Guys in tech, finance, and other white-collar jobs are paying stylists thousands of dollars to dress them

• White-collar workers are turning to stylists to upgrade their wardrobes.
• These stylists charge thousands to help workers balance professional and casual styles.
• "Men are very confused right now with the dress codes," a New York-based stylist told the Journal.

Dressing for your job is getting harder in a world where “business casual” encompasses everything from Patagonia vests to leather jackets to pricey sneakers.

So white-collar workers in tech, law, and finance are turning to professional stylists to help them navigate their sartorial confusion. And they’re willing to shell out thousands of dollars to nail the right balance of cool and professional.

Those hiring a professional stylist should be prepared to swap their $50 shirts for ones closer to the $250 range, Michelle Sterling, a professional image consultant previously told Business Insider. And if you want to nail the quiet luxury look — a trend making waves in the corporate world for sophisticated yet simple pieces — don't shy away from top-tier brands like Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, and Zegna.

The bottom line is that you should aim to project a version of yourself that feels authentic, Sterling said.

Finding the right style for your corporate job

Some white-collar stylists start by assessing their clients’ personalities before they start dressing them.

Peter Nguyen, a former designer who now charges tens of thousands for styling services, sends clients a long questionnaire — touching on everything from their hobbies to their music preferences — to help him find clothes that suit their persona, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Others prefer to hop on a call to determine what works best for their clients.

Cassandra Sethi offers virtual services to male and female professionals worldwide through her image consulting firm, Next Level Wardrobe. She also works in person with clients based in New York, according to the firm’s website. Usually, she starts by setting up an intro call with her clients.

And her calls can get pretty long. After she sent her client Nate Dudek — a 42-year-old software company executive — a box of clothes that included a gray blazer from Ted Baker and t-shirts from Save Khaki United, they got on a three-hour Zoom session to determine Dudek’s fashion needs, and which clothes suited him best, according to the Journal.

Some stylists also offer extensive, weekslong style programs for those who need more than a few hours of help. 

"Men are very confused right now with the dress codes that have blurred the lines of formality,” New York-based stylist Jacci Jaye, who runs an image consulting service called “Wall Street Stylist," told the Journal.

Jaye offers several styling packages that range from one-off, special occasion styling to a full-blown “Executive Style Launch,” a four- to six-week program that includes a “closet analysis,” six to eight hours of personalized shopping, and “style integration” to help clients blend their new pieces into their existing wardrobe, according to Jaye’s website.

If you're not ready to commit to a professional stylist but still need some advice, Sylvie di Giusto, founder of Executive Image Consulting, previously gave BI a good rule of thumb: "The more you deal with a client's money, the more traditional and conservative you should be dressed."