ISO "business formal" accessories for Washington, DC
April 20, 2023 2:30 PM Subscribe
People who know DC, please help. Per my earlier question, Kid BlahLaLa has a summer internship on Capitol Hill in the office of a congressperson. He will be acquiring two suits, likely dark blue and charcoal. Please recommend a pair of shoes, and also a work bag. You've told me he needs a small umbrella. Anything else?
For the shoes: can he wear a black pair with both blue suit and charcoal? (Would love to not have to purchase 2 pairs in this summer of spending a jillion dollars on an entire work wardrobe for someone who is 20.)
For the work bag: I assume he needs something large enough to hold a laptop, water bottle, some food, the usual array of chargers, etc. He'll be commuting via public transportation. I'm also assuming a backpack won't cut it on Capitol Hill.
Anything else you want to recommend?
For the shoes: can he wear a black pair with both blue suit and charcoal? (Would love to not have to purchase 2 pairs in this summer of spending a jillion dollars on an entire work wardrobe for someone who is 20.)
For the work bag: I assume he needs something large enough to hold a laptop, water bottle, some food, the usual array of chargers, etc. He'll be commuting via public transportation. I'm also assuming a backpack won't cut it on Capitol Hill.
Anything else you want to recommend?
A good-looking, plain, structured backpack or messenger bag with minimal logo and not a million zippers and carabiners and bungees will be just fine. I have a discontinued Victorinox that is a souped-up version of this one. I've hauled mine all over D.C. to tony meetings downtown and hearings and news interviews and so on; they are very typical.
In one of my answers to your previous question, I recommended handkerchiefs for sweat abatement. Tissues will stick to his face, trust me. He might want to carry individual facial wipes.
posted by jgirl at 3:49 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
In one of my answers to your previous question, I recommended handkerchiefs for sweat abatement. Tissues will stick to his face, trust me. He might want to carry individual facial wipes.
posted by jgirl at 3:49 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Outside of the office (and possibly on some Fridays, especially during August recess), he will need to have a workable "khaki and polo" game as well, which will likely require brown shoes that are more dressed-down (probably not topsiders, but closer to them than wingtips). Someone is going to invite him to "come have lunch at the club, and meet ____" on Saturday, and he'll want to look like he's been there before.
Keep an extra dress shirt in the office. There will be a day or two when he sweats through the first one while running around outdoors on the hill, and that will _always_ be the day where an unexpected 4:00pm meeting with someone Very Important happens.
The epitome of the DC bag is the Filson Briefcase. There are a lot of similar bags in canvas and leather with much lower price tags (the Rothco and Sechunk ones are very popular at the Pentagon, but most of those folks have access to the PX and get a different selection). He will probably want a bag with handles on the top and a shoulder strap.
posted by toxic at 3:50 PM on April 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
Keep an extra dress shirt in the office. There will be a day or two when he sweats through the first one while running around outdoors on the hill, and that will _always_ be the day where an unexpected 4:00pm meeting with someone Very Important happens.
The epitome of the DC bag is the Filson Briefcase. There are a lot of similar bags in canvas and leather with much lower price tags (the Rothco and Sechunk ones are very popular at the Pentagon, but most of those folks have access to the PX and get a different selection). He will probably want a bag with handles on the top and a shoulder strap.
posted by toxic at 3:50 PM on April 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Okay for weekend/casual Friday/out-of-office socializing with office people are Blundstone boots okay? I ask because Kid already owns them. The men's Chelsea style on the homepage here.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:14 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:14 PM on April 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Blundies are fine but he’ll have sweaty feet. Daily shoes: if you can (a) swing for two pairs (I know!) and (b) get two pairs of cedar shoe trees he might not kill them. If he wears the same pair of leather dress shoes every day they will die a premature death. But I guess if you’re OK with them lasting only one season, then one pair of black dress shoes should be fine.
Bag: I wouldn’t sweat it. People use whatever laptop bag they’re issued, and I see a lot of backpacks on the metro. Let him start with a backpack and tell you if it’s a problem.
posted by fedward at 4:30 PM on April 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Bag: I wouldn’t sweat it. People use whatever laptop bag they’re issued, and I see a lot of backpacks on the metro. Let him start with a backpack and tell you if it’s a problem.
posted by fedward at 4:30 PM on April 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
Keep an extra dress shirt in the office.
If such storage space is available, keep the leather shoes there also, changing out of/into running shoes at arrival/departure. I've been away from DC a long time but back in my day this was practically the professional woman's uniform, on Metro: suit and sneakers. No reason why guys can't have comfortable feet on their commute, as well.
posted by Rash at 4:46 PM on April 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
If such storage space is available, keep the leather shoes there also, changing out of/into running shoes at arrival/departure. I've been away from DC a long time but back in my day this was practically the professional woman's uniform, on Metro: suit and sneakers. No reason why guys can't have comfortable feet on their commute, as well.
posted by Rash at 4:46 PM on April 20, 2023 [3 favorites]
And tell him to stand to the right on Metro escalators!!!
posted by jgirl at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2023 [16 favorites]
posted by jgirl at 5:02 PM on April 20, 2023 [16 favorites]
re: spending $$$ on work clothes - if you have time before Kid BlahLaLa ships out, look for dress shoes on Poshmark. All my men's dress shoes have come from Posh for incredibly good prices and in very good shape.
re: the boots, I cannot begin to tell you how hot, gross, and humid an east coast summer is. I don't know what to suggest instead, but unless he's a better man than I, Kid BlahLaLa is not going to want to spend the summer in chelseas (and is going to want something he can wear with shorts, polos, and short sleeved button downs).
posted by joycehealy at 5:58 PM on April 20, 2023 [7 favorites]
re: the boots, I cannot begin to tell you how hot, gross, and humid an east coast summer is. I don't know what to suggest instead, but unless he's a better man than I, Kid BlahLaLa is not going to want to spend the summer in chelseas (and is going to want something he can wear with shorts, polos, and short sleeved button downs).
posted by joycehealy at 5:58 PM on April 20, 2023 [7 favorites]
He can totally wear brown shoes. Younger millenials and zoomers wear these with dark (not black though) suits all the time. I'd go to DSW and pick out something. These are fine.
posted by sandmanwv at 7:35 PM on April 20, 2023
posted by sandmanwv at 7:35 PM on April 20, 2023
Response by poster: Okay so under these circumstances, what does a guy wear with, say, chinos + a polo when it's hot & humid, if not Blundstones?
Also, sadly because of crazy time constraints between the moment when he finishes school + the moment he has to start working + the remote location of his current college (v. small town with no shops) + needing to fly back and forth across the country twice = we have only the tiniest shopping window and will need to go to a full-service store like Nordstrom where they will be able to do rush tailoring. We have a hair over 72 hours from the time one plane lands and the other takes off and literally need to outfit him from head to toe in that time period.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:51 PM on April 20, 2023
Also, sadly because of crazy time constraints between the moment when he finishes school + the moment he has to start working + the remote location of his current college (v. small town with no shops) + needing to fly back and forth across the country twice = we have only the tiniest shopping window and will need to go to a full-service store like Nordstrom where they will be able to do rush tailoring. We have a hair over 72 hours from the time one plane lands and the other takes off and literally need to outfit him from head to toe in that time period.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:51 PM on April 20, 2023
r/malefashionadvice is one of the useful places in reddit. Link is to their guide to a basic wardrobe, there is also lots of info on fit and other considerations. Forum posts tend more fashion-y, but he should still be able to ask questions and get advice.
Especially for informal clothing, kiddo has more choices and should make the decisions, or, gently, he’ll look like his mom dressed him. Learning how to dress is part of the experience. If he can get packages at college, then he can start ordering some informal things to try on and return as necessary to relieve the time pressure for getting suits. DC also has stores and he’s about to meet a lot of other interns who can guide him, too.
posted by momus_window at 8:11 PM on April 20, 2023 [8 favorites]
Especially for informal clothing, kiddo has more choices and should make the decisions, or, gently, he’ll look like his mom dressed him. Learning how to dress is part of the experience. If he can get packages at college, then he can start ordering some informal things to try on and return as necessary to relieve the time pressure for getting suits. DC also has stores and he’s about to meet a lot of other interns who can guide him, too.
posted by momus_window at 8:11 PM on April 20, 2023 [8 favorites]
Okay so under these circumstances, what does a guy wear with, say, chinos + a polo when it's hot & humid, if not Blundstones?
At the simplest level, the answer to this is whatever he wears now or just running shoes (Hokas seem to be big here right now). But it's hard to be sure what sort of political/social environment he's going to be in based on the office he's working in and the background of the people he'll be working with. There's a certain moneyed class that would be wearing loafers or boat shoes with no socks, for instance, but I don't know if that aligns with the people he'll be around. For the loafer or boat shoe crowd Blundies might seem a little bit of a blue collar statement, but less punk than, say, worn out Chuck Taylors or ten-eyelet Doc Martens would be. For that matter it's hard to get a read on "business formal" since trends change with administrations. Republican staffers tend to [be required to] dress more formally than Democratic staffers do, and offices like the SEC might be more formal than what we ran into in the OEOB when we volunteered for something over Christmas. It's really going to depend on the micro-culture of the people he's working with and spending weekends with, and those may or may not be the same people.
But as has been pointed about above: we've got all the stores here. He can go to Jos. A. Bank or Brooks Brothers or Nordstrom here if he needs to add something to his wardrobe, although you probably want to give him a budget and not just let him loose.
posted by fedward at 9:04 PM on April 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
At the simplest level, the answer to this is whatever he wears now or just running shoes (Hokas seem to be big here right now). But it's hard to be sure what sort of political/social environment he's going to be in based on the office he's working in and the background of the people he'll be working with. There's a certain moneyed class that would be wearing loafers or boat shoes with no socks, for instance, but I don't know if that aligns with the people he'll be around. For the loafer or boat shoe crowd Blundies might seem a little bit of a blue collar statement, but less punk than, say, worn out Chuck Taylors or ten-eyelet Doc Martens would be. For that matter it's hard to get a read on "business formal" since trends change with administrations. Republican staffers tend to [be required to] dress more formally than Democratic staffers do, and offices like the SEC might be more formal than what we ran into in the OEOB when we volunteered for something over Christmas. It's really going to depend on the micro-culture of the people he's working with and spending weekends with, and those may or may not be the same people.
But as has been pointed about above: we've got all the stores here. He can go to Jos. A. Bank or Brooks Brothers or Nordstrom here if he needs to add something to his wardrobe, although you probably want to give him a budget and not just let him loose.
posted by fedward at 9:04 PM on April 20, 2023 [4 favorites]
Black shoes fine with both those suits. In my opinion brown would likely be ok as well, but since it's a slight convention-breaking choice he'd need to have a bit more stylish of an overall look. Basically he'd need to convey "I know the rules and I'm breaking them" as opposed to "I don't know the rules". With a minimal one-summer wardrobe and a lack of experience wearing business formal I wouldn't recommend it, and would stick with black as the safer choice.
Agreed with cedar shoe trees as above. Even if you only have one pair of shoes, shoe trees will help them keep their shape and help dry them out.
For the casual Friday / weekend look I'd go brown based - that means a brown belt and some shoes that go with them. If it were me I'd get a pair of basic "sure, looks fine" casual brown sneakers - something like this and dealing further when I got there if needed. That gives him a boots look and a shoe look, both with the same brown belt.
posted by true at 6:14 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Agreed with cedar shoe trees as above. Even if you only have one pair of shoes, shoe trees will help them keep their shape and help dry them out.
For the casual Friday / weekend look I'd go brown based - that means a brown belt and some shoes that go with them. If it were me I'd get a pair of basic "sure, looks fine" casual brown sneakers - something like this and dealing further when I got there if needed. That gives him a boots look and a shoe look, both with the same brown belt.
posted by true at 6:14 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
I came from Seattle (not formal) and interned in NYC in a political environment. I had no clue how to dress myself and definitely had a few missteps but it was actually one of the key things I learned as part of my internship. I would echo those above that say that letting him figure this out will be ok. Interns miscalibrate all the time and generally speaking when you're way off, someone will gently (or not so gently) tell you.
More to the point: as far as bags, more polished looking backpacks are fine (think tech bro, not jansport) but they can be annoying in DC summer weather. Because back sweat. Any structured laptop bag is fine; there are plenty of beautiful and durable brand-name ones but also plenty of polyester cheapies available that would be perfectly fine and not draw a second glance. I would recommend looking for something with decent waterproofing just in case. Poshmark is probably a great place to find higher-quality accessories for cheap. As far as clothes, I think you've already gotten some good answers. Make sure he knows how to take good care of them, I've noticed that's something that interns struggle with (e.g. wear undershirts that cover the pits! hang it up when you get home!). He should own an iron and a steamer. There are a growing number of companies doing formal-ish clothing out of easier-to-maintain tech fabrics which can be really nice.
As far as stores, assuming he's on a budget as most interns are, the nordstrom rack on L street is pretty good and the thrift stores are well stocked with high quality but boring workwear. Get your suits somewhere that you can make sure they match and fit but thrift stores will do ya if you need more shirts, ties, belts, professional weekend clothes, etc.
posted by mosst at 8:43 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
More to the point: as far as bags, more polished looking backpacks are fine (think tech bro, not jansport) but they can be annoying in DC summer weather. Because back sweat. Any structured laptop bag is fine; there are plenty of beautiful and durable brand-name ones but also plenty of polyester cheapies available that would be perfectly fine and not draw a second glance. I would recommend looking for something with decent waterproofing just in case. Poshmark is probably a great place to find higher-quality accessories for cheap. As far as clothes, I think you've already gotten some good answers. Make sure he knows how to take good care of them, I've noticed that's something that interns struggle with (e.g. wear undershirts that cover the pits! hang it up when you get home!). He should own an iron and a steamer. There are a growing number of companies doing formal-ish clothing out of easier-to-maintain tech fabrics which can be really nice.
As far as stores, assuming he's on a budget as most interns are, the nordstrom rack on L street is pretty good and the thrift stores are well stocked with high quality but boring workwear. Get your suits somewhere that you can make sure they match and fit but thrift stores will do ya if you need more shirts, ties, belts, professional weekend clothes, etc.
posted by mosst at 8:43 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Let him start with a backpack and tell you if it’s a problem.
The one issue with a backpack is having all your valuables behind you while riding the Metro (unless, as a dude, you put your wallet in your pocket). I've been trying to figure out my NYC bag situation for my post-pandemic commute now that my back would prefer no heavy cross-bodies, and although I have a perfectly nice Minaal daypack I was so uncomfortable with having my core stuff out of my immediate view I had to add on a teeny cross-body for wallet, keys, cell. I'm not one who takes elaborate anti-pickpocketing precautions, and I am a heavy transit user, but that was just a bridge too far for me. And I think I'm slightly less likely to be a target than an obvious young intern.
posted by praemunire at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
The one issue with a backpack is having all your valuables behind you while riding the Metro (unless, as a dude, you put your wallet in your pocket). I've been trying to figure out my NYC bag situation for my post-pandemic commute now that my back would prefer no heavy cross-bodies, and although I have a perfectly nice Minaal daypack I was so uncomfortable with having my core stuff out of my immediate view I had to add on a teeny cross-body for wallet, keys, cell. I'm not one who takes elaborate anti-pickpocketing precautions, and I am a heavy transit user, but that was just a bridge too far for me. And I think I'm slightly less likely to be a target than an obvious young intern.
posted by praemunire at 8:47 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
Also, not sure how well this would translate to menswear, but my similar-sized roommate and I extensively shared clothing while trying to cobble together professional wardrobes for our first two summer internships. It's a super common thing that almost every intern is struggling with (except maybe the country club republican types? idk). I would definitely recommend trading notes with peers once he gets here.
posted by mosst at 8:48 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mosst at 8:48 AM on April 21, 2023 [1 favorite]
having all your valuables behind you while riding the Metro
If the bus/train is busy enough that you're standing, your bag should be at your feet or in your hand near your waist in front of you. Keeping a backback on your back while on public transport guarantees that you're going to be the A-hole who smacks someone in the face with it unintentionally. Don't be that guy.
posted by toxic at 8:49 AM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
If the bus/train is busy enough that you're standing, your bag should be at your feet or in your hand near your waist in front of you. Keeping a backback on your back while on public transport guarantees that you're going to be the A-hole who smacks someone in the face with it unintentionally. Don't be that guy.
posted by toxic at 8:49 AM on April 21, 2023 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers so far. Will gently add that this is a wardrobe question, not a parenting question, and I do not need feedback re: how much/little a parent should be involved in this process. Thanks!
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:30 PM on April 21, 2023
posted by BlahLaLa at 12:30 PM on April 21, 2023
Seconding that backpacks are fine but can cause visible back sweat (and, as noted above, will definitely smack seated people in the face). EBags currently has a messenger bag on sale for $60 that looks pretty nice. Also seconding keeping the nice shoes at work and wearing sneakers while commuting -- this is very common.
Another relatively cheap clothing option I don't see listed above for clothing is H&M. There are a couple of locations in DC and the stores have pretty good business attire, especially button-down shirts.
I hope it's okay to also suggest that your son get a SmarTrip (transit) pass and link it on his phone before he arrives, so that he's ready for commuting on his first day.
By the way, he may wish to find out whether he's allowed to bring liquids and food into the Capitol before he plans on it. Tourists aren't allowed to bring those in during guided tours (empty water bottles are fine and he can fill it up once inside) but it may be different for staff. There's a decent cafeteria in the Capitol.
Congrats to your son on the job! There are lots of MeFites in DC, as you can see from this thread, and we are here to help answer questions. :)
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:06 AM on April 22, 2023
Another relatively cheap clothing option I don't see listed above for clothing is H&M. There are a couple of locations in DC and the stores have pretty good business attire, especially button-down shirts.
I hope it's okay to also suggest that your son get a SmarTrip (transit) pass and link it on his phone before he arrives, so that he's ready for commuting on his first day.
By the way, he may wish to find out whether he's allowed to bring liquids and food into the Capitol before he plans on it. Tourists aren't allowed to bring those in during guided tours (empty water bottles are fine and he can fill it up once inside) but it may be different for staff. There's a decent cafeteria in the Capitol.
Congrats to your son on the job! There are lots of MeFites in DC, as you can see from this thread, and we are here to help answer questions. :)
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:06 AM on April 22, 2023
One more not-quite-a-wardrobe tip: allow me to recommend my barber, Bathsheba, who runs Charles Barbershop. It's right by the metro, $50, cash only, no frills. Sheba is a character and does a great job. She does take walk-ins, but I recommend making an appointment.
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:18 AM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by wicked_sassy at 7:18 AM on April 22, 2023 [1 favorite]
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Despite having worked for the federal government in DC for 3 years, I’ve unfortunately got no clue what the bag vibe is, sorry!
posted by Maecenas at 3:16 PM on April 20, 2023