Suits and Ties No Longer Required of Goldman Sachs Employees

The more laid-back approach is due to “the changing nature of workplaces."

Goldman Sachs dress code
Goldman Sachs will no longer require formal business-wear in the office. (Getty Images)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Tuesday that it is easing up on its required dress code for all employees and will no longer expect its Wall Street execs to waltz through the firm’s gilded gates in custom designer suits.

The new “firm wide flexible dress code,” which was announced via internal memo to the bank’s some 36,000 employees, Reuters reported, is due to “the changing nature of workplaces generally in favor of a more casual environment.”

The memo was penned by Chief Executive Officer David Solomon, a former investment banker who took the helm in October, along with Chief Financial Officer Stephen Scherr and Chief Operating Officer John Waldron.

Goldman Sachs, traditionally known as a white-shoe investment bank, has had a long-standing tradition of requiring its employees to don formal business attire. But the bank has been relaxing this convention since about 2017, Reuters reported, at least for employees in the technology division and other new digital businesses.

While the memo didn’t outline what would now be considered “appropriate,” it did remind employees to dress “in a manner that is consistent” with clients’ expectations.

“Of course, casual dress is not appropriate every day and for every interaction and we trust you will consistently exercise good judgment in this regard,” the memo read. “All of us know what is and is not appropriate for the workplace.”

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.