Building a wardrobe

Now that you’ve landed that plum summer or articling position, the fail-safe charcoal or navy suit isn’t going to take you through an entire work week. When building a professional wardrobe, choose your pieces thoughtfully and learn to maximize your wardrobe, says Hemmings.

“When I’m buying a suit I try to buy three pieces — the skirt, the pants, and the jacket. Right there you have two suits,” she says. “Rather than spending the money on two separate suits you’ve got a two-in-one suit.”
Bourchier recalls that as an articling student he had two suits and would rotate them with a variety of shirts and ties.

“My general advice for students is that you should have one or two nice suits and they should be blue and charcoal, because you can interchange the parts and you can create bold expressions by changing your shirts and ties and it gives the impression you have more clothes than you actually do,” he says. “As you get older and have more resources you can buy more suits.”

Liston says the once inappropriate black suit has made a big comeback over the years, and it offers the versatility that a young lawyer may want.

“Today, more than in the past, black suits are acceptable,” he says. “I think for a young man, a black suit is multi-purpose. It can serve in both daytime and in the evening. He can wear it for daytime and then it’s a great suit for events or if he does want to go out at night. It’s good for both business and social.”

Hemmings says she sticks with classic items to prolong the life of her wardrobe, rather than picking up trendy sales items. “Classics are important because you can’t afford to be shopping every season. You want things that are going to last for the next five years.”

When it comes to selecting a suit, the cut, fit, and fabric should be at the forefront rather than the cost or brand name. “It depends on what your resources are. If you have the resources to spend $1,200 on a Hugo Boss suit, sure, go ahead,” says Bourchier. “But I can tell you I work at a large downtown law firm in Vancouver and I don’t look at someone and go ‘Oh, because they don’t have an [Ermenegildo] Zegna suit on, they’re not worth interviewing.’

“Be aware that you’re going to have to purchase, both male or female, one or two suits at least so what I would do is after Christmas, when you know you have interviews coming up the next year, see if you can buy a suit when it’s going to be on sale. Don’t buy something trendy, but something that’s going to last you a couple of years.” Conversely, don’t just buy something because it’s on sale, he says.

Hemmings says when she’s shopping for a suit she focuses on quality, classics, and sales. “In terms of quality, you can have a suit on and if it’s not good quality it just doesn’t look good,” she says. “I always look for good materials, I don’t necessarily want polyester.” And if you do choose a polyblend, it’s important that the garment has a good shape, she notes.