Investment Banking Superday Dress Code (5 Rules)

June 15, 2025

Like most kids, I showed up first semester freshman year with a hillbilly hand-me-down suit from Kohl’s.

I grew up in a small farm town in Central Illinois and lacked even the basic “proper etiquette” skills.

Investment banking’s known to be super strict when it comes to dress and etiquette -

Especially if you’re trying to recruit in NYC like I was.

The “rules” you have to follow are kind of unwritten -

But luckily my upperclassmen mentor taught me all the stuff I didn’t even think about asking like

  • When to sit down during an interview

  • Acceptable colors / brands for suits / shirts / ties / shoes

  • Where to buy your first “decent” suit

  • How to button your suit and when to undo the button(s)

  • To NEVER chew gum during an interview

  • How to keep your suit from wrinkling when traveling

  • Proper manners for the “lunch with analysts” portion of the superday

Here are five investment banking superday etiquette rules they don’t teach you in school.

Follow them to make sure you don’t come across as rude or sloppy and lose points on the stupid stuff.

RULE 1 - TOP BUTTON ONLY

I had no idea where to go or how much to spend on a “decent” entry-level suit.

The bonus you get for signing the internship offer is over $3K - so you should spend ~$500.

Anything fancier will make you seem flashy but anything less looks too cheap.

The “industry standard” for that first good suit / where most first year analysts get theirs is Suit Supply.

Bankers prefer the “tailored / fitted” style with slim chest and waist.

This is what I ended up wearing for my superdays.

Once you get that suit - here are a couple related etiquette rules you should be aware of.

  • TOP BUTTON ONLY. The jacket you get should have two buttons. Keep only the top one done when standing. Both should be undone when sitting

  • WAIT TO SIT DOWN. The receptionist will lead you to your interview room once it’s ready. I always picked the chair facing the door and asked to use the restroom one last time. Once I got back, I’d stand up right in front my chair and patiently wait for the interviewer to come in. That way, the handshake right at the beginning was always smooth since we were both already standing. You should remain standing and only sit down after they take a seat and invite you to do the same. Unbutton the top button on that suit jacket while taking a seat

RULE 2 - ACCEPTABLE COLORS

For suit color - bankers prefer either navy, dark gray or charcoal.

There are two reasons black isn’t a good option. It’ll make you look like you’re either

  • (A) Going to a funeral or

  • (B) About to hit up a wedding

Pair that with a solid color shirt in either white or light blue.

And if you’re flying to that superday like I was - there are some extra precautions you should take to make sure your clothes don’t wrinkle.

  • GARMENT DUFFLE BAG. I bought one of these on Amazon. Some kids just carry / wear their suit jacket separately on the plane but this did the trick for me

  • NON-IRON PERFORMANCE DRESS SHIRTS. Buy dress shirts that are labeled “performance” meaning they feel stretchy like a workout shirt. These are the ones I got from Charles Tyrwhitt

Finally, wear a red tie with that suit / shirt color combo.

Red is known to be a powerful color that conveys confidence -

Which is exactly the impression you want to be making during that superday.

And please no pocket squares…

RULE 3 - BELT & SHOES

I didn’t realize the SHADE of brown was important when buying shoes / belt to go with my navy suit.

The darker shade of brown is seen as more formal, so that’s what I needed for my superdays.

Here are the acceptable color pairings for each suit color.

A few tips / rules as it relates to your choices for belt and shoes -

  • SHOE STYLE. Wear either oxford or derby style dress shoes. Definitely no loafers or square toed shoes. Neither of those are the proper level of formality for this setting

  • SAME COLOR SHADE BELT & SHOES. I bought a belt that was the same shade of brown as the shoes I had. Bankers are picky about small details like that

  • NO FANCY BRANDS. Showing up in Gucci will make you seem flashy. The two popular brand choices for analysts are Cole Haan’s and Allen Edmonds. They’re durable, reasonably priced and comfortable. Here’s an example of something similar to the first pair I bought

RULE 4 - DON’T BE SWEATY

Having massive pit stains is embarrassing during an in-person interview.

But combining nerves with the mile walk from your hotel in muggy NYC is not ideal to avoid that.

That’s why I always scouted out a coffee shop next to the office to camp out at before the interview.

I’d get there a couple hours early and rehearse the same three questions to warmup -

  • Tell Me About Yourself

  • Why [BANK]?

  • Why Investment Banking?

Then ~30min before start time I’d hit the restroom one last time and head straight up, fully in the zone.

RULE 5 - NO CHEWING GUM

Even if you have “lunch with the analysts” before the interview like I did and don’t want bad breath -

The BIGGEST NO-NO is chewing gum during an interview.

That’s why I always made sure to pack flossers and breath mints.

There are a few things you need to bring to every superday - but DON’T pack them in a backpack.

Check your backpack and suitcase in at the front desk of your hotel and show up with only a padfolio.

That padfolio should have the following items.

  • 15 Printed Resumes (On Thick Resume Paper)

  • Calculator (TI BA II Plus)

  • Looseleaf Paper

  • Pens / Pencils

  • Drivers License / ID

  • Flossers

  • Breath Mints

Cheers 🥂

- Jack