Business Casual Ideas for Commercial Bank

[Berob]

I work in commercial banking and for the first time in my career my employer has authorized business casual for the summer (with the caveat that appropriate judgment be used when meeting with clients). When thinking of business casual, all I can envision are pleated trousers, polo/golf shirts, and bad shoes, which is not a look I particulary like. Given my age (45) and my profession, I'd appreciate some ideas for something a little more stylish than what I mentioned. Thanks in advance gents.

 

[JBG89]



I work in commercial banking and for the first time in my career my employer has authorized business casual for the summer (with the caveat that appropriate judgment be used when meeting with clients). When thinking of business casual, all I can envision are pleated trousers, polo/golf shirts, and bad shoes, which is not a look I particulary like. Given my age (45) and my profession, I'd appreciate some ideas for something a little more stylish than what I mentioned. Thanks in advance gents.

I just moved from investment banking to commercial and the dress code seems to apply at almost all firms i've been to (with several exceptions) of course. Dress shirt + slacks, with khakis as a possibility on fridays seems like the industry standard for bus.casual over here. Also depends on your group dynamic , if you have one, etc.

 

[msulinski]

I just moved from investment banking to commercial and the dress code seems to apply at almost all firms i've been to (with several exceptions) of course. Dress shirt + slacks, with khakis as a possibility on fridays seems like the industry standard for bus.casual over here. Also depends on your group dynamic , if you have one, etc.

I work in a business casual environment now (though on the IT side). Acceptable dress is pants and a button-down shirt. No one wears polos or golf shirts. Also, skip the tie unless you have a jacket on.

There are plenty of pleated trousers with bad shoes, though, but that doesn't mean you have to fall into the same trap. You can definitely get a way with more modern trousers and interesting shoes (AE strand in walnut, for example), with no issues, given the casual nature of the office.

 

[jcb9]

I am a corporate banker, and I generally dress above the average for my office. The normal dress code here is dress shirt and slacks as mentioned above. On Fridays, it is actually more casual than described above. Many people wear jeans. If I wear jeans or chinos on Fridays, I almost always keep the button down shirt and wear a blazer or sportcoat. Since it is summer, I have brought out the seersucker and the linen jackets.

If I had a client meeting, I would still wear slacks with a button down and a blazer at the least (if it was a current client that I had a good relationship with). Otherwise I would wear a navy or charcoal suit with a conservative tie.

That's just my $0.02. I am sure it is different everywhere, unless you work for the same bank that I do (always possible given the number of employees nationwide).