Summer Associates: Resources for the Longest Interview of Your Life

professional young woman looks at her phone while sitting outside; she wears a suit and has a paper coffee cup in front of her

We've offered a ton of tips for summer associates over the years — but I thought it might be helpful to round up the best resources here.

My own experience is in Biglaw in New York, but I think these guidelines can work for pretty much anyone, anywhere (although if you're in a more casual office in a more casual town, such as San Diego or Austin, you may find that you can relax a lot of these rules much more quickly.)

Also check out our roundup of the best law school resources for women

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What to Wear as a Summer Associate

As of 2024, some of our favorite mid-range suits for women (which sometimes have such frequent sales that they come down to the same range as our “budget” suits) include Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani. (Talbots and J.Crew usually have plus sizes, and the others offer petites.)

Knowing what to wear can be difficult — you want to be seen as professional and taken seriously, but you also don't want to look like you're wearing your mother's clothes. A few notes:

Wear a suit the first day, and any “big” day after that. If you consider yourself to be in a “very conservative” office, wear the most formal option, which is a skirt suit with pantyhose and closed-toe shoes.

Whether you wear a pantsuit or a skirt suit, wear closed-toe shoes, and ideally layer your suit with a sleeved option beneath it, like a nice t-shirt, short-sleeved sweater, or button-front blouse — you don't want to go sleeveless until you know it's accepted at your firm.

Check out our guide to suits, including our recent round-up of suits for every budget and size.

Hunting for comfortable work heels? We've got a whole guide just for that, but as of 2025 some of our favorites include Marc Fisher LTD, Sam Edelman, M.M.LaFleur, and Cole Haan. On the pricier side, check out Ferragamo, Stuart Weitzman, and Sarah Flint. For comfort-first styles, look to Vionic, Sofft, and Naturalizer.

Make safe choices for your work outfits until you get a better feel for your office. Stick with pencil skirts just above your knees and full-length trousers on the bottom, and sleeved shirts and blazers on top until you get a better feel for the office.

(Our roundup of favorite silky blouses or crisp button-fronts might be helpful, as well as our guide to washable work pants.) 

Tip: Don't look to your fellow summer associates or even first-year associates for guidance — wait until you've seen a few mid-levels going sleeveless or wearing sandals or ankle pants before you try it yourself. See our discussion of what not to wear to work for further guidance.

Psst: sweater blazers are great for staying warm in a subzero office (thanks, summer A/C)!

Some of our favorite sweater jackets for the office as of 2025 include M.M.LaFleur (the OG, the jardigan!), L'Agence, Summersalt, J.Crew, and Jenni Kayne. For budget options check J.Crew Factory and Quince.

Wear closed-toe shoes until you get a better feel for whether women at the office are wearing peep-toes or sandals. If you're commuting in flip flops, change to proper shoes the second you get into the office. See our Guide to Comfortable Heels for tips, as well as our recent roundup of comfortable ballet flats.

Some of our favorite comfortable flats for work as of 2025 include AGL, M.M.LaFleur, and French Sole. On the more affordable side, check out Rothy's, Sam Edelman, and Rockport. We've also rounded up the best loafers for work, and our favorite sneakers for work outfits!

See more tips on summer associate style here. Unsure what to wear to a specific “fun” summer associate event like golfing, sailing, an office pool party, or something else where you don't know what to wear? Check our previous discussions. 

Business Etiquette Tips for Summer Associates

dining etiquette tips for summer associates

Be humble. Understand that your role in many situations (possibly all situations involving clients or third parties) is to listen and observe. If I had a dime for every time I saw commenters discussing a summer associate who blathered on and on and on about himself or herself in front of clients…

But: know when to shine. Summer lunches, particularly with partners and senior associates, are a great place to look like you're an intelligent person with a love for learning.

Observe proper dining etiquette! Your napkin goes in your lap as soon as you sit down (and goes in your chair if you have to get up). If you're curious which bread plate and drink are yours, form a “b” and “d” with your hands in your lap — your bread plate is on your left and your drink is on your right.

(Another way of thinking about this: BMW: bread, middle, water.) Avoid checking your email at the table (or at least be discreet about it), and leave the table if you must take a phone call.

Check out our full tips on business lunches, here.

Career Tips for Summer Associates

career advice for summer associates

Explore. Use your summer to get a feel for different areas of the firm. Try every area that might possibly interest you.

Network effectively. Summers are a great time to reach out to partners and other VIPs you admire to get on their radar, as well as to get a sense of how they got to where they are. 

Pro tip: if the idea of asking the partner to lunch scares you, round up a few other summer associates and approach him or her as a group — partners will do a lot over the summer in the name of recruiting, and adding more people to the lunch makes it a better investment of his or her time.

See our other top tips on networking when you're junior.

Note that details often matter as much as content. Typos, formatting errors, inattention to style conventions — these may matter as much as the actual content for your work product, at least for purposes of this summer. So give everything your 100% focus.

The Best Work Clothes for Summer

Summer Suits for Women

You may want to look for suits in 1) a seasonless suiting fabric that you can wear year round, 2) a lightweight, summer-only fabric like linen or seersucker, or 3) a “travel-friendly” suit for women that is generally designed to be wrinkle-free and is often lightweight.

Seasonless Suiting for Women

This is the best option because you can wear them year-round!

As of 2025, some of our favorite seasonless suiting includes Ann Taylor and J.Crew on the affordable side, and Theory (Good Wool), Brooks Brothers, M.M.LaFleur and Argent on the more expensive side. (Talbots used to carry it also, so keep an eye out at resale sites!) See our roundup of the best women's suits of 2025 here!

Lightweight Suits for Summer

If you're hunting for lightweight suiting, Brooks Brothers also occasionally has suiting in their BrooksCool line, and Uniqlo occasionally has Airism suiting. You may also want to check out our roundup of washable suits for women!

You wouldn't think that wool would be lightweight, but seasonless wool can be great year-round…

As of 2025, some of our favorite seasonless suiting includes Ann Taylor and J.Crew on the affordable side, and Theory (Good Wool), Brooks Brothers, M.M.LaFleur and Argent on the more expensive side. (Talbots used to carry it also, so keep an eye out at resale sites!) See our roundup of the best women's suits of 2025 here!

Travel-Friendly Suits for Women

Hunting for travel-friendly suits for women or lightweight suits? As of 2024, some of our favorites include these brands/lines: 1) M.M.LaFleur, 2) Ministry of Supply, 3) Paul Smith, and 4) Talbots. (Not pictured: Eddie Bauer and Suitably! Brooks Brothers also occasionally has suiting in their BrooksCool line, and Uniqlo occasionally has Airism suiting. ) You may also want to check out our roundup of washable suits for women!

collage of 4 women wearing travel-friendly suits
Our favorite travel-friendly suits of 2024: one / two / three / four

The Best Summer Separates for Work Outfits

Great Lightweight Pants for Work

Some of our favorite summer work pants for women as of 2024 include options from Nic + Zoe, M.M.LaFleur, Ministry of Supply, Uniqlo — and Banana Republic Factory sometimes has pants in their AirStretch line, also!

Great Summer Blazers for Women

Hunting for lightweight blazers for summer in linen and other fabrics? As of 2024, J.Crew's Helena blazer in stretch linen is a bestseller, as is this super affordable Quince blazer and Old Navy (regular, tall, and petite up to 4X). Along related lines (all machine washable!), check out Uniqlo's Airsense jacket (lightweight and stretchy), Madewell's Drapeweave line (lightweight and drapey) and Brooks Brothers' seersucker line (lightweight and cooling). You can find silk/linen blazers at Ann Taylor and Hobbs; Ann Taylor also has a number of cotton pique options.

Great Dresses for Summer Work Outfits

Classic Sheath Dresses for Work

Some of the best dresses for work as of 2025 include options from J.Crew, BOSS, T. Tahari, and Lands' End. For really affordable options, check out Quince and Amazon sellers Miusol or MUXXN (both with vintage vibes). We've also rounded up the best plus-size dresses for work!

Colorful Sheath Dresses for Work

Hunting for colorful sheath dresses for work? As of 2025, the places we'd check first include Amazon sellers like Miusol and Muxxn, as well as Tuckernuck's wildly popular Jackie dress. Some looongstanding reader favorites are also still coming out in lots of colors, including Karen Kane, Calvin Klein, CeCe, and Adriana Papell. On the fancier side of things, check Black Halo or The Fold.

Fit & Flare Dresses for Work

Hunting for the best fit and flare work dresses? In general look to brands like Eliza J., Maggy London, Karen Kane and (for plus sizes), eShakti, City Chic, and Kiyonna. Some of our favorites of 2024 are below — also check this classic Elie Tahari dress (with pockets!), this affordable dress from Amazon seller Rekucci, and this affordable midi tea dress from Marycrafts.

Wrap Dresses for Work

As of 2025, some of our favorite wrap dresses for work include the classic DVF* (also look on resale sites!), Kiyonna*, Modern Citizen, Quince*, Reiss and Amazon Essentials* — also check out this faux wrap dress from Karen Kane*. (*also available in plus sizes*)

Undergarments for Summer You Might Not Know About

Demi-Camisoles

Psst: Want more coverage but not the additional layer of a camisole? Check out demi-camisoles — as of 2024, favorites include Second Base, Halftee, or basic cropped camisoles — or chemisettes!

Slip Shorts

Slip shorts are a great option for summer because they prevent your skirt from clinging (like a slip) while adding a lightweight layer so your thighs don't rub together and you have a bit more modesty in the case of a gust of wind (like biker shorts). Jockey skimmies are everyone's favorites, but sometimes you can find “cooling slip shorts” as well!

Weird Products to Help You Cool Down From a Hot Commute

These are some interesting products to help you cool down or stay cool on your commute… see more clever products like this in our Amazon shop! (If you're suffering from hot flashes or feel like throwing money at the problem, do check out the Embr Wave cooling bracelet…)

Check out more career tips here, or click here for information on The Corporette Career Planner

Have a question you don't see covered? Email us!

Pictured at top and on pin: Shutterstock /  s4svisuals