN thread several business casual looks with an odd jacket sans tie. IMO his posts demonstrate how business casual can be done very well.
bmulford is one of my favorite WAYWN posters. I could only hope to put together similar fits. He will definitely be an inspiration.

Originally Posted by Albern

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Sports jacket and tie would be the best way to go. Never wear a tie sans a jacket (coming into work I mean - it's okay to take off your jacket in the office), it looks half assed to me and a lot of people do it. I would even suggest odd wool trousers rather than chinos; they can take weekly wear better than chinos and they'll look better with with the jacket. I guess I would suggest that you at least always bring a jacket and a pocket square. Feel free to even go tie-less but have a pocket square anyway; you won't go back to not wearing a jacket without one - something that I found out quickly when I started wearing them.
I see what you mean about needing the jacket for the tie. I'll take that into consideration. Regarding the trousers... I've only begun to step up my game clothing-wise. The transition to chinos took a little while, but I have enough to be comfortable. Next on the list are some wool trousers. And for the pocket square, it looks like I'll be giving Kent Wang and Howard Yount some business in the next few weeks.

Originally Posted by porcelain monkey

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Be a drone. Wear what everyone else wears. Kidding. But I do think you don't want to overdo it right off the bat. Wear a jacket and no tie. I don't think you want to be the only guy in a tie. My experience with business casual is the same as business attire. Those who know how to put it all together - fit, color, texture, etc. - stand out. Even when everyone is wearing a suit, some guys always wear it better. If you want to wear a tie later on, do so. Look for excuses - big meeting, going out after work, whatever.
I certainly don't want to dress to the point of overkill. I'm just thinking a tie for the first few days, let it trail off after a while, and then bring it back occasionally. Thanks guys for all the good feedback. Most was along the same line of thought I had before, but again, it's good to know that others are thinking the same way.

Originally Posted by SkinnyGoomba

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i say wear a jacket and tie, remove the jacket when at your desk. No reason to put undue wear on your jackets, and you can still look sharp while out to lunch, ect.

i would wear odd jackets though, no suits.

+1. I would rather be slightly over-dressed (message = I'm serious about this job and i'm a solid worker) with the flexibility to take off the coat later, undo another shirt button and go grab a beer (message = I'm still cool). Maybe not the tie? definitely at least a sports coat. when everyone else has just pants and a shirt, it'll set a better image up front. Trust me, people will just assume you demand more respect in future dealings.

Wouldn't you rather be known as the ass-kicker at work who doesn't have to dress up to get results?

Because I see several folks around my office who try the sports coat in a "business casual" environment and I only think one thing: pretentious; cannot get the task at hand done; unfocused.

It just sends the wrong message imo, that you can't roll your sleeves up and put out some quality products.

Imo, it's best to demonstrate your professionalism, cordialism, and work ethic first, before you become the pretentious asshole that everyone is talking about ("hey yah that guy who brings a tie to work every day ... but what is he doing for this company?")

Big Hint: If you are dressing better on a regular basis than your immediate boss, you better be the best damn employee he's got.

Actions speak volumes more than how you dress, that's just a rule I live by. Granted, I don't dress poorly, but I'm certainly not "that guy" at work who brings a tie in everyday thinking I'm going to get promoted faster because of it.

Originally Posted by furo

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Imo, it's best to demonstrate your professionalism, cordialism, and work ethic first, before you become the pretentious asshole that everyone is talking about .

You're both thinking about it too much and putting an overly negative spin on it. If you are friendly with people and dress nicely you're considered a sharp dresser, if your a snob thats on you, not the clothes.

Thinking beyond bullshit office politics, wouldnt you rather be both, so that in the event they're going to promote someone from within, the guy who looks the part and acts the part is going to get the part.

Is this really that hard? It's like a psychological game with some of you. Dress how you want to dress. This ain't no fashion show. This is work. You have some pretty broad guidelines about what to wear. If you're putting in more than a few minutes of thought about what you're wearing for the day, you're either a chick, don't have much sense of your own style or have your head in the wrong place.

If no one else wears a tie, don't wear a tie. Ditto on the sports coat.

I work at a law firm where the only person in the office who wears a tie is the managing partner (of the entire firm). During his first couple of weeks, a former Supreme Court clerk wore a tie and was harassed mercilessly by others (partners, senior associates, junior associates) and thought to be different (and not in a good way). And he was a genuinely nice (and smart) guy. He took the tie off, and all was well. We lawyers can be (are) dicks, though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Even though it would be great to work in an environment where you could dress however you wanted and be judged only on your work, it just ain't so. You are going to make a first impression, and wearing a tie and coat when no one else in the office does will inevitably make a negative first impression on at least some people. Why get off on the wrong foot?

FYI, I hate business casual, and I hate wearing a sport coat without a tie, but that's what I do. You just have to find ways to cultivate your love of clothing in the boundaries of your office environment.

Originally Posted by furo

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Big Hint: If you are dressing better on a regular basis than your immediate boss, you better be the best damn employee he's got.
To sum up the advice: You can wear a jacket and tie on Day 1 but you have to dress like everyone else on Day 2 onwards. Otherwise, before people can see your friendliness, brains and work ethic, they will instinctively brand you as "that guy". Another big hint: Given your description, your idea of overkill and other people's will likely diverge.

There are many ways of going up half a notch (and no more, not at first) without a jacket or tie in this situation:

A well fitting dress shirt with an interesting pattern
Dress slacks over khakis
(Especially) Great shoes
French cuffs if you like

You get leeway if you've been there a while and people know you, and more leeway the more senior you are. If you're the new entry level guy who comes in with jacket and tie, you most definitely will be "that guy" regardless of what strangers on the Internet say.

i would try and dress a touch better then everyone else not so much that you come off as arrogant but enough to say I am here to stay. Eventually you will find a look for yourself that works, untill then try out a few things untill you find that nitch.

May I ask what the OP ended up wearing and the results?

Originally Posted by furo

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Big Hint: If you are dressing better on a regular basis than your immediate boss, you better be the best damn employee he's got.

This.

It's very easy to become "that guy who thinks he's better than the rest of us" by dressing too well. Sadly.

Black Suits with white shirt n tie. Its looks like a very professional.

Originally Posted by anon

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wear a tie or a jacket, but not both at the same time.

-1

Originally Posted by Albern

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Never wear a tie sans a jacket

+1

The tie without jacket look is terrible.

Originally Posted by shallysingh

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Black Suits with white shirt n tie. Its looks like a very professional.

Originally Posted by david809

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If no one else wears a tie, don't wear a tie. Ditto on the sports coat.

I work at a law firm where the only person in the office who wears a tie is the managing partner (of the entire firm). During his first couple of weeks, a former Supreme Court clerk wore a tie and was harassed mercilessly by others (partners, senior associates, junior associates) and thought to be different (and not in a good way). And he was a genuinely nice (and smart) guy. He took the tie off, and all was well. We lawyers can be (are) dicks, though, so take that with a grain of salt.

Even though it would be great to work in an environment where you could dress however you wanted and be judged only on your work, it just ain't so. You are going to make a first impression, and wearing a tie and coat when no one else in the office does will inevitably make a negative first impression on at least some people. Why get off on the wrong foot?

FYI, I hate business casual, and I hate wearing a sport coat without a tie, but that's what I do. You just have to find ways to cultivate your love of clothing in the boundaries of your office environment.

I am also in BIGLAW (but as support staff), and echo these sentiments.

Just wear what everyone else is wearing. Having said that, I work in the IT industry where most ppl couldn't careless what they wear, I used to rock up to work in thongs (as in sandles).

At my current work place, its a mixed bag. Some ppl wear dress shirts whereas other wear t-shirts but no one wears a tie. The only person who wears cuff links is the CEO, and the guy has a lot of nice shirts. I dont really care what I wear to work. So usually its just T-shirt and jeans for me. Occasionally when I dress up to work people would look at me funny.