Law School Wardrobe

[elle.woods]

Hi everyone! I am an applicant who has been accepted to schools for next year. I am currently working part-time at Aritzia and would like to take advantage of the discount to build up my wardrobe for law school next year! What are the essentials that I should ensure I have in my closet? I.e. for events, moots, class and the like? What is considered appropriate? I am not sure what / how much I will need. Thank you! 

[Pecan Boy]

People just wear regular clothes to class. Please don't wear business attire to class. I'll leave it to others to give advice on attire for moots, interviews, etc.

[Thrive92]

You get yerself one of these fam

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Thrive92

[Jean-Ralphio Saperstein]

you worked so hard to get accepted and you deserve to dress up and doll up for class. i know for a fact that dressing good, whether it be business attire or not, makes people feel more confident and capable. 

so do what elle woods would do (and also don't listen to people on this forum)

[GGrievous]

People at my school look like shit every day but yes you’ll need business attire for some events.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Barry

[Pecan Boy]

17 minutes ago, Dee said:

you worked so hard to get accepted and you deserve to dress up and doll up for class. i know for a fact that dressing good, whether it be business attire or not, makes people feel more confident and capable. 

so do what elle woods would do (and also don't listen to people on this forum)

Listen, wear what you want, but it's just the reality that no one dresses for class any differently than they did in undergrad, with the exception of maybe 1 or 2 anomalies. You're free to do with that information what you will.

Also, she asked what was appropriate to wear, so it's kinda weird to tell her not to listen to people on this forum when they directly respond to that question lol

Edited December 15, 2021 by Pecan Boy

[ClarkGriswold]

I heard that it’s common practice for 1L’s to dress to the nines for every in-person interaction they’ll have. This includes, but is not limited to, lectures, exams, OCI‘s, faculty networking events, and even student parties on the weekend. Dressing to this level is done to ensure 1L’s will never be caught wearing inappropriate clothing in public. Some examples of inappropriate clothing include t-shirts, knit sweaters, denim jeans, and any shoes that aren’t dress shoes. These forms of dangerously informal clothing can be worn only in your housing environment (assuming nobody else is present, of course).

Hand-crafted designer suits and a Patek Philippe to top it off are the standard for men, but if that’s not attainable, something like a Hugo Boss suit and standard Rolex will do the trick. Ultimately, I think this is for the best as it makes 1L’s aware of how they’ll have to dress in their future workplace(s), and it makes them appear physically professional at all times. The latter is a particularly important reason. Imagine you unknowingly stumble across someone who works at an elite law firm such as Wildeboer Dellelce, they’ll be awestruck by your attire. 

Just my $0.02.

Edited December 15, 2021 by ClarkGriswold

[Kimura]

2 minutes ago, ClarkGriswold said:

I heard that it’s common practice for 1L’s to dress to the nines for every in-person interaction they’ll have. This includes, but is not limited to, lectures, exams, OCI‘s, faculty networking events, and even student parties on the weekend. Dressing to this level is done to ensure 1L’s will never be caught wearing inappropriate clothing in public. Some examples of inappropriate clothing include t-shirts, knit sweaters, denim jeans, and any shoes that aren’t dress shoes. These types of dangerously informal clothing can be worn only in your housing environment (assuming nobody else is present, of course).

Hand-crafted designer suits and a Patek Philippe to top it off are the standard for men, but if that’s not attainable, something like a Hugo Boss suit and standard Rolex will do the trick. Ultimately, I think this is for the best as it makes 1L’s aware of how they’ll have to dress in their future workplace(s), and it makes them appear physically professional at all times. The latter is a particularly important reason. Imagine you unknowingly stumble across someone who works at an elite law firm such as Wildeboer Dellelce, they’ll be awestruck by your attire. 

Just my $0.02.

I almost thought you were being serious, and then realized you were kidding when I saw "Wildeboer Dellelce". 

Wear whatever the heck you want to class - no one cares except you. I remember people showing up to class in undershirts and pajamas lol. If anyone is wearing professional attire in class, it's likely because they're about to head out to a networking event, moot, presentation, etc. Obviously you'll need professional attire for OCIs, etc. but don't go out and spend tons on a new wardrobe for classes...

[99problems]

55 minutes ago, elle.woods said:

Hi everyone! I am an applicant who has been accepted to schools for next year. I am currently working part-time at Aritzia and would like to take advantage of the discount to build up my wardrobe for law school next year! What are the essentials that I should ensure I have in my closet? I.e. for events, moots, class and the like? What is considered appropriate? I am not sure what / how much I will need. Thank you! 

Save business attire for interviews and networking events. Just wear whatever you want; nobody cares.

[easttowest]

1-3 nice professional outfits for networking events (I didn’t attend one of these), 1-2 suits or similar for moots (if you plan on doing that, you don’t have to). You can wear all of the above for interviews. 

I owned a bad suit in the fall of 1L, bought an okay suit for 1L interviews, bought the same okay suit but in blue for 2L interview, then bought a slightly more okay suit for 2L summer. Apart from a few nice knit sweaters, that was (and still is) the extent of my professional wardrobe. Because Covid, I wear dark jeans and one of those sweaters to work if I’m going into the office.

[BuckDancer]

Addressing the Aritzia-specific part of this post, OP my experience has been that lots of lawyers wear Aritzia "suiting" and business casual attire in the office, e.g., power blazers, murphy blouses, "trousers" that really have elastic waists (hallelujah). These pieces would also be helpful for networking and other events you might attend during law school. A long power blazer, short power blazer, murphy tank, murphy long sleeve, elastic waist trouser, and zipper + button trouser ( as an example) would get you through most things over your 3 years and you would be able to carry these pieces into the office for summer positions and beyond. However, it is highly likely you will need one suit for law school that is more formal than is available at Aritzia. You will likely not need this suit immediately (think OCIs and mooting), but it is good to consider this cost when spending your pennies at Aritzia. 

For day-to-day, class, library, etc., just dress however you dress normally. There is no need to go out of your way to buy and wear things from Aritzia you would not normally buy and wear. As others have said, some people wear leggings and sweaters every day and some people wear heeled boots and skirts. This has nothing to do with an unspoken law school dress-code and everything to do with personal style and number of hours of sleep from the night before. 

[elle.woods]

Thanks all, I appreciate the advice! I was thinking it would be like undergrad in that students don't dress up for class, but I am a person who must be prepared for absolutely everything and anything so I wanted to double check with those who had first-hand knowledge just in case 👍 🥰 

[Phaedrus]

Jeez, people around here act like being bowtie guy at law school is a bad thing.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Phaedrus

[GGrievous]

1 hour ago, elle.woods said:

Thanks all, I appreciate the advice! I was thinking it would be like undergrad in that students don't dress up for class, but I am a person who must be prepared for absolutely everything and anything so I wanted to double check with those who had first-hand knowledge just in case 👍 🥰 

I’ve heard this is a little more complex for ladies so I’m the wrong one to be giving advice here, but in terms of being prepared I would have something formal and conservative ready to go before you start. I had to wear a suit in the first week and it would have sucked to have to go shopping on top of everything else. 

[Hegdis]

By this time next year portions of your daily attire will have originated as pajamas. So for classes, you can relax and just buy what you genuinely like. 

For networking and more social events, get yourself a decent wardrobe you can build on. A couple decent tops - at least one white or pale blue or a similar neutral - and some tailored bottoms in black or deep navy / charcoal. The look you are going for is business casual. 

You will want one suit for first year. Just one. And get a proper suit with matching jacket/bottom (skirt or pants entirely up to you; a lot of women get both since a suit jacket is worn numerous times before being cleaned but bottoms are more frequently swapped out). 

[Ave]

6 hours ago, elle.woods said:

Hi everyone! I am an applicant who has been accepted to schools for next year. I am currently working part-time at Aritzia and would like to take advantage of the discount to build up my wardrobe for law school next year! What are the essentials that I should ensure I have in my closet? I.e. for events, moots, class and the like? What is considered appropriate? I am not sure what / how much I will need. Thank you! 

Not a law student (yet) but definitely a big Aritzia shopper ahaha. I highly recommend the effortless pants (favourite colour-Light Birch) and have found all the blazers at Aritzia to be very good quality! Slightly jealous of your discounts 😋 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Ave

[GGrievous]

3 minutes ago, realpseudonym said:

So my favourite classes were those where the profs created the conditions for spontaneous participation

These are great, and increasingly rare in my experience.

Nothing worse than having to listen to a student fumble through a CAN to fake knowledge of the case. Or a prof that asks for a definition and then scans the room for a full minute until finally one of the same 3 people that always answer reluctantly puts their hand up. I don’t understand how any professional educator could think that’s helpful to anyone. 

[Theysaidwhat]

Have a few white or light blue button ups and ~ 3 blazers/jackets and dress pants. 2 sets of jackets and dress pants should be dark (think black, navy) and you can play around with the last set if you like. There is more leeway for women and you can wear blouses if you prefer. For men, I would get 2 sets of the belt and dress shoes combo (one brown, one black). If you have these you should be good to go for any networking events or moots that you join. You'll also be able to use these when you work over the summer. 

As for class..... honestly, I wore hoodies and sweatpants for class most of the time. 😂 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Theysaidwhat