Contrary to popular belief, Traders, especially on the buy side, do not need to dress up too much. If you have limited exposure to clients, working for example with prop trading firms or Hedge Funds, you can opt for a range from business casual dress code to dot-com/tech startup dress: a shirt with collar and chinos is the mainstream, some days a full suit without a tie, or even jeans some other days, if matched with a nice shirt and suit jacket.
Traders working at a large bank or fund, whose role involves client facing, need to meet clients in a more formal business outfit, with a tie and a nice suit.
Here are a few tips for you:
The Suit
Get a suit that fits perfectly your body and the season. Aim for a dark, formal colour that you can use most – charcoal or dark navy. Avoid black: black suits are generally meant for funerals. At best, get it tailored. If you wish to buy one, here’s an example: Burton Menswear London Men’s Slim Fit Suit Jacket
Ties
Avoid loud, wide ties. You want people to focus on you, not your tie. Also, avoid the colour red. An example: the Tie from Fabio Farini in gray
Slacks
Choose dark dress pants to wear without a blazer. Don’t wear your suit pants without the blazer or they will wear out leaving you with half a suit. At best it would be to have them tailored, but if you wish to buy them prêt-à-porter, you could choose pants like these: Moss 1851 Men`s Performance Tailored Fit Charcoal Suit Trousers 32S Grey
Nice shoes
Choose very comfortable leather loafers or lace ups – you may have them on 14 hours in a row. While black is everyone’s main choice for colour, consider dark brown. It works with your formal suit but matches great also with a lighter coloured trouser. An example: Paolo Vandini RAMBEAU Mens Leather Brogue Monk Shoes Tan 42
The Belt
A belt may seem redundant if your pants fit, but you’ll look more polished wearing it. Buy it to match your shoes and make sure the hardware matches the buttons on your blazer. This could be an elegant choice VANZETTI Men leather belt Made in Germany dark brown 33
Shirts
Long-sleeved shirts with no wide collars, French cuffs, chest hair, silk or anything shiny, dark colours, loud patterns, spandex. Pockets are fine, Oxford collars are seldom seen. This may be a good choice: OLYMP Men’s Formal Shirt blue blue – blue – 16
