Banking and shoes

[foto010101]

Hello,

Can somebody please tell me if black is the only choice for banker's shoes? Is a dark brown colour also appropriate?

Mike

 

[state_pacific]

It may depend on where you are working (there was a post a while back about the "rules" for attire if you're a banker in London), but at least here in NYC I see plenty of bankers (especially the younger ones) sporting the navy suit/dark brown shoes or gray suit/light brown combinations.

 

[josepidal]

What's the most formal attire found in NYC anyway? White shoe lawyers'? I got the impression they had to dress more formally than bankers.

 

[mwrenchd]

Originally Posted by josepidal

What's the most formal attire found in NYC anyway? White shoe lawyers'? I got the impression they had to dress more formally than bankers.

Most of the top NYC law firms are conservative business casual except for client meetings. At least for more junior associates. Been that way for a while.

 

[Pennglock]

In the US, bankers can get away with wearing brown shoes. In the UK, don't try it. I also think in the positions which spend more time meeting clients, bankers are more likely to sport black, which is probably smart.

 

[josepidal]

I'm actually not sure what the dress really is in firms these days. I've visited friends in New York a few times, and I never saw the junior associates dressed very formally. What is conservative business casual, precisely?

 

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by josepidal

What is conservative business casual, precisely?
Wool slacks are prefered over khakis. Usually no tie, but at a minimum a button-front shirt, which in New York may even have French cuffs (the horror!). Usually no cotton polos except maybe during the summer or on weekends with jeans. Sport coat optional; more common during Fall/Winter. Sweaters are fine any time since you are no longer interviewing.

 

[gdl203]

<double post>

 

[gdl203]

Originally Posted by Pennglock

In the US, bankers can get away with wearing brown shoes.
It really depends on seniority/rank. Based on my experience in the last 5 years, I would not recommend junior bankers (analysts and associates) to wear brown shoes at client meetings, especially if you don't know very well the senior bankers attending the meeting. Many old-school wall street bankers frown upon brown shoes and do not consider them appropriate for client meetings. There is actually an MD in my group who has made it clear to me that i should feel free to wear what I want when I want but only black shoes when we meet with his clients

 

[Jared]

Originally Posted by josepidal

What's the most formal attire found in NYC anyway? White shoe lawyers'?
Wikipedia's white shoe firm page and its references are surprisingly muddled on the etymology of the phrase. I think what they're trying to say is that the partners at a white shoe firm come from the sort of background where one would wear white bucks. (Which apparently at one time meant New England WASP, rather than Southern Dandy.

)

 

[raley]

GDL, what are you seeing analysts wearing? I have a job lined up for this summer, and went to a happy hour with them last Friday - one was wearing a suit, one was wearing jeans and nikes!

On the other hand, the head guy in the office was wearing a really nice suit with a cashmere tie and very nice English-looking suede chisel-toe bals. He also was talking about how he is a bit of a clotheshorse (my words, not his) and was sort of getting on some of the guys that were wearing jeans.

 

[Artisan Fan]

Many old-school wall street bankers frown upon brown shoes and do not consider them appropriate for client meetings.

True, but it makes you wonder why senior bankers are so provincial in their thinking...black is so boring. Glad I went the consulting route after Wall Street.

 

[josepidal]

Consultants appear a lot more casual while still looking smart. I went to a speech by the Chairman of Toyota, and the next guy was a Bain partner who went up in a turtleneck and slacks. (The Japanese exec wasn't wearing anything interesting, and definitely not the shoes.)

 

[Master Shake]

Originally Posted by josepidal

Consultants appear a lot more casual while still looking smart. I went to a speech by the Chairman of Toyota, and the next guy was a Bain partner who went up in a turtleneck and slacks. (The Japanese exec wasn't wearing anything interesting, and definitely not the shoes.)
I think that is more cultural than anything else, although I agree with your general (obvious) point that consultants are freer to dress in more interesting ways.

 

[josepidal]

Maybe. This was an American who had lived around the world and then settled in Singapore, and he was facing an audience of Asian-Americans.