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Original poster

Meeting our bank manager - what to wear? **Thread title edited at OP's request**

162 replies

IsThatWise · 03/04/2019 22:53

I am a stay at home mum and a carer for our autistic son. I am pretty much home bound, though I do go for nails, tan and hair. My husband is much more higher profile than I am, on a very much local scale, and I choose to stay home. I’ve been invited to meet our bank manager on an ‘informal’ basis, but still at the bank. I am conscious that it all sounds horrendous but what the hell do I wear. Please help!

OP posts:
Worried2019 · 04/04/2019 08:13

@mrscampbellblackagain Look like mutton dressed as lamb to me!! Horrific

pelirocco123 · 04/04/2019 08:16

My bank invited me in to talk to the manager as they like their customers to have a review......basically it's an excuse to try and sell you their products, I declined their invite

OK, the days of banks having managers who actually have any decision making powers have long gone .They have sales targets to meet , they really have no interest in what you wear and I am surprised they want you to go in as you don't seem to have an income ........unless of course you have a trust fund and the bank is Coutts lol

mrscampbellblackagain · 04/04/2019 08:17

Well we will have to agree to differ. And mutton dressed as lamb is a horrid insult.

mrscampbellblackagain · 04/04/2019 08:18

It is quite usual to have a meeting with a private banker/wealth manager if you are moving into private banking. They want to attract you as a customer as others have said.

Snog · 04/04/2019 08:22

Why would you want to see the manager, what exactly do you hope to gain from this meeting?

Are you desperate to get a new account with this bank and if so why? And why would you need to meet the manager to open an account?

I don't think anyone understands what you are on about OP that's why you are not getting the answers you expect. I expect nobody else on mumsnet has ever had such an invitation and you don't explain what the invitation actually is, what it involves, why it matters and what the stakes are.

Going to the bank, even if you meet the manager (which is extremely rare - I am 51 and have never met a bank manager) - involves wearing the same as for a visit to the post office to send a parcel. And I doubt anyone's DH (irrespective of how much they are making the world a better place) would have any interest in their chosen outfit one way or the other.

pelirocco123 · 04/04/2019 08:22

You say We've been invited to join a bank , I assumed you were going on your own
You do realise a bank is just somewhere you keep your money , it doesn't pop out covered in diamonds at the atm if you bank with a private bank , they just charge you more money for banking with them
And it's the bank manager who needs to be dressing to impress you , if you have enough money they won't bat an eyelid if you turn up in a bin bag

dementedpixie · 04/04/2019 08:25

If they want you to put money into one of their bank accounts then they will be trying to impress you so it doesn't matter what you wear. Wear whatever is comfortable and makes you feel confident

Snog · 04/04/2019 08:29

If it's a private bank designed to show off your wealth then wear all the diamonds you own all at once.

Or hire a consultant or personal shopper to come to your house and advise you on what to wear, it's a bit risky relying on advice from an anonymous parenting forum if you need DH to feel proud of you.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 04/04/2019 08:31

I used to be a bank manager in Westminster.

My clients included famous film and TV actors , various MPs , a cabinet minister , high ranking army officers and titled members of the aristocracy.

Can't say I really bothered about what they were wearing ( apart from the high ranking army officers who had a strange obsession with brightly coloured corduroy trousers)

I was a bit ah

AngelsWithSilverWings · 04/04/2019 08:35

Posted too soon.

Was going to say that I was a bit shocked one day when I overheard one of my cashiers ask a very famous and very beautiful actress who was a regular visitor to the branch if she was feeling ok because she looked a bit rough.

DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen · 04/04/2019 08:37

Going to the bank, even if you meet the manager (which is extremely rare - I am 51 and have never met a bank manager)

You're not wealthy enough thenWink

OP you say its a fantastic opportunity for you,what do you mean by that? What do you think this swanky bank will do for you? Or did you mean getting out of the house together in which case you really need to do that more often for your own mental health.

mrscampbellblackagain · 04/04/2019 08:42

Private banks or the wealth management bits of high street banks do give a good service. But I think it is more down to whether or not you click with the particular manager you are allocated.

Just remember you are the client here - the bank needs to impress you not the other way round.

There are plenty of private banking options out there.

mrscampbellblackagain · 04/04/2019 08:42

So just wear something you feel good in and go for lunch with your DH afterwards.

Snog · 04/04/2019 08:43

@DameDiazepamTheDramaQueen
Damn it I must get into my DH about that for not being brilliant enough 😉

Teddybear45 · 04/04/2019 08:44

Is this a private or a high street bank? If it’s a private bank then yes you probably need to be a bit more formal— jeans with shoes, a nice top, combed hair. If it’s a high st bank then nobody will look down on you even if you turn up in pyjamas.

GeorgeTheBleeder · 04/04/2019 08:44

God, this thread makes me feel old ...

I'm not ashamed to say that one of the things that intrigued me about my first university boyfriend was his Coutts chequebook (automatically acquired when he started at a particular school. Which doesn't happen now unfortunately ...) But he was the scruffiest person I've ever met. You really don't need to worry about what you wear OP. It's your money they want.

And your husband should be proud of you as you, and as the mother of his child.

Worried2919 your world view seems worryingly narrow ... I hope you're really, really young and have decades in which to learn which phrases advance the status of women and which don't.

AngelsWithSilverWings · 04/04/2019 08:53

Leather leggings also a wardrobe staple where I live. I wore mine to a restaurant last weekend with a leopard print chiffon shirt dress. I'm 49 - shock horror! I felt great though.

SouthernComforts · 04/04/2019 08:54

Not convinced by this weirdness, but if it's real then you clearly have the funds to hire a personal shopper to dress you got this 'event', if ordering jeans and a nice top of asos is beyond you.

TooMinty · 04/04/2019 08:57

Sounds like you are suffering from imposter syndrome, I get this all the time. Wear what makes you feel confident and remember the bank are trying to impress you, not the other way round!

mrscampbellblackagain · 04/04/2019 08:59

I am sure you looked great Angels! Not sure how many 18 year olds can afford Joseph/Helmut Lang leather leggings which again seem to be very popular round here.

reallybadidea · 04/04/2019 09:02

I just wanted to make my husband proud of me.

He already should be bloody proud of you! He wouldn't have got where he is without you to support him and raise his children so that he can go out to work.

You sound great, I really hope he appreciates you. Walk into that appointment with your head held high.

EatenByDinosaurs · 04/04/2019 09:03

Worried2019 no such thing as "mutton dressed as lamb", which as others have said is an awful phrase for so many reasons.

Besides, you can pry them from my cold, dead fingers. I luffs them Grin

FrowningFlamingo · 04/04/2019 09:08

I bank privately and understand what you mean OP though if I'm honest I still agree with PPs that you're everthinking a little.
As someone else has said, for most people going to the bank is something done on the way to the supermarket and not requiring any additional thought so I can see the confusion.
Skinnies, blouse, blazer, decent flats, designer bag usually large. It's practically a uniform when I go in! I would agree with a PP to have a look at upmarket online retailers like net a porter, should be fairly easy to find the right kind of stuff.

trendingorange · 04/04/2019 09:10

"It’s a lovely opportunity for us"

You definitely need to get out more. I'm sure you're proud that your husband has done well financially, but a meeting at a bank will be them trying to get you to put your money into their products and nothing more. It won't be like the Oscars I'm afraid so just look clean, don't dress up unless you feel more comfortable like that.

RuggyPeg · 04/04/2019 09:39

Snog - if you think there are no wealthy and even mega wealthy women on Mumsnet, then you're very much mistaken.

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